In the early seventies William Friedkin was for a brief moment the king of American cinema, the one-two punch of THE FRENCH CONNECTION and THE EXORCIST certainly cemented him as a director to watch. Then came the ambitious bombs SORCERER and CRUISING, and ever since Friedkin's been struggling to get box office and critical notices. He may have struggled hardest with the Joe Eszterhas flop, JADE, released earlier this month on Blu-ray from Lionsgate. Still, he's had quite the career all things considered - which is your favorite post-Exorcist?
The Guardian for me. I saw it in the theaters when it first came out and didn't think much of it. It has really grown on me in the following years.
I went with To Live and Die in LA, despite only having seen it once. It did leave quite an impression. But I enjoy Sorcerer too.
So many great films. But I had to vote for Rampage. it's very hard to track down in the US (I think) but it really is one of Fredkin's best, an unconventional and truly thought provoking film.
I went with L.A. I have watched it a few times in the past few years on Encore and it is a great movie. It is very downbeat, which gives it a sense of realism to me.
Sorcerer is my favorite. One of the best remakes ever. I like most of his films though. Except for Cruising. I only watched it once, but it seemed like a huge depressing mess. I remember Jade actually being enjoyable, and I’ve always thought of it as the third part of his car chase trilogy. Rules of Engagement was very well directed and I thought Bug and Hunted were well made, so the guy hasn’t lost his mojo.
i've only seen 5 of those (bug, the hunted, the guardian, rules of engagement, and jade). while i wouldn't say i hated any of them, i really didn't care for bug too much, and rules of engagement left no impression whatsoever. i barely remember it. i remember liking the guardian as a piece of schlocky cheese, and jade was certainly one i watched a few times as a teenager (the unrated version - wtf lionsgate?). But the only one that i've seen that i really and truly loved was the hunted. i've shown it to so many people, and i really feel that its a great example of storytelling reduced to its most basic. that movie is every other chase movie made in the 90's boiled down to its absolute barest essentials, and it rocks. i just recently saw wages of fear for the first time, so i'd be interested in seeing sorcerer. and i hear nothing but good things about to live and die in la, so maybe i should check that out.
Just watched To Live and Die in LA for an upcoming podcast episode and I have to give that one the edge, even over French Connection. The plot was decent enough to move the film but it was supported by its action scenes and montage sequences. A fun little 80's drama/action piece.
Went with Jade. Even bought the Blu-Ray. Picture quality sucks. What did I expect for $10? Judging from how bad the picture of French Connection was butchered, I'm getting nervous about Exorcist.
cruising was awesome. i would have picked 'to live and die' but the credits music killed the whole movie for me.
TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. is a great film.SORCERER and RAMPAGE (despite being cut by the studio) are badly underrated.
