William Friedkin: a man Possessed, PART III
THE EXORCIST (1973) became a historic cultural lightning rod not because of Hollywood trickery, but because its creators treated supernatural dread as brutal, documentary reality. William Peter Blatty took a heavily mythologized 1949 Maryland possession case and turned it into an apostolic crusade, only to hand the reins to William Friedkin, an unsparing director who pushed his cast and crew to the physical brink. Across this definitive deep dive, Cinema Shock tracks the entire harrowing ordeal: the debunked real-life origins, the casting gambles that put non-actors and unknowns front and center, the sub-zero Manhattan sets where permanent spinal injuries occured, and a location shoot in Iraq that collided with a bloody coup. Plus, the panic that overwhelmed opening-night theaters, the Oscar campaign sabotage from Hollywood traditionalists, and the troubled sequels left in the aftermath.
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PART 1:
Part 2: (coming soon)
Part 3: (coming soon)
Part 4: (coming soon)
Credits
Directed by William Friedkin
Screenplay by William Peter Blatty
Based on: The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
Starring Ellen Burstyn | Max von Sydow | Lee J. Cobb | Kitty Winn | Jack MacGowran | Jason Miller | Linda Blair
Music by Jack Nitzsche
Cinematography by Owen Roizman
Edited by Evan A. Lottman | Norman Gay | Bud S. Smith | Jordan Leondopoulos
CINEMA SHOCK ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS:
Andy Lancaster | asotirov | Benjamin Yates | Capiapoa | courtland ashley | curtcake5k | Dick Jones | Felizmon | Interzone78 | JacksonBaker | John sweet bussy Greaney | Jvance325 | KDurden | Kristian Blilie Berg | LogLad | Lucy Lawson | MagicBloat | mcdudely | mmmdreew | Nate Izod | Phil Ellis | Princess Krishna Kali | samuraihillbilly | Stefan__fl | Tim G | triplr1478
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne & Justin Bishop.
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