Friedkin Uncut

William Friedkin, the director of such Hollywood classics as The French Connection and The Exorcist, is known for his uncompromising style. It's just a shame this entertaining documentary by his one-time line producer Francisco Zippel isn't as frank as its subject. Mixing Friedkin's practised anecdotes with contributions from the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Ellen Burstyn, it's often more celebration than interrogation: like a decent DVD extra rather than a film in its own right. Friedkin started out making documentaries in the 1960s and always brought a dose of gritty realism to his work, whether shooting The French Connection's ferocious car chase guerrilla-style, or spilling real blood in The Exorcist's surgical scenes. According to the maestro himself, he seeks "not perfection, but spontaneity", often getting what he wants in just one take. A telling moment on the set of Killer Joe shows him using a shot in which the crew can be glimpsed. Why? "If they [the audience] are looking at that," barks Friedkin, "we're dead!"