Right here’s one thing scary: Al Pacino by no means watched William Friedkin‘s famed “The Exorcist” earlier than working with the late auteur on “Cruising.” Pacino, who’s now taking part in an exorcist in “The Ritual” alongside Dan Stevens, advised Leisure Weekly {that a} half century after the movie‘s launch, he lastly feels up for seeing it.
“I didn’t even see ‘The Exorcist’ in my life,” Pacino mentioned, including, “It’s an excellent movie, I hear. I ought to see it. I feel I’m robust sufficient to see it now.”
Pacino’s “The Ritual” co-star Stevens reminded Pacino that “The Exorcist” was directed by “your pal Billy Friedkin.” Pacino beforehand led Friedkin’s X-rated 1980 movie “Cruising,” which was launched seven years after Friedkin’s iconic 1973 movie “The Exorcist” that spurred a franchise.
Friedkin infamously slammed Pacino by telling a reporter that Pacino wasn’t as “ready” as his fellow actors on set. “I don’t give a flying fuck right into a rolling donut about what Al Pacino thinks,” Friedkin mentioned. “I cared quite a bit about what Tommy Lee Jones thought, as a result of this man was an excellent, skilled, ready actor. And he would take into consideration his character greater than me, the director. He would come to set with sensible concepts, and I don’t really feel the identical about Pacino.”
Friedkin additionally mentioned throughout the commentary for the movie that he had “by no means labored with an actor who was much less ready” than Pacino.
Whereas even Josh Safdie noticed years later that Pacino hardly ever revisits “Cruising,” the movie is deemed to be one among Pacino’s finest performances. Within the thriller, Pacino performs an NYPD officer who goes undercover within the underground S&M homosexual subculture to trace down a serial killer focusing on queer males.
As for Pacino now familiarizing himself with Friedkin’s filmography, it’s about time: Friedkin died in 2023. He advised IndieWire in 2018 5 years earlier than his passing that he by no means seen “The Exorcist” as being a “horror movie.” The function was tailored from Invoice Blatty’s e book of the identical identify.
“Religion is a thriller,” Friedkin mentioned whereas selling his documentary “The Satan and Father Amorth” on the time. “Invoice [Blatty] recognized ‘The Exorcist’ as being a piece in regards to the thriller of religion. Folks name it a horror movie. Blatty and I by no means spoke a few horror movie. We made a movie in regards to the thriller of religion, which was his idea, his thought, his perception system.”