Oscar-winning director William Friedkin is best known for films like The French Connection and The Exorcist, but those are just two of the many in his wide-ranging career, which he has detailed in his extensive autobiography The Friedkin Connection, published last month. Two films that had major impacts on his career may not be as recognizable as his award-winning productions, but they have proven to be just as influential and controversial. An adaptation of Mart Crowley’s play The Boys in the Band, released in 1970, was one of the first mainstream pictures to give an honest look at the gay experience. Ten years later, Friedkin made the incendiary Cruising, a murder mystery starring Al Pacino and set against the seedy underworld of the gay leather bar scene. While The Boys in the Band is still heralded for its thoughtful portrayal of gay men in New York, Cruising continues to spark controversy for its violent and sexual subject matter, especially as it combines the two. I was eager to chat with Friedkin about his experiences making the films, as well as his perception of how both have been received by audiences and critics since their release.  … Read More