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The Exorcist - Director's Cut [1974]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Director William Friedkin was a hot ticket in Hollywood after the success of The French Connection, and he turned heads (in more ways than one) when he decided to make The Exorcist as his follow-up film. Adapted by William Peter Blatty from his controversial best-seller, this shocking 1973 thriller set an intense and often-copied milestone for screen terror with its unflinching depiction of a young girl (Linda Blair) who is possessed by an evil spirit. Jason Miller and Max von Sydow are perfectly cast as the priests who risk their sanity and their lives to administer the rites of demonic exorcism, and Ellen Burstyn plays Blair's mother, who can only stand by in horror as her daughter's body is wracked by satanic disfiguration. One of the most frightening films ever made, The Exorcist was mysteriously plagued by troubles during production, and the years have not diminished its capacity to disturb even the most stoical viewers. --Jeff Shannon


Not scary just weird
Review date: 2008-08-23 Rating: 8 out of 10

I watched The Exorcist 2 weeks ago and everyone I knew said it was terrifying so before watching I expected to get scared, well I didn't. I barely jumped.

I understand that The Exorcist scared the hell out of people when the film was released in 1973 as the special effects were advanced for the time, but now they look dated and there almost laughable.

I'm not saying The Exorcist isn't a good film because it is good but it's just weird, not scary.


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Reviews


STILL THE BEST
Review date: 2008-08-09 Rating: 10 out of 10

Just watched this again on TNT and a thought struck me. It's 35 years since this film was made, and despite all the talented writers, directors, actors and FX experts out there, nobody has even come close to bettering this movie. Question is, with all those resources out there, WHY??

Not for the faint hearted. Not for the weak minded.
Review date: 2008-06-26 Rating: 10 out of 10

35 years on and this film still has the power to shock. Often panned by critics, this story of good vs. evil is gripping from beginning to end, if one can bare to persist with the graphic depictions of vomit, bile, urine, and the foul language and hardcore blasphemy coming from the mouth of a 12 year old girl complete with vulgar acts performed with a crucifix! These depictions are far from subtle and the viewing experience can hardly be described as comfortable.

The main character, a priest (Jason Miller) is faced with a huge test of faith, one that he admits that he may be loosing partway through the film. Of course, the most important thing to note is that good triumphs over evil, although unfortunately at the sacrifice of our main character. Max von Sydow (the exorcist), performs his role to the level of perfection that can be seen in all his performances. The young Linda Blair is dynamic and does not always receive the credit she deserves due to the fact that it is not always her that we see playing Regan. However, when she is on-screen, she skilfully convinces us that this is not a girl who is simply mentally disturbed, but a girl truly possessed by an evil force.

Not a pleasant film and despised by many, but it has to be said that this Oscar-winner was one of the most important landmarks in cinema history.


DONT BUY THIS VERSION
Review date: 2008-02-16 Rating: 4 out of 10

Ive always been a big fan of this movie,and couldn't wait to see the directors cut. Unfortunatly ive come to find this version irritating because of the silly optical effects of demons included which look like something you see on a ghost train, and not the least bit scary. They even mess up the famous spiderwalk sequence, in the original she comes down the stairs, tounge flicking and chases after the nanny, which is creepier than what they do instead, which is her stopping on the stairs with a blood red mouth and going AHH!(Probably filmed recently) So Why is her mouth red? She's not Dracula. Oh and the extra scenes are boring and slow the film down. Perhaps ive seen this film too many times but if youve seen the original you might agree with me.

Longer but not better
Review date: 2007-12-22 Rating: 8 out of 10

The Exorcist - The Version You've Never Seen is also the version you probably shouldn't have, adding almost nothing to a fine original but running time, some clumsy additional `subliminal' images digitally grafted on with all the subtlety of a 1980s New Romantic music video and a poor new sound mix that adds music cues and sound effects far less effective than the original mix. Most of the restored footage is taken up by an extended additional medical tests sequence that feels a little out of place since Regan hasn't been acting particularly oddly at that point in the film, as well as the odd bit of padding in the run-up to the exorcism and a redundant scene of Karras listening to a tape recording of a pre-possession Regan. Worst of the new additions by far is the infamous spider walk, a scene abandoned during shooting and here accounting for two rather laughable shots that take the film too far too soon. Other additions are somewhat more esoteric - a brief pretitle shot of the Georgetown house and street, Father Dyer keeping the St Christopher at the end after Chris hands it back and the disastrous addition of a screeching airplane sound effect in the segue from Iraq to Georgetown that makes you think Pazuzu must have travelled to Washington by Pan-Am (although this does echo Lalo Schifrin's far more effective rejected scoring for the sequence). What's most curious is what's still missing: despite including the weak Hollywood ending with Kinderman and Father Dyer, the exchange with Chris over whether she still doesn't believe in God is gone. The big bone of contention between Blatty and Friedkin, the idea that if you believe in the Devil because of all the terrible things that happen, you must also believe in a God even if he, unlike the horned one, doesn't advertise, seems the only justification for extending the section at all, but as if to spite the writer it's still pointedly removed. Only the brief discussion about the Devil's motives for possessing Regan in a break in the exorcism feels like it adds any substance to the proceedings (although it could be said the possession is more disturbingly arbitrary if left unexplained), the rest being motivated purely by the need for a marketing hook to secure a US reissue.

The end result is a film that feels much longer and slower but still eventually grips. Aside from the overlength, the strengths and weaknesses are much the same: the at times almost documentary style of film-making grounds the events in a recognisable real world, the shock effects are fairly sparingly used and only after a long build-up, the characters well-drawn and their despair convincing: the real horror in the film doesn't reside in its special effects or horrific set pieces, but in a mother's anguish over being powerless to help her child.

Few extras, but the widescreen transfer is good.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Linda Blair
Kitty Winn
Ellen Burstyn
Lee J. Cobb
Max von Sydow

Creators:
Ellen Burstyn (Primary Contributor)
Max von Sydow (Primary Contributor)
Owen Roizman (Cinematographer)
Evan A. Lottman (Editor)
Norman Gay (Editor)
David Salven (Producer)
Noel Marshall (Producer)
William Peter Blatty (Producer)
William Peter Blatty (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321900186322
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2001-10-08
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 127 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1973-12-26
Language: Arabic (Original Language)
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: French (Original Language)
Language: German (Original Language)
Language: Greek (Original Language)
Language: Latin (Original Language)

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