Director Alexandre O. Philippe has a knack for breaking down unique aspects of talked-about films. He made 78/52, which was an extensive look at the shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. At Sundance, he was premiering his latest, Memory: The Origins of Alien. When introducing his look at Alien, the director revealed he’s already shot one about the 1973 classic The Exorcist. Bloody Disgusting was on the scene, and here’s what he said about his four days of interviewing Exorcist director William Friedkin.
“There’s no talk at all about special effects, about the cinematic tricks,” Philippe explained. “Instead, we talked about art. We talked about music, about opera, about movies from Citizen Kane to Ordet by Dreyer, to 2001, The Third Man. It’s a very intimate chamber film about William Friedkin as an artist and his process in the making of The Exorcist.”
There’s no word on when Philippe’s documentary on The Exorcist will be available to watch, but the documentarian did send Friedkin and 11-minute cut of the film, which he responded to positively.
“He’s very, very touched by it I think. I told him I really want to do something that’s very special,” said Philippe.
Memory: The Origin of Alien is currently screening at Sundance.
