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The Exorcist (The Version You've Never Seen) [DVD]
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Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
DVD
October 5, 2010 "Please retry" | Director's Cut | 1 |
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| $7.49 | $3.01 |
DVD
September 8, 2009 "Please retry" | — | 1 |
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| $18.88 | $18.88 |
DVD
December 1, 1998 "Please retry" | 25th Anniversary Special Edition | 1 |
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| $29.00 | $2.97 |
DVD
August 27, 1997 "Please retry" | — | — |
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| — | $23.54 |
Watch Instantly with | Rent | Buy |
The Exorcist | — | — |
Purchase options and add-ons
Genre | Horror |
Format | AC-3, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Color, NTSC |
Contributor | Ellen Burstyn, Kitty Winn, William O'Malley, Linda Blair, William Peter Blatty, Gina Petrushka, Max von Sydow, Rudolf Schndler, Lee J. Cobb, Peter Masterson, Barton Heyman, William Friedkin, Jack MacGowran, Jason Miller See more |
Language | English |
Runtime | 2 hours and 2 minutes |
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Product Description
Product description
The account of a young girl who is possessed, and the Exorcist who tries to save her.
Genre: Horror
Rating: UN
Release Date: 3-FEB-2004
Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com
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 bestseller, 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 with a soundtrack that's guaranteed to curl your blood, The Exorcist was mysteriously plagued by troubles during production, and the years have not diminished its capacity to disturb even the most stoical viewers. Don't say you weren't warned! --Jeff Shannon
Set Contains:
Although it was endorsed by director William Friedkin (reportedly with some reluctance), this "new" version of The Exorcist was criticized by many as a marketing ploy, and now exists for perpetual debate among horror fans. In addition to a few more subtly inserted "subliminals" of demonic imagery, 12 minutes of previously unseen footage focus on four new scenes: the series of physical tests (spinal tap, etc.) that Regan (Linda Blair) must endure; a post-ritual scene between priests Karras (Jason Miller) and Merrin (Max von Sydow), in which Merrin postulates that Satan is targeting them in order to make them despair and doubt their faith; a different version of the famous "spider-walk" scene (shown as an outtake in the previous special edition DVD's making-of documentary), in which Regan eerily walks down stairs in an upside-down, crablike movement, with blood dripping from her mouth; and a new ending, in which Father Dyer (Rev. William O'Malley) meets Lieutenant Kinderman (Lee J. Cobb) and the two of them share a casual chat about movies, echoing Kinderman's earlier talk with Father Karras. This final change was viewed by many as the most egregious, destroying the closing note of the original version. Fans and critics alike found much more to praise in the spectacular remixing and remastering of the film's original soundtrack, which is now scarier than ever in Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound. --Jeff Shannon
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.85:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : R (Restricted)
- Product Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.75 inches; 2.88 ounces
- Director : William Friedkin
- Media Format : AC-3, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Color, NTSC
- Run time : 2 hours and 2 minutes
- Release date : December 26, 2000
- Actors : Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn
- Subtitles: : French, Portuguese
- Language : English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
- Studio : Warner Home Video
- ASIN : B0000524CY
- Writers : William Peter Blatty
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #40,081 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #1,297 in Horror (Movies & TV)
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The Exorcist takes place in Georgetown in the current day of the movie’s release (1973). The movie follows the life of a twelve-year-old girl, Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair), during the duration of her possession by an evil demon that claims to be the Devil. The opening scene of the movie takes place in Iraq at an archaeological site where Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow) is working; during this scene a figurine is found that you see throughout the whole movie and seems to have ties to Regan’s possession. You are then introduced to Regan and her Mother, Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn). Regan’s Mother is an actress; she and Regan had just moved to Georgetown in Washington D.C. for the movie Chris was starring in. During this introduction Regan is a completely normal twelve-year-old girl who is excited about a horse she had seen that day and loves crafts; but Chris finds an Ouija board in the basement that Regan claims to use to talk to a ghost named “Captain Howdy”.
As the movie progresses strange things begin happening in the house, like banging sounds in the attic and the window in Regan’s room being open, making the room freezing cold. After an incident where Regan’s bed begins shaking her personality begins to completely change. Chris takes her to the doctor where they believe that she just needs to take a medication, Adderall, and she will soon be better. After a scan of her brain they find that there aren’t any abnormalities which make her behavior much less explainable. The possession really takes hold of Regan after the scans. The possession of Regan results in the death of three characters and multiple scenes that contain an overwhelming amount of profanity, sexual references and innuendoes, and violence that all come from 12-year-old Regan.
Although The Exorcist was released in 1973, it displays excellent use of special effects. The face of a demon that appears in some places is used frequently; the demons face is always just an overlay on the film rather than an actor that is actually being filmed with the scene. They also sometimes overlay photos of the figurine found in the archeological site. Some other advanced and convincing effects used were making Regan’s bed shake, making her head spin around, violent thrashing, cuts that are caused by holy water being thrown as if it was a whip, and projectile vomiting.
Sound is something used very often to achieve different effects. Music played always matches the type of scene. For example, suspenseful music is played during suspenseful scenes. The iconic Exorcist theme song, Tubular Bells, is played right before some of the strange things with Regan happen while Chris is walking home. They also make sounds louder to put emphasis on things. During a scene where Father Merrin is going to leave Iraq, the sounds of traffic and working people is amplified as well as the sounds of dogs fighting when he looks at a larger version of the evil figurine that was found. You also see this in a scene where Father Damian Karras (Jason Miller) is going to visit his Mother, in a city neighborhood that isn’t as well off as the other neighborhoods you see in the movie, any sounds that are negative like a woman yelling or children jumping on a car are very loud in comparison to other sounds in the scene. Another interesting use of sound is the many voices that Regan has when she is possessed. She takes on the voice of the demon (Mercedes McCambridge) as well as some other voices, one of which is the voice of Father Damian’s Mother (Vasiliki Maliaros); these voices are added seamlessly and match up with Regan’s mouth movements very well.
Lighting is something else that was used a lot (and well) to create different atmospheric effects. In Iraq most of the lighting that was prominent was from the sunrise and sunset. The sun would always be very bright yellow on a very red sky. Most lighting in the movie is created just by the regular light of the room, like a lamp or harsh fluorescent lighting.
The makeup used is very convincing. The longer Regan is possessed, the less human she begins to look; this effect is accomplished by first making her become pale with very dry and cracking lips, and then by progressively creating the look of sores, cuts, and bruises all over her. They also successfully created a false stomach over Regan’s real stomach that had very pronounced ribs and the words “Help me” that appeared to have been written from inside her stomach. There wasn’t any makeup that wasn’t perfectly executed.
The actors in The Exorcist performed very well. Everyone does an excellent job expressing the emotions that you imagine someone would feel in the situation that they are in. I am especially impressed with Linda Blair’s performance, she was very young when she portrayed the possessed main character of this movie, she had to take on multiple personalities for her character and she did so flawlessly. There wasn’t any acting in the movie that I can think of a complaint for.
Some people may argue that The Exorcist isn’t really the “scariest movie ever made” or that it really isn’t as good as I think it is; most of this is due to the age of the movie. Many people see the special effects in The Exorcist as cheesy and therefore the movie as not scary. When I see The Exorcist I see amazing effects for its time and an incredibly scary movie psychologically. Overall it is hard to argue that The Exorcist is not a great movie. Of all the horror movies that have been made, The Exorcist has to be one of the most classic and most compelling of them all.
The sound quality for both versions though in wonderful DTS HD MA 5.1 surround is simply stunning and certainly beyond reproach. As to the various cuts argument I personally would have done a different "Reviewer's Cut" although I have to say that the original thearetical version was pretty well done already but I do have some sympathy with Blatty. For my "Reviewer's Cut" version, I would leave out the "spider on the staircase" scene and perhaps the extended ending with the policeman but I would keep some of the ending like when the priest tells the mother to keep Karas' medal and perhaps just end it a little after that just before the policeman shows up. I would also keep the staircase dialogue between the exorcists as I do agree with Blatty that it is a key scene and I disagree with Friedkin that it is "understood" or "stating the obvious"; sometimes with filmgoers you need to state the obvious for emphasis and I feel that to be the case here. I would leave out the additional scene of Karas playing the recording of Regan's normal voice as in that case I feel it was not necessary to show how normal Regan was because I think we get it already from the beginning of the film although I would keep the added footage of the mother talking with the doctors. There you have it! This reviewer's cut! But all in all if I had to choose between the two I'd say the Thearetical Version is good as is that is until my Reviewer's Cut is made :-)
This film shocked me and when I first saw even the censored version of it years ago as a child I have to say it bothered me no end and led to many a sleepless night but as I grew older and hence better able to see the bigger picture I've come to realise that this is a great love story with many facets to show that Good always triumphs over Evil and that even if it may seem that Evil wreaks all kinds of calamity and havoc and has the upper hand but in the final analysis Good still wins. In the end, the priest who lost his faith gains redemption through imitating his model Jesus Christ; in taking onto himself all of the evil inhabiting the child and dying for her salvation he does on a smaller scale what Christ did in taking on all the evils of the entire world onto himself and dying for it so that it may be redeemed and live in spiritual freedom again. Also in the example of Karas and the entire experience I think we can safely say that Regan's mother is no longer an aetheist! I guess there are no aetheists in foxholes and in demonic possession! It was very touching watching this transformation of Karas' character from the start of the film to the very end. For me the most important and most memorable scene of the entire film was the one at the bottom of the stairs after the older priest sends Karas out of the room because he was not cutting it and when the mother asks if Regan was going to die and as if in a Garden of Gethsemane moment Karas steels himself and decides no way! I'm going to save that child no matter what and just like Jesus going from Gethsamane to his death on the cross Karas goes from the bottom of the stairs up to the room where he dies to save the child. Beautiful!
Next to The Passion of the Christ (Definitive Edition) [Blu-ray ] this film is a great picture to encourage Christians everywhere. All the demon succeeded in doing was to give yet another opportunity for Self-Sacrificing Goodness to exhibit itself and bring Hope instead of the Despair that was intended as was so well put by von Sydow in the dialogue on the stairs scene that should have been kept in the original version.
Yes, it is still the scariest film ever seen and made scarier with the 1080p and the DTS HD MA 5.1 surround treatment and yet it is among the more hopeful films that I have ever seen as well making this among the top 10 films that I've ever seen as well.
Very disturbing if you are seeing it for the first time and I can only imagine how much more of the case that was in the 1970s but if you pay attention to the characters and all the storylines it is also among the most rewarding film experiences that you are likely to have.
Very highly recommended!
Top reviews from other countries
For me 'The Exorcist.', as well as obviously being a story about demonic possession, is about the love of a Mother for her child and the importance of family bonds. It's also an exploration of the idea of the Devil as a real entity rather than an abstract concept, and about the power of Faith in a Higher Power through an Organized Religion.
On reflection that last stated theme does strike me as a little odd or at least a little surprising since Regan and Chris MacNeil are clearly depicted as atheists!
One might argue then, that 'The Exorcist.' could be seen as an advertisement for the Catholic Church - although if it is it's certainly not an overbearing one.
What I can say with certainty is that if one wants to see 'The Exorcist.' as a Horror Film, then it's the thinking person's Horror Film.
Of course given that it was made in 1973 'The Exorcist.' presents a much more flattering representation of the Catholic Church than would probably be the case if it was made now, in the much more Secular and Organized Religion-sceptical 2023.
The performances by all of the main cast, especially Ellen Burstyn as Chris MacNeil, are absolutely top notch with a cast who all seem to be invested in their characters to a degree that is utterly naturalistic and in many cases, incredibly raw.
For me the acting and the characterization are what makes 'The Exorcist.' the timeless classic that it is. Also; it's a rare Horror Film that has such admirable mature thematic depth.
By today's standards 'The Exorcist.' isn't particularly scary but then again it's Director, the late William Friedkin, never intended it to be. He intended it mainly to be a powerfully emotional story about the triumph of Good over Evil.
This is why I find 'The Exorcist.', in spite of its often horrifying imagery and its occasionally foul language, a courageous, challenging and yet strangely comforting and rewarding Film. How many Films that are given the label 'Horror' can be described as comforting?!
This 4K release has an astonishingly good-looking image which often makes it look like a Film which was made recently and is set in 1973, rather than one that was made in 1973. The image is absolutely pristine with not a hint of damage that I could see.
The HDR, which I personally find renders many FiIms too dark, is thankfully applied in an appropriately restrained manner on 'The Exorcist.'.
All I can say is that after decades of dismissing 'The Exorcist.' as a prime example of empty Exploitation Horror that doesn't deserve the praise that's heaped on it, I'm so happy that I decided to buy this 4K release and had the opportunity to totally reappraise it and finally appreciate just how good it is.
So I highly recommend 'The Exorcist.' on 4K blu ray - including to non-Horror fans and even to practicing Catholics who are capable of keeping an open mind and taking the shocking visuals and the occasional foul language with a pinch of salt.
Reviewed in France on October 11, 2022
Und ja, es ist 4K & ja, es gibt den deutschen 5.1 Ton (und das, obwohl es hinten auf der Hülle so nicht steht! Auch französisch und andere Sprachen sind drauf; Untertitel gibt es ebenfalls in zig Sprachen). Insgesamt bekommt man mit dieser Version ganze 4 Scheiben, 2 mal 4K (Extended und Theatrical) und dann noch 2 Bluray (Ex. & Th. + Bonus.).
Somit kann ich diese Version allen empfehlen, die den Film in 4K kaufen wollen. Vor allem in Deutschland, wo es gerade das 4K Steelbook nur für 60-100€ gibt.
Das Bild in 4K + der englischen Atmos Spur ist klasse, bis auf eine einzige Megazoom Szene am Anfang. Atmos wird gut genutzt. Viel Freude beim Schauen!
Reviewed in Germany on January 1, 2024
Und ja, es ist 4K & ja, es gibt den deutschen 5.1 Ton (und das, obwohl es hinten auf der Hülle so nicht steht! Auch französisch und andere Sprachen sind drauf; Untertitel gibt es ebenfalls in zig Sprachen). Insgesamt bekommt man mit dieser Version ganze 4 Scheiben, 2 mal 4K (Extended und Theatrical) und dann noch 2 Bluray (Ex. & Th. + Bonus.).
Somit kann ich diese Version allen empfehlen, die den Film in 4K kaufen wollen. Vor allem in Deutschland, wo es gerade das 4K Steelbook nur für 60-100€ gibt.
Das Bild in 4K + der englischen Atmos Spur ist klasse, bis auf eine einzige Megazoom Szene am Anfang. Atmos wird gut genutzt. Viel Freude beim Schauen!
Mit so ein paar wenigen trockenen Worten hört sich das natürlich nicht allzu spannend an. Aber es ist schon erstaunlich, wie gut Der Exorzist auch nach 50 Jahren immer noch funktioniert. Klar, da ist vieles nicht mehr "up to date", insgesamt ist der Film aber hervorragend gealtert. Er hat auch aus heutiger Sicht immer noch eine unheilvolle, schaurige Atmosphäre. Vor allem Linda Blair spielt großartig, die Kameraarbeit sowie der Schnitt sind beeindruckend und die handgemachten Effekte sind richtig toll gemacht. Wenn Regan im "Spider Walk" die Treppe herunterkommt oder ihren Kopf plötzlich um 180 Grad dreht, ist das wirkungsvoller als jeder billige Jump-Scare moderner Horrorfilme. Überhaupt steckt Der Exorzist den Großteil der jüngeren Horror-Konkurrenz immer noch locker in die Tasche - erst recht so einen Schrott wie zum Beispiel The Nun. Wer nur derartige Produktionen kennt und mag, kann mit Filmen wie Der Exorzist womöglich wenig anfangen. Aber wer immer nur Fast Food in sich reinstopft, weiß möglicherweise auch hochwertiges Essen nicht zu schätzen.
Einen Bonuspunkt gibt's für die Special Edition auf Blu-ray von Warner Bros.: Die kommt mit gleich zwei Discs und jeder Menge Bonusmaterial daher, inklusive einer langen Dokumentation. Auf der ersten Disc ist die Kinofassung von Der Exorzist, auf der zweiten der zehn Minuten längere (und meiner Meinung nach bessere) Director's Cut. Dazu ist das Bild sehr gut aufgearbeitet worden und - zumindest für so einen alten Film - gestochen scharf. Besser geht's nicht.