Top 15 William Friedkin films ranked by IMDb user rating

by IMDb-Editors | created - 8 months ago | updated - 8 months ago | Public

In remembrance of the late William Friedkin, here are the director's 15 best films, according to IMDb users.

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1. The Exorcist (1973)

R | 122 min | Horror

83 Metascore

When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.

Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb

Votes: 454,942 | Gross: $232.91M

2. The French Connection (1971)

R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama

94 Metascore

A pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.

Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco

Votes: 135,696 | Gross: $15.63M

3. Sorcerer (1977)

PG | 121 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller

68 Metascore

Four unfortunate men from different parts of the globe agree to risk their lives transporting gallons of nitroglycerin across dangerous Latin American jungle.

Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, Amidou

Votes: 27,635 | Gross: $12.00M

4. The Boys in the Band (1970)

R | 118 min | Drama

65 Metascore

Tempers fray and true selves are revealed when a heterosexual accidentally intrudes on a homosexual party.

Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Kenneth Nelson, Peter White, Leonard Frey, Frederick Combs

Votes: 5,889 | Gross: $7.63M

5. To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)

R | 116 min | Action, Crime, Drama

81 Metascore

A fearless Secret Service agent will stop at nothing to bring down the counterfeiter who killed his partner.

Director: William Friedkin | Stars: William Petersen, Willem Dafoe, Jane Leeves, Cherise Bates

Votes: 39,340 | Gross: $17.31M

6. Killer Joe (2011)

R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

62 Metascore

When a debt puts a young man's life in danger, he turns to putting a hit out on his evil mother in order to collect the insurance.

Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Thomas Haden Church

Votes: 83,322 | Gross: $1.99M

7. Cruising (1980)

R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

43 Metascore

A police officer goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.

Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Richard Cox

Votes: 28,042 | Gross: $19.80M

8. The Brink's Job (1978)

PG | 104 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

60 Metascore

A fictional retelling of the infamous Boston Brink's Company robbery on January 17th, 1950, of $2.7M, and cost the American taxpayers $29M to apprehend the culprits with only $58,000 recovered.

Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Peter Falk, Peter Boyle, Allen Garfield, Warren Oates

Votes: 3,516 | Gross: $9.40M

9. Rules of Engagement (2000)

R | 128 min | Drama, Thriller, War

45 Metascore

An attorney defends an officer on trial for ordering his troops to fire on civilians after they stormed a U.S. embassy in a Middle Eastern country.

Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley

Votes: 50,318 | Gross: $61.34M

10. The Birthday Party (1968)

G | 123 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

The down-at-heel lodger in a seaside boarding house is menaced by two mysterious strangers, who eventually take him away.

Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Robert Shaw, Patrick Magee, Sydney Tafler, Dandy Nichols

Votes: 1,164

11. Blue Chips (1994)

PG-13 | 108 min | Drama, Sport

54 Metascore

A college basketball coach is forced to break the rules in order to get the players he needs to stay competitive.

Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Nick Nolte, Mary McDonnell, J.T. Walsh, Ed O'Neill

Votes: 15,173 | Gross: $22.36M

12. Rampage (1987)

R | 97 min | Drama, Thriller

Alex is an outwardly normal man who goes on killing and mutilating sprees. When he is finally captured and brought to trial, the district attorney is torn between his own liberal ideals on guilt and the crimes the accused is being tried.

Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Michael Biehn, Alex McArthur, Nicholas Campbell, Deborah Van Valkenburgh

Votes: 2,576 | Gross: $0.80M

13. Bug (2006)

R | 102 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller

62 Metascore

An unhinged war veteran holes up with a lonely woman in a spooky Oklahoma motel room. The line between reality and delusion is blurred as they discover a bug infestation.

Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Harry Connick Jr., Lynn Collins

Votes: 37,811 | Gross: $7.01M

14. The Hunted (2003)

R | 94 min | Action, Crime, Drama

40 Metascore

An FBI deep-woods tracker attempts to capture a trained assassin who has made a sport of hunting humans.

Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio Del Toro, Connie Nielsen, Leslie Stefanson

Votes: 51,413 | Gross: $34.24M

15. The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968)

PG-13 | 99 min | Comedy

67 Metascore

A naive young Amish woman runs away from her home in Pennsylvania to New York City, where she hopes to act in religious stage plays but ends up performing in Burlesque theatre.

Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Jason Robards, Britt Ekland, Norman Wisdom, Forrest Tucker

Votes: 1,808



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