Dark Matters: The Films of William Friedkin

9/12/13 to 9/21/13

This series honors the work of director William Friedkin, who from the late sixties to the present has delved into the dark matter that dwells in the human soul with films such as The Exorcist, Sorcerer, The French Connection, To Live and Die in L.A., and Killer Joe. On the occasion of his newly published memoir, we welcome Friedkin to BAM/PFA for a book signing and a conversation with critic Michael Gullien.

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  • Upcoming
    Films
  • Upcoming
    Events
  • Selected
    Objects
  • Past
    Films
  • Past
    Events

Past Films

  • Killer Joe

    • Saturday, September 21 8:50 pm

    William Friedkin (U.S., 2011). William Friedkin in person. Matthew McConaughey plays a for-hire killer with more kinks than steel wool, chosen by dope-peddler Emile Hirsch to bump off the kid's mother. A grubby tribute to family values, few of which are on display. Costarring Juno Temple and Gina Gershon. (102 mins)

  • Book Signing with William Friedkin, followed by Cruising

    • Saturday, September 21 6 pm

    William Friedkin (U.S., 1980). William Friedkin in person. Al Pacino goes undercover in New York's leather bars and porn parlors to discover who's killing the city's gay men in Friedkin's once controversial film. Paul Sorvino and Karen Allen costar. Friedkin introduces and signs copies of his new autobiography before the screening. (102 mins)

  • Sorcerer -- AT THE CALIFORNIA THEATER

    • Thursday, September 19 7:30 pm

    William Friedkin (U.S., 1977). William Friedkin and Michael Guillen in conversation. U.S. Premiere of Remastered Version! Several desperate men, Roy Scheider included, must transport truckloads of nitroglycerin through a treacherous jungle in Friedkin's existential thriller, based on The Wages of Fear. (121 mins) THIS SCREENING HAS BEEN MOVED TO THE CALIFORNIA THEATER. NEW START TIME 7:30 PM

  • The Boys in the Band

    • Sunday, September 15 5 pm

    William Friedkin (U.S., 1970). Friedkin's adaptation of Matt Crowley's groundbreaking play involves the reunion of a group of gay men, right around the corner from Stonewall. In the midst of this reluctant revelry, male hysteria is all dressed up with nowhere to go. (118 mins)

  • The French Connection

    • Saturday, September 14 8:30 pm

    William Friedkin (U.S., 1971). Popeye Doyle (Gene Hackman) chases punks and corporate drug lords across New York (and under its elevated subway) in one of the finest gangster films ever made, and one of the greatest achievements of seventies Hollywood. Winner of six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Direction: see it on the big screen. (104 mins)

  • To Live and Die in L.A.

    • Thursday, September 12 7 pm

    William Friedkin (U.S., 1985). Secret Service agent William "CSI" Petersen and counterfeiter William Dafoe dodge one another across a pastel-painted, smog-stained LaLaLand, in Friedkin's poem of Los Angeles. It's a SoCal where nothing is what it seems: cons carouse with artsy cool and cops crave kinks. (116 mins)