- Starring
- William Friedkin
- Writer
- Alexandre O. Philippe
- Director
- Alexandre O. Philippe
- Rating
- n/a
- Running Time
- 104 minutes
- Release Date
- n/a
Overall Score
Rating Summary
This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Sundance Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.
1973’s The Exorcist is undisputedly one of the best horror films of all time, striking a chord with many audiences and remaining in the public discourse ever since. There has been plenty written and plenty has been discussed as fans still provide their thoughts and interpretations of the William Friedkin directed and William Peter Blatty written film now almost 50 years later. Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist is the latest entertaining documentary that will surely add to that discourse. Fans of The Exorcist or cinema in general will be in heaven as this doc can probably be best described as a commentary track for the film but in reality, it was so much more.
With its 100+ minute running time consisting of an extensive interview with Friedkin himself, we are treated to a level of insight like no other as he talks about his inspiration (not just film) for making the film while telling a series of compelling stories and anecdotes about the production of the film. He offers his unique perspective after all this time as well as tidbits of seldom known information and dispels and gives credence to fan theories.
Friedkin is a quality storyteller whose definitely not lost a beat and Leap of Faith lets him loose. He is incredibly engaging to listen and watch as the highly-knowledgeable director takes viewers on a cinematic journey through not only his films but also the history of film at the time. The film doesn’t do anything overly fancy and is just Friedkin talking along with clips of classic films and The Exorcist (with some fun behind-the-scenes content). While the narrative sometimes gets off track, that’s only a minor negative.
In the end, Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist is a cinematic delight that all fans of film should check out if they can.
still courtesy of Sundance
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.