The studios mostly threw away the negatives of the classic films. They had no interest in their legacy.
William FriedkinEvery time you run a 35mm print, it picks up scratches. It picks up dirt. Sometimes it breaks, and you have to re-splice it. You lose frames. This doesn't happen with digital or Blu-ray. I think that's great. Because I love the new media.
William FriedkinThe Blu-ray is the real cinematech of world cinema. That's how it's being preserved. All of these guys that are trying to preserve 35mm negatives? They are wasting their time. There are better ways to see and project this stuff. It's called digital.
William FriedkinThe digital process gives me total control over how I want the film to look. The films look like they did when I was first looking through the viewfinder.
William FriedkinGod knows, as a minority, gay people have taken serious lumps for their sexual preferences. As has every minority.
William FriedkinI've seen my own films close to a thousand times in one form or another. When you edit them. When you shoot them. Then you run them over and over again for sound and music. Then you'd go to premiere screenings, and have to do promotional screenings in other cities. I can't watch any of my old films.
William Friedkin