Friedkin's reaction to Refn's claim that Only God Forgives is a masterpiece

Refn was messing with Friedkin to get Friedkin to go full Friedkin on him for a laugh. And Friedkin is well aware of what Refn is doing so he let him have it, LOL.

Refn is a northern European pompus a$$

As he feels that he truly did his best effort with 'Only God Forgives', it can in
all fairness be considered a masterpiece, still though, it's for others to say.

Ricky Gervais once called himself "a genius", but, it was clear that he was joking.

The 'Pusher' films from Refn are to my mind, a perfect trilogy.

Refn is capable of making good film.. but man that ego...

Maaaaan I MISS William Friedkin LOL

I don't care who you are, DON'T argue with the master or the master may end up making you look very very silly.

“It’s a masterpiece”
“I NEED A YOUNG PRIEST AND AN OLD PRIEST”

Friedkin ain't playing...sorry dude...Citizen Kane and 2001! Medic is right! 😂

Hurricane Billy.

There's a reason why his middle name is WINDING lmao

Drive was awfully boring

Citizen Kane is visual masterpiece with good acting but it has the worst screenplay a visual masterpiece can have in a few words it was boring and uninteresting to the core as a story and the way the story progressed

did that guy just call his own movies masterpieces?

God bless Friedkin, and insert a huge flushing toilet sound effect on that other guy.

The director who really did direct ground breaking masterpieces, schooling the young big head to never call your own films masterpieces. That prestigious label is up to anyone else who watches them. I know he is just breaking balls but thats how you teach important things so that it sinks in.

I will say, DRIVE is a really good film.

What an unpleasant conversation. When I met Mr Friedkin, he did not act like the bully here. I guess I met him on a good day.

I feel like this is just Refn's awkward Dutch humor.

The most boring psychopathic film ever. Violent colors killings, unsympathetic characters, slow mo shots, no dialogues, total shit film.

these guys are both really funny. they are too proud to laugh at each others' jokes so it is kind of like a fight. such great directors.

Friedkin acted the same way when he was his age by saying things similar to his own films. I believe the film is a masterpiece not only as a piece of cult film but in cinematography as well. The perfect blend of Bava, Kubrick & Argento style film that although it was booed at Cannes it will hold up and Refn knows this because every artist knows when they created something great deep down inside or whether it's shit and Friedkin knew this as well but just wanted to be an ass being as if only Friedkin could ever be the one to admit that his films a masterpiece before it has become one. With that both directors have directors have made masterpieces with one just not haven't stood the test of time yet.

If you watch the full interview it's pretty clear that they respect each other's work..

I do agree that time is a good measure of quality though. If people are still talking about a film, or any piece of art for that matter, 20 years after its release there's usually a good reason for that..

Friedkin was a genius, Drive is one of the worst films ever made.

Neon demon is closer to a masterpiece than Only God Forgives

Citizen Kane is overrated and very boring. Now so many other films Friedkin himself made are true Masterpieces. But Citizen Kane aye, that is some of the most fucking boring crap I have ever seen. So saying it lives is debatable, the original War of the Worlds lives. The Boys in the Band lives, the original Exorcist for better or for worse lives (though I'd say for worse, because the monent you say its an unintentional comedy out pops the cult to defend it), The French Connection lives. Citizen Kane is out there dying of sepsis somewhere because it is the most boring shit I can name. If you want a film that has stood the test of time it's not Citizen Kane. What has stood that test are films like Night of the Living Dead, The Man With No Name Trilogy, Once Upon A Time in the West. Even films like The Day the Earth Stood Still have aged backwards. But if you have to hold on to Citizen Kane, I am sorry but no. As a timeless Masterpiece NO. Fucking Gone With the Wind, Wizard of Oz, hell, thh films of Chaplin aged better and they're older. The Great Dictator aged FAR BETTER THAN CITIZEN KANE DARED DREAM TO AGE!! The original King Kong AGED BETTER. At this point CITIZEN KANE IS NOW THE BIGGEST JOKE OF ALL TIME!!

I dont know about only god forgives or neon demon but i definitely would remember drive till the day i die 😅

that's classic old head hate lol bro bring citzen Kane lmaooooo

Friedkin directed some of the best movies ever nade but also some stinkers like The Guardian or whatever that movie was about the tree that eats babies, but even he admitted that sucked. Refn was so high off of Drive's success he thought people woukd eat up Only God Forgives. I remember being obsessed with Refn that year. J watched his whole filmography that summer and loved him for how beautiful a lot of his movies were. Even read the script for Only God Forgives, then i remember seeing it and being completely underwhelmed
, it was a lot similar to Fear X where it was trying to be deep and symbolic but it didnt flow emotionally and the pacing was a huge mess. The script was okay and could have been saved in the editing bay but he changed more scenes and the editing and pacing was awful. And the music was awful, nothing iconic or as beautiful as Drives music, i remember reading the script and thinking of the different opportunities for musical choices. And he completely dropped the ball.

I remember everyone being disappointed with OGF that year, and now look 10 years later and everyone almost forgot about it.

Friedkin has a similar style and approach, To Live and Die in La was one of my fav movies ever along with the music by Wang Chung.

I don't knownif we'll ever have another hit from Refn like Drive. I fear the overt success of Drive hurt his motivation since he was more used to being the ugly duckling. Plus him being slightly on the spectrum might make rejection harder for him.

Friedkin is the greatest

Well I can say it’s 2023 and drive is regarded as a masterpiece.

2001 A Space Odyssey is overrated AF! And BORING AF! Have you actually tried to sit through it?
It sure is a masterpiece of its time, but honest to god, in today's day and age, I couldn't sit through it. I think it sucked ass.... 😅
Same thing with Only God Forgives though..... 🤭

I mean, I gotta be honest, Only God Forgives was complete DOGSHIT. But Friedkin was still pretty disrespectful in this interview....😅

Drive will not be remembered as a masterpiece in 30 years, and the fact that this man is so convinced it is happens to be the reason he will never make one.

as much as I respect and enjoy the original Exorcist, and to some extent, William Friedkin's other works, I am willing to believe that eveything that made the original so good was a "lightning in a bottle" situation. It was Friedkin and his crew, not Friedkin alone. A severe degree of luck was involved to produce such a tightly written and well made movie. After watching Friedkin's The Devil and Father Amorth, Friedkin was either taking the piss, or more likely, the quality of the original is due to everything and everyone involved in the original.
The intent and willingness to release The Devil and Father Amorth, it conveys both a deep cynicism in the art of moviemaking, and a fundamental misunderstanding of what make the original great. Thats why I find all these comments sucking Friedkin's dick so bizarre. He wasn't some mastermind, he released two very important and influential films, Exorcist and French Connection, but I cannot find him at the heart of those movies. Friedkin acting like he's superior to Refn is laughable, since he is essentially the same thing as Refn. Personally, Refn made two very good movies, (Drive and Only God Forgives) and a few more auteur self indulgent ones, (Neon Demon etc.)
Neither is a genius, both just hit the spark perfectly a few times.

This is how you deal with a pretentious filmmaker. Friedkin was a national treasure.

Can't stand REFN. Dude literally has his name bigger than the movie title. RIP Freidkin.

The incomparable Billy Friedkin. His interviews were often as rich as his best films.

CITIZEN KANE IS OVERRATED

his glance to the camera after 'its great' is 10/10

Citizen Kane is cult, claasic, masterpiece but 2001 is little bit overrated!

Lot of morons in these comments don’t understand the sarcasm happening here on both sides.

Did this fuck just call his own film a masterpiece? (I’ve seen it - it’s far from a masterpiece) but talk about being up your own arse…..

"Who gives a shit?" - William Friedkin

R.I.P.

calling your own movie a masterpiece, than comparing it to Citizen Kane & 2001😂🤦🏻‍♀️

First time seeing this and now i love Friedkin even more then i did before, Refn is a narcissit with delusion of grandeur. Some of his movies are worth watching but no one is great, Drive is the one that comes to closest to me but don´t make it all the way.

As soon as Refn called his own film a masterpiece Friedkin went full Friedkin and it was great. RIP to a true film maker.

NWR is such a pretentious douche lol but Friedkin kicks ass.

What a tremendous Director. Guy made one of the most influential films of the time, Rest In Paradise William Friedkin.