Turned a dime-store horror novel into a milestone of modern cinema. Mark Kermode writes: ‘Not only is The Exorcist the scariest film you will ever see, it’s also the single most influential Hollywood film of the past forty years.’ No need to explain why! While filming The French Connection, Friedkin ensured Gene Hackman’s reaction shots in the famed car chase sequence were authentic by telling him they were just going for a leisurely drive down to the beach.
