Turner Classic Movies Will Honor Director William Friedkin With A Two-Night Cinematic Tribute

Most directors would be more than happy to make a single touchstone genre film at some point in their careers. William Friedkin? He made two in just as many years. His 1971 crime thriller "The French Connection" established the template for car chase scenes that's still being used today. Then, in 1973, he made "The Exorcist," the film that got the world to start taking horror seriously as a high art form. 

As if that wasn't enough, Friedkin also made not one but two quintessential pieces of queer cinema with "The Boys in the Band" and the controversial but undeniably important "Cruising." Even in his twilight years as a filmmaker, Friedkin was tackling provocative material in the forms of the stage play adaptations "Bug" and especially the twisted "Killer Joe" (a film that played a less-acknowledged yet key role in the McConaissance era of Matthew McConaughey's run as an actor).

With so much work worthy of recognition, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has announced it will be devoting two separate nights of programming to honor Friedkin's legacy in the wake of his death last week. "William Friedkin was a great friend to Turner Classic Movies and he attended the TCM Classic Film Festival several times, most recently in April 2023," the network noted as part of its announcement. Read on for the full details!

With Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav having abated his cost cutting assault on TCM (at least for the time being), the network can get back to doing what it does best: honoring our shared cinematic cultural heritage. "TCM Remembers William Friedkin Part 1" will take place on September 14, 2023, and will include airings of "The French Connection," "To Live and Die in L.A.," and "The Boys in the Band." The second half of the event will take place on November 26, 2023, and will include an airing of the 2018 documentary "Friedkin Uncut" followed by a showing of "The Exorcist." The full programming block reads as follows:

TCM Remembers William Friedkin Part 1 – Thursday, September 14

8:00 PM – The French Connection (1971) – Two New York narcotics cops set out to bust a French drug smuggling ring.

10:00 PM – To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) – A Secret Service agent becomes obsessed with tracking down a notorious and dangerous Los Angeles counterfeitor.

12:15 AM – The Boys in the Band (1970) – A gay birthday party turns into a night of soul-searching when the host's straight college roommate turns up by mistake.

TCM Remembers William Friedkin Part 2 – Sunday, November 26

8:00 PM – Friedkin Uncut (2018) – TCM Premiere – In this documentary, William Friedkin is interviewed about his career, alongside a number of his colleagues and industry admirers.

10:00 PM – The Exorcist (1973) – A priest battles to save a young girl possessed by demons.