Shudder’s Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist
Leap of Faith-this documentary brings William Friedkin front and center to speak candidly about his most famous film, The Exorcist*.
*Obligatory scary photo at the bottom of the article.
Not only does he discuss the book and film, Friedkin discusses his influences. From artists Ensor, Magritte, and Vermeer to films like Hiroshima Mon Amour, Friedkin’s inspirations span the arts and beyond. This brilliant use of different inspirations gave us the scariest film of all time.
William Friedkin-There are people who say “I don’t buy into any of this stuff. I don’t believe in possession. I don’t believe in the devil.” But they’re watching it, you know?
People lined up around the block to see The Exorcist in 1973. Photo credit: Shudder
The Details
Friedkin relates how he utilized unusual sounds to add layers of frightening depth. How he used subliminal messages flashing onscreen for a fraction of a second to highlight the fear.
Someone watching The Exorcist may not have faith of any kind, but these details will still make the film a fearful experience for any viewer. It taps into primal fears via sight and sound. So there’s your excuse if you aren’t normally frightened.
What’s great about Friedkin is that he makes a point of saying that the small things in the movie that have been analyzed, over analyzed and re-analyzed as having meaning or being foreshadowing are actually not. Man, we needed all the classical writers to have done a documentary so my high school AP English teacher would have shut up.
The Actors
Friedkin brought out the best from the best. He showers praise on the cast, and gives his insight on how he shoots films, as opposed to other greats.
Friedkin is not a believer in multiple shoots, he would rather actually shoot. Acknowledging he couldn’t do such things today, William Friedkin admits that he shot weapons on set to get the reaction he needed on film. But he also reminds the viewer he wasn’t the first to do so. He also hit actor William O’Malley to get him to emote during an iconic scene.
The Color and the Music
Color conveys a message. Photo credit: Warner Brothers/Shudder
The Exorcist’s colors were important to director Friedkin. His frequent visits to art museums were utilized in scenes both quiet and frightening.
William Friedkin didn’t want a loud score, as he used quiet sounds and regular foley to add to every scene. He didn’t want the music to “tell you how to feel”. His theory is for each viewer to feel as they want to feel.
He rejected great movie composer Bernard Herrman, and went with music like Tubular Bells.
Faith and the Film’s Ending
William worked with atheist Max von Sydow, but brought him to a “mental environment” to create Max’s role of a priest in The Exorcist, which he calls a “Chamber Piece”. Friedkin himself does not immediately eschew demons or exorcism. He doesn’t mention the film being cursed. He doesn’t ridicule anyone’s faith. His view on the supernatural?
The truth is: none of us know anything…We don’t know anything. From the greatest thinkers and philosophers the world has ever known, from Saint Augustine to Stephen Hawking. We don’t know anything.
William lays out the end, and how it wasn’t ambiguous, how good does triumph. He talks about author-and Catholic-William Peter Blatty’s difficulty portraying suicide, and how the end was a brilliant compromise. Friedkin even admits there are parts about the ending that he himself has no idea about.
Leap of Faith is a must watch-and not just for fans of The Exorcist. This documentary is for anyone with any interest in filmmaking. From foley to set design, this is a how-to.
Leap of Faith is available on Shudder, a horror streaming service. Now here is the obligatory scary pic of Regan(Linda Blair):
Brilliant makeup work and scary contact lenses.
Photo credit: Warner Brothers
