The Exorcist (film)

The Exorcist
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	William Friedkin
Produced by	William Peter Blatty
Screenplay by	William Peter Blatty
Based on	The Exorcist  by William Peter Blatty
Starring	Ellen Burstyn Max von Sydow Lee J. Cobb Kitty Winn Jack MacGowran Jason Miller Linda Blair Mercedes McCambridge
Music by	Jack Nitzsche (additional)
Cinematography	Owen Roizman
Editing by	Norman Gay
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	December 26, 1973 (1973-12-26)
Running time	122 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English Latin Greek French German Arabic
Budget	$10,497,444
Box office	$441,071,011

The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted by William Peter Blatty from his 1971 novel of the same name. The book, inspired by the 1949 exorcism case of Roland Doe, deals with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother's desperate attempts to win back her daughter through an exorcism conducted by two priests.

The film features Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller, Lee J. Cobb, Linda Blair, and (in voice only) Mercedes McCambridge. It is one of a cycle of "demonic child" films produced from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, including Rosemary's Baby and The Omen.

The Exorcist was released theatrically in the United States by Warner Bros. on December 26, 1973. The film earned ten Academy Award nominations, winning two (Best Sound Mixing and Best Adapted Screenplay), and losing Best Picture to The Sting. It became one of the highest-grossing films of all time, grossing over $441 million worldwide. It is also the first horror film to be nominated for Best Picture.

The film has had a significant influence on popular culture. It was named the scariest film of all time by Entertainment Weekly and Movies.com and by viewers of AMC in 2006, and was No. 3 on Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments. In 2010, the Library of Congress selected the film to be preserved as part of its National Film Registry. In 2003, it was placed 2nd in Channel 4's The 100 Greatest Scary Moments in the United Kingdom.

Plot

In northern Iraq, the Reverend Father Lankester Merrin (Max von Sydow), a Roman Catholic priest, is leading an archaeological dig when he discovers a small stone amulet. He discovers that it resembles the statue of Pazuzu, a monstrous creature in the form of a human, bird of prey, scorpion and serpent. Already suffering from a serious, and potentially deadly, heart condition for which he regularly takes nitroglycerin-based medication, Merrin then realises that Pazuzu, whom he had defeated years ago, has returned for revenge—and that their rematch will be a fight to his death.

In Georgetown, Washington, D.C., another priest, named Damien Karras (Jason Miller), apparently loses faith in God after his mother dies alone in a tenement block apartment. Elsewhere, movie actress Christine "Chris" McNeill (Ellen Burstyn), who is on location in Georgetown, notices that her daughter Regan (Linda Blair) is acting strangely since having played with a ouija board. The symptoms include her using bad language, abnormally high strength, and causing her bed to shake. She is given a few painful tests and x-rays, but they prove negative. Unbeknownst to both Chris and Dr. Klein (Barton Heyman), Regan is now possessed by Pazuzu, whom Regan had called "Captain Howdy."

Burke Dennings (Jack McGowran), the director of Chris's film Crash Course, whom she has a crush on, is killed by Regan, and his death is investigated by Detective Lieutenant William F. Kinderman (Lee J. Cobb). He quizzes both Karras and Chris before telling the latter he will see Regan once she is well. Following Klein's advice, Chris gets Karras to see Regan, whose physical condition and appearance is rapidly deteriorating; her face is now distorted by self-inflicted gashes which have now turned septic, and her body is producing foul substances with which she attacks Karras during their first meeting.

At first Karras believes that Regan's symptoms are psychological, but after hearing the demon's voice talking in reverse and "Help Me" appearing on Regan's skin in her own writing, he formally applies to the Catholic authorities for permission to conduct an exorcism. Karras's faith, though, is still at a low ebb, and he admits to the bishop who is interviewing him, that he doesn't really believe that the possession is genuine. Consequently, he is denied permission to perform the exorcism, but will be allowed to assist whichever exorcist is chosen to intervene in Regan's situation. The priest who is selected is, of course, Lankester Merrin.

Both men try to exorcise the demon but to no avail in the first attempt. After taking a break, Karras is told to leave Regan's room by Merrin after he is unfit to continue. Karras returns, though, and finds Merrin dead. He then wrestles Pazuzu, defying the demon to leave Regan and take him over. The demon possesses him, and tries to destroy Regan again, but Karras, recovering himself long enough to prevent this, instead kills himself by jumping out the window (similar to Dennings's death) and Chris and Regan are reunited.

Days later Chris and Regan leave Washington to return home to Los Angeles, saying goodbye en route to Father Dyer (William O'Malley), an old friend of Karras. (Regan appears to have no memory of either her ordeal or any of the various evil experiences to which it subjected her.) Kinderman returns to the house, but upon learning that the MacNeils have left he begins to strike up a friendship with Father Dyer, which begins with an offer to see a movie with the priest, just as Kinderman wanted to do with Karras, earlier in the movie. (In Blatty's sequel, Legion, the relationship between Kinderman and Dyer has become a profound, ongoing friendship.)

Cast

• Ellen Burstyn as Christine "Chris" MacNeil, a famous actress temporarily living in Washington, D.C., with her daughter. She is an atheist, has a quick temper, but is also a loving mother. When Regan displays strange behavior, Chris experiences an emotional breakdown and tries to find help for her daughter, consulting neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, and finally a Catholic exorcist.
• Jason Miller as Father Damien Karras, a troubled priest, vocational counselor and psychiatrist. He suffers deeply when his mother dies, and confesses to have (apparently) lost his faith in God. Jack Nicholson was the original choice for the role, but Miller was cast after Friedkin saw his play, That Championship Season, and meeting the playwright/actor after the performance.
• Max von Sydow as Father Lankester Merrin, an elderly priest and archeologist. A quiet and patient man with great faith, he has prior experience in performing exorcisms and is aware of the risks of facing evil. These risks ultimately prove deadly to him.
• Linda Blair as Regan Teresa McNeil, Chris's friendly and loving, faithful and sweet 12 year-old daughter. She displays strange and aggressive behaviors after playing with a Ouija board, which are later revealed as early symptoms of demonic possession.
• Lee J. Cobb as Lieutenant William F. Kinderman, a police detective investigating Burke Dennings's death. Assertive and cunning, he thinks Regan was involved in Dennings's death, which may be related to the recent desecration of a nearby church.
• Mercedes McCambridge provided the voice of the demon, Pazuzu.
• Kitty Winn as Sharon Spencer, Chris' friend and personal assistant who acts as Regan's tutor.
• Jack MacGowran as Burke Dennings, an eccentric film director and close friend of Chris; his unexplained death while looking after Regan elicits a police homicide investigation.
• Father William O'Malley as Father Joseph Dyer, a close friend of Karras who tries to help him deal with his mother's death.
• Robert Symonds as Dr. Taney.
• Barton Heyman as Dr. Samuel Klein, a doctor who suggests that Regan needs "special" help.
• Arthur Storch as the psychiatrist.
• Titos Vandis as Karras's uncle.
• Eileen Dietz as a face associated with the demon, seen only in visions and flash cuts.

William Peter Blatty himself has a small speaking role during the scene where Chris is filming in front of Healy Hall. His character engages in a minor technical dispute with director Burke Dennings.

Production

Factual basis for the film

See also: Exorcism of Roland Doe

Aspects of the novel were inspired by an exorcism performed on a young boy from Cottage City, Maryland, in 1949 by the Jesuit priest, Fr. William S. Bowdern, who formerly taught at both St. Louis University and St. Louis University High School. Hunkeler's Catholic family was convinced the child's aggressive behavior was attributable to demonic possession, and called upon the services of Father Walter Halloran to perform the rite of exorcism. Although Friedkin admits he is very reluctant to speak about the factual aspects of the film, he made the film with the intention of immortalizing the events that took place in Cottage City, Maryland in 1949, and despite the relatively minor changes that were made, the film depicts everything that could be verified by those involved. Understandably, many people will doubt this is true, which is likely why Friedkin is reluctant to talk about it, however the film is a relatively close adaptation of an actual exorcism case, one of three exorcisms to be sanctioned by the Catholic Church in the U.S. at that time. In order to make the film, Friedkin was allowed access to the diaries of the priests involved, as well as the doctors and nurses; he also discussed the events with the boy's aunt in great detail. Friedkin doesn't believe that the "head-spinning" actually occurred, but this has been disputed. It should also be noted that Friedkin is not a Christian of any denomination.

Casting

Although the agency representing Blair did not send her for the role, Blair's mother brought her to meet with Warner Brothers's casting department and then with Friedkin. Pamelyn Ferdin, a veteran of science fiction and supernatural drama, was a candidate for the role of Regan, but the producers, source-novel author/screenwriter/producer William Peter Blatty, executive producer Noel Marshall, and associate producer David Salven, were believed to have felt that she was too well-known. April Winchell was considered, until she developed Pyelonephritis, which caused her to be hospitalized and ultimately taken out of consideration.Denise Nickerson, who played Violet Beauregarde in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, was considered, but the material troubled her parents too much, and they pulled her out of consideration. Anissa Jones, known for her role as Buffy in Family Affair, auditioned for the role, but she too was rejected, and for much the same reason as Ferdin. The part went instead to Blair, a relative unknown except for a role in The Way We Live Now.

The studio wanted Marlon Brando for the role of Father Lankester Merrin.^{[citation needed]} Friedkin immediately vetoed this by stating it would become a "Brando movie." Jack Nicholson was up for the part of Karras before Stacy Keach was hired by Blatty. Friedkin then spotted Miller following a performance of Miller's play That Championship Season in New York. Even though Miller had never acted in a film, Keach's contract was bought out by Warner Brothers, and Miller was signed.

Jane Fonda and Shirley MacLaine were each approached to play Chris, but both refused to do the film. Audrey Hepburn was approached, but said she would only agree if the film were to be shot in Rome. Anne Bancroft was another choice, but she was in her first month of pregnancy. Burstyn then received the role.

Friedkin originally intended to use Blair's voice, electronically deepened and roughened, for the demon's dialogue. Although Friedkin felt this worked fine in some places, he felt scenes with the demon confronting the two priests lacked the dramatic power required and selected legendary radio actress Mercedes McCambridge, an experienced voice actress, to provide the demon's voice. After filming, Warner Brothers attempted to conceal McCambridge's participation, an ill-advised decision which led to a lawsuit from McCambridge and opened a grudge between her and Friedkin that was never healed before she died.^{[citation needed]}

Direction

Warner had approached Arthur Penn (who was teaching at Yale), Peter Bogdanovich (who wanted to pursue other projects, subsequently regretting the decision), and Mike Nichols (who did not want to shoot a film so dependent on a child's performance) and John Boorman—who would direct the second film—said he did not want to direct it because it was "cruel towards children". Originally Mark Rydell was hired to direct, but William Peter Blatty insisted on Friedkin instead, because he wanted his film to have the same energy as Friedkin's previous film, The French Connection. After a standoff with the studio, which initially refused to budge over Rydell, Blatty eventually got his way. Stanley Kubrick was offered the film (and later on its first sequel) but declined.

Production of The Exorcist began on August 14, 1972, and though it was only supposed to last 85 days, it lasted for 224.

Friedkin went to some extraordinary lengths, reminiscent of D.W. Griffith's manipulation of the actors, to get the genuine reactions he wanted. Yanked violently around in harnesses, both Blair and Burstyn suffered back injuries and their painful screams went right into the film. Burstyn injured her back after landing on her coccyx when a stuntman jerked her via cable during the scene when Regan slaps her mother. According to the documentary Fear of God: The Making of the Exorcist, however, the injury did not cause permanent damage, although Burstyn was upset the shot of her screaming in pain was used in the film. After asking Reverend William O'Malley if he trusted him and being told yes, Friedkin slapped him hard across the face before a take to generate a deeply solemn reaction that was used in the film, as a very emotional Father Dyer read last rites to Father Karras; this offended the many Catholic crew members on the set.^{[citation needed]} He also fired a gun without warning on the set to elicit shock from Jason Miller for a take, and only told Miller that pea soup would hit him in the chest rather than the face concerning the projectile-vomiting scene, resulting in his disgusted reaction. Lastly, he had Regan's bedroom set built inside a freezer so that the actors' breath could be visible on camera, which required the crew to wear parkas and other cold-weather gear.

Music

Lalo Schifrin's working score was rejected by Friedkin. Schifrin had written six minutes of music for the initial film trailer but audiences were reportedly too scared by its combination of sights and sounds. Warner Bros. executives told Friedkin to instruct Schifrin to tone it down with softer music, but Friedkin did not relay the message.

In the soundtrack liner notes for his 1977 film, Sorcerer, Friedkin said had he heard the music of Tangerine Dream earlier, he would have had them score The Exorcist. Instead, he used modern classical compositions, including portions of the 1971 Cello Concerto by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki, Five Pieces for Orchestra by Austrian composer Anton Webern as well as some original music by Jack Nitzsche. But the music was heard only during scene transitions. The 2000 "Version You've Never Seen" features new original music by Steve Boddacker, as well as brief source music by Les Baxter.

The original soundtrack LP has only been released once on CD, as an expensive and rare Japanese import. It is noteworthy for being the only soundtrack to include the main theme Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield, which became very popular after the film's release, and the movement Night of the Electric Insects from George Crumb's string quartet Black Angels.

The Greek song playing on the radio when Father Karras leaves his mother's house is called "Paramythaki mou" (My Tale) and is sung by Giannis Kalatzis. Lyric writer Lefteris Papadopoulos has admitted that a few years later when he was in financial difficulties he asked for some compensation for the intellectual rights of the song.

Filming locations

The Exorcist steps in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

The film's opening sequence was filmed in the Iraqi town of Sinjar, near the Syrian border. The people of Sinjar are mostly Kurdish members of the ancient Yezidi sect, which reveres Melek Taus. Outsiders often equate Melek Taus with the Devil, though this benevolent being has little in common with the Islamic and Christian Satan. The archaeological dig site seen at the film's beginning is the actual site of ancient Hatra in Nineveh Province.

The "Exorcist steps", stone steps at the end of M Street in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. were padded with 1/2"-thick rubber to film the death of Karras. The stuntman tumbled down the stairs twice. Georgetown University students charged people around $5 each to watch the stunt from the rooftops.

The MacNeil residence interiors were filmed at CECO Studios in Manhattan. The bedroom set had to be refrigerated to capture the authentic icy breath of the actors in the exorcizing scenes, while the bedroom scenes along with many other scenes were filmed in the basement of Fordham University in New York. The temperature was brought so low that a thin layer of snow fell onto the set one morning. Blair, who was only in a thin nightgown, says to this day she cannot stand being cold. Exteriors of the MacNeill house were filmed at 36th and Prospect in Washington, using a family home and a false wall to convey the home's thrust toward the steps. In fact, both then and now, a garden sits atop the embankment between the steps and the home.

The interior of Karras' room at Georgetown was a meticulous reconstruction of Theology professor Father Thomas M. King, S.J.'s "corridor Jesuit" room in New North Hall. Fr. King's room was photographed by production staff after a visit by Blatty, a Georgetown graduate, and Friedkin. Upon returning to New York, every element of King's room, including posters and books, was recreated for the set, including a poster of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J., a paleontologist on whom the character of Fr. Merrin was loosely based. Georgetown was paid $1,000 per day of filming, which included both exteriors, such as Burstyn's first scene, shot on the steps of the Flemish Romanesque Healy Hall, and interiors, such as the defilement of the statue of the Virgin Mary in Dahlgren Chapel, or the Archbishop's office, which is actually the office of the president of the university. One scene was filmed in The Tombs, a student hangout across from the steps that was founded by a Blatty classmate. The motion picture St. Elmo's Fire includes scenes filmed at The Tombs.

Urban legends and on-set incidents

Many of the film's participants claimed the film was cursed. Blatty stated on video that there were some strange occurrences during the filming. Lead actress Burstyn indicated some rumors were true in her 2006 autobiography, Lessons in Becoming Myself. Because of a studio fire, the interior sets of the MacNeil residence (with the exception of Regan's bedroom) had to be rebuilt and caused a setback in pre-production. Friedkin claimed that a priest was brought in numerous times to bless the set. After difficulties encountered in the New York production, Blatty asked Fr. King (see reference above) to bless the Washington crew on its first day of filming at the foot of Lauinger Library's steps to 37th Street. The incident was recounted in Fr. King's The Washington Post obituary in 2009. While filming the crucifix masturbation scene, Ellen Burstyn was injured when the crew pulled her harness too hard after Blair's character struck her across the face and sent her onto the floor, sending Burstyn to a chiropractor. While filming the scene where Regan is being thrashed by the demon on her bed, Blair's metal harness came loose and injured her back as well. Irish actor Jack MacGowran died from influenza shortly after he filmed his role as director Burke Dennings.

Alternate and uncut versions

Several versions of The Exorcist have been released: the 1979 theatrical re-issue was reconverted to 70mm, with its 1.75:1 ratio cropped to 2.20:1 to use all the available screen width that 70mm offers. This was also the first time the sound was remixed to six-channel Dolby Stereo sound. Almost all video versions feature this soundtrack.

In both the TV-PG and TV-14 rated network versions, the image of the obscenely defiled statue of the Virgin Mary stays intact. It stays on screen several seconds longer for the TV-14 version. On original TV airings, the shot was replaced with one where the statue's face is smashed in but without other defilement.

The DVD released for the 25th Anniversary retains the original theatrical ending, and includes the extended ending with Dyer and Kinderman as a special feature (as opposed the "Version You've Never Seen" ending, which features Dyer and Kinderman but omits the Casablanca reference). The Special Edition DVD also includes a 75-minute documentary titled The Fear of God on the making of The Exorcist (although PAL releases feature an edited, 52 minute version). The documentary includes screen tests and additional deleted scenes. The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology (box set) was released in October 2006. This DVD collection includes the original theatrical release version The Exorcist; the extended version, The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen; the sequel with Linda Blair, Exorcist II: The Heretic; the supposed end of the trilogy, The Exorcist III; and two different prequels: Exorcist: The Beginning and Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist. Morgan Creek, current owner of the franchise, is now negotiating a cable television mini-series of Blatty's novel, which is the basis for the original film.

The spider-walk scene

Contortionist Linda R. Hager performed the infamous spider-walk scene on April 11, 1973. Director Friedkin deleted this scene just prior to the December 26, 1973 premiere because it was technically ineffective due to the visible wires suspending Hager in a backward-arched position as she descends the stairs. According to Friedkin, "I cut it when the film was first released because this was one of those effects that did not work as well as others, and I was only able to save it for the re-release with the help of computer graphic imagery." Additionally, Friedkin considered that the spider-walk scene appeared too early in the film's plot and removed it despite screenplay writer William Peter Blatty's request that the scene remain. In the book, the spider-walk is very quiet, and consists of Regan following Sharon around and occasionally licking her ankle.

In 1998, Warner re-released the digitally remastered DVD of The Exorcist: 25th Anniversary Special Edition. The DVD includes the BBC documentary, The Fear of God: The Making of The Exorcist, highlighting the never-before-seen original non-bloody variant of the spider-walk scene.

To appease the screenwriter and some fans of The Exorcist, Friedkin worked with CGI artists to digitally remove the wires holding Hager. The director reinstated the bloody variant of the spider-walk scene for the 2000 theatrically re-released version of The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen.

In October 2010, Warner released The Exorcist (Extended Director's Cut & Original Theatrical Edition) on Blu-ray, including the behind-the-scenes filming of the spider-walk scene.

Sequels and related films

After the film's success, rip-off films and The Exorcist franchise sequels appeared. John Boorman's Exorcist II: The Heretic was released in 1977, and revisited Regan four years after her initial ordeal. The plot dealt with an investigation into the legitimacy of Merrin's exorcism of Regan in the first film. In flashback sequences, we see Regan giving Merrin his fatal heart attack, as well as scenes from the exorcism of a young boy named Kokumo in Africa many years earlier. The film was so sharply criticized that director John Boorman reedited the film for a secondary release immediately after its premiere. Both versions have now been released on video; the cut version on VHS and the original uncut version now on DVD.

The Exorcist III appeared in 1990, written and directed by Blatty himself from his own 1983 novel Legion. Jumping past the events of Exorcist II, this book and film presented a continuation of Karras' story. Following the precedent set in The Ninth Configuration, Blatty turned a minor character from the first film—in this case, Kinderman—into the chief protagonist. Though the characters of Karras and Kinderman were acquainted during the murder investigation in The Exorcist and Kinderman expressed fondness for Karras, in Exorcist III Blatty has Kinderman remembering Karras as his "best friend".

A prequel film attracted attention and controversy even before its release in 2004; it went through a number of directorial and script changes, such that two versions were ultimately released. John Frankenheimer was originally hired as director for the project, but withdrew before filming started due to health concerns. He died a month later. Paul Schrader replaced him. Upon completion the studio rejected Schrader's version as being too slow. Renny Harlin was then hired as director. Harlin reused some of Schrader's footage but shot mostly new material to create a more conventional horror film. Harlin's new version Exorcist: The Beginning was released, but was not well received. Nine months later Schrader's original version, retitled Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, was given a small theatrical release. It received better, but still mostly negative, critical responses. Both films are now available on DVD. Like Exorcist III, both films made significant changes from the original storyline. The plot of these films centered on an exorcism that Father Merrin had performed as a young priest in Africa, many years prior to the events in The Exorcist. This exorcism was first referenced in The Exorcist, and in the first sequel Exorcist II: The Heretic, flashback scenes were shown of Merrin exorcising the demon Pazuzu from an African boy named Kokumo. Although the plot for both prequels Beginning and Dominion centered around Merrin's exorcism in Africa, they both took a significant departure from the original storyline, making no effort to be faithful to original details. For example: the African boy, though he appeared in the film was not named Kokomu, and eventually discovered not to actually be the possessed character.

In November 2009, it was announced that Blatty planned to direct a mini-series of The Exorcist.

A made-for-television film, Possessed (based on the book of the same name by Thomas B. Allen), was broadcast on Showtime on October 22, 2000, directed by Steven E. de Souza and written by de Souza and Michael Lazarou. The film claimed to follow the true accounts that inspired Blatty to write The Exorcist and starred Timothy Dalton, Henry Czerny, and Christopher Plummer.

Blatty directed The Ninth Configuration, a post-Vietnam War drama set in a mental institution. Released in 1980, it was based on Blatty's novel of the same name. Though it contrasts sharply with the tone of The Exorcist, Blatty regards Configuration as its true sequel^{[citation needed]}. The lead character is the astronaut from Chris' party, Lt. Cutshaw.

Other films

The success of The Exorcist inspired a string of possession-related films worldwide. The first was Beyond the Door, a 1974 Italian film with Juliet Mills as a woman possessed by the devil. It appeared in the U.S. one year later. Also in 1974, a Turkish film, Şeytan (Turkish for Satan; the original film was also shown with the same name), is an almost scene-for-scene remake of the original. The same year in Germany, the exorcism-themed film Magdalena, vom Teufel besessen was released. In 1976, Britain released The Devil Within Her (also called I Don't Want to Be Born) with Joan Collins as an exotic dancer who gives birth to a demon-possessed child.

Similarly, a blaxploitation film was released in 1974 titled Abby. While the films Şeytan and Magdalena, vom Teufel besessen were protected from prosecution by the laws of their countries of origin, Abby's producers (filming in Louisiana) were sued by Warner. The film was pulled from theaters, but not before making $4 million at the box office.

A parody, Repossessed, was released the same year as The Exorcist III, with Blair lampooning the role she had played in the original.

Other references

A meta-reference to the film was made in an episode of Supernatural- a show where demons possessing humans is a common plot element; demons in the series are human souls corrupted by their time in Hell, lacking physical bodies of their own to interact with Earth-, where Linda Blair appeared as a police detective, with protagonist Dean Winchester finding her character familiar and expressing a strange desire for pea soup at the episode's conclusion.

In Angel: Earthly Possessions, a spin-off comic story based on the TV series Angel, protagonist Angel finds himself dealing with a priest who performs exorcisms, but comes to realise that the priest is summoning the demons for him to exorcise in the first place. He also makes a note of The Exorcist film, noting that the vision it created of possession actually made things easier for possession demons by making it harder for humans to know what to expect from a possession.

Home media

A limited edition box set was released in 1998; it was limited to 50,000 copies, with available copies circulating around the Internet. There are two versions; a special edition VHS and a special edition DVD. The only difference between the two copies is the recording format.

DVD features

• The original film with restored film and digitally remastered audio, with a 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio.
• An introduction by director Friedkin
• The 1998 BBC documentary The Fear of God: The Making of "The Exorcist"
• 2 audio commentaries
• Interviews with the director and writer
• Theatrical trailers and TV spots

Box features

• A commemorative 52-page tribute book, covering highlights of the film's preparation, production, and release; features previously unreleased historical data and archival photographs
• Limited edition soundtrack CD of the film's score, including the original (unused) soundtrack ("Tubular Bells" and "Night of the Electric Insects" omitted)
• 8 lobby card reprints
• Exclusive senitype film frame (magnification included)

Blu-ray

In an interview with DVD Review, Friedkin mentioned that he was scheduled to begin work on a 'The Exorcist' Blu-ray on December 2, 2008. This edition features a new restoration, including both the 1973 theatrical version and the 2000 "Version You've Never Seen". It was released on October 5, 2010.

Reception

Upon its December 26, 1973, release, the film received mixed reviews from critics, "ranging from 'classic' to 'claptrap'." Stanley Kauffmann, in The New Republic, wrote, "This is the scariest film I've seen in years—the only scary film I've seen in years ... If you want to be shaken—and I found out, while the picture was going, that that's what I wanted—then The Exorcist will scare the hell out of you." Variety noted that it was "an expert telling of a supernatural horror story ... The climactic sequences assault the senses and the intellect with pure cinematic terror." In Castle of Frankenstein, Joe Dante called it "an amazing film, and one destined to become at the very least a horror classic. Director Friedkin's film will be profoundly disturbing to all audiences, especially the more sensitive and those who tend to 'live' the movies they see ... Suffice it to say, there has never been anything like this on the screen before."

However, Vincent Canby, writing in The New York Times, dismissed The Exorcist as "a chunk of elegant occultist claptrap ... a practically impossible film to sit through ... It establishes a new low for grotesque special effects ..." Andrew Sarris complained that "Friedkin's biggest weakness is his inability to provide enough visual information about his characters ... whole passages of the movie's exposition were one long buzz of small talk and name droppings ... The Exorcist succeeds on one level as an effectively excruciating entertainment, but on another, deeper level it is a thoroughly evil film." Writing in Rolling Stone, Jon Landau felt the film was "nothing more than a religious porn film, the gaudiest piece of shlock this side of Cecil B. DeMille (minus that gentleman's wit and ability to tell a story)  ... " Writing in 2012, author James K. Morrow disliked the film on similar grounds:

"From the first frame to the last, The Exorcist serves up a feckless Manichean attack on the Enlightenment, rigging the discourse at every turn. On one side we have the forces of darkness: clueless physicians in lab coats, blinded by their materialism, blithely torturing a demonically possessed child with their diagnostic instruments... What I find most exasperating about this movie and the novel before it is Blatty and Friedkin's stupefyingly unimaginative notion of radical evil. You know, Radical Evil, that phenomenon we secular humanists are continually told we fail to appreciate. In the world of The Exorcist, the Devil's agenda comes down to one thing and one thing only: the sex act. For Friedkin and Blatty, human reproductive organs are the sine qua non of chaos, depravity, and filth.... Not one of the 'obscene' utterances spewed forth by Pazuzu touches on historical or social evils. Pazuzu files no briefs on behalf of war, slavery, misogyny, anti-Semitism, homophobia, or pedophilia. Can it be a coincidence that, at certain points in its ragged history, the Catholic Church has acquiesced to all six of those institutions?... The wife of the police inspector, played by Lee J. Cobb, no longer enjoys watching movies with him—get it? When The Exorcist isn't busy wagging its index finger at secular reason, it gives its middle digit to anyone who would presume to find redemption in the erotic."

Over the years, The Exorcist's critical reputation has grown considerably. The film currently has an 87% "Certified Fresh" approval rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website, based on 47 reviews the website collected. Some critics regard it as being one of the best and most effective horror films of all time. Chicago Tribune film critic Gene Siskel placed it in the top five films released that year. However, the film has its detractors as well, including Kim Newman who has criticized it for messy plot construction, conventionality and overblown pretentiousness, among other perceived defects. Writer James Baldwin provides an extended negative critique in his book length essay The Devil Finds Work.^{[citation needed]} Director Martin Scorsese placed The Exorcist on his list of the 11 scariest horror films of all time. In 2008, the film was selected by Empire Magazine as one of The 500 Greatest Movies Ever Made. It was also placed on a similar list of 1000 films by The New York Times.

Box office

The film earned $66.3 million in distributors' domestic (US/CAN) rentals during its theatrical release in 1974, becoming the second most popular film of that year (trailing The Sting). After several reissues, the film eventually grossed $232,671,011 in North America, which if adjusted for inflation, would be the ninth highest-grossing film of all time and the top-grossing R-rated film of all time. To date, it has a total gross of $441,071,011 worldwide.

U.K. reception

In the United Kingdom, the film was included in the "video nasty" phenomenon of the early 1980s. Although it had been released uncut for home video in 1981, this was prior to the implementation of the Video Recording Act 1984. When the Act came into force, Warner Bros. decided against submitting it to the BBFC for a rating following the 'Video Nasties' scare. It is a widely reported myth that the BBFC banned the film, but it was never rejected by them, nor did it appear on the official "Video Nasties" list.

Following a successful re-release in cinemas in 1998, the film was submitted for home video release for the first time in February 1999 and was passed uncut with an 18 certificate, signifying a relaxation of the censorship rules with relation to home video in the UK. The film was shown on terrestrial television in the U.K. for the first time in 2001, on Channel 4.

Special effects and audience reception

The Exorcist contained a number of special effects, engineered by makeup artist Dick Smith. Roger Ebert, while praising the film, believed the effects to be so unusually graphic he wrote, "That it received an R rating and not the X is stupefying."

Theaters provided "Exorcist barf bags".

Because of death threats against Blair, Warner hired bodyguards to protect her for six months after the film's release.

Alleged subliminal imagery

The Exorcist was also at the center of controversy due to its alleged use of subliminal imagery. Wilson Bryan Key wrote a whole chapter on the film in his book Media Sexploitation alleging multiple uses of subliminal and semi-subliminal imagery and sound effects. Key observed the use of the Pazuzu face (in which Key mistakenly assumed it was Jason Miller made up in a death mask makeup) and claimed that the safety padding on the bedposts were shaped to cast phallic shadows on the wall and that a skull face is superimposed into one of Father Merrin's breath clouds. Key also wrote much about the sound design, identifying the use of pig squeals, for instance, and elaborating on his opinion of the subliminal intent of it all. A detailed article in the July/August 1991 issue of Video Watchdog examined the phenomenon, providing still frames identifying several usages of subliminal "flashing" throughout the film. In an interview from the same issue, Friedkin explained, "I saw subliminal cuts in a number of films before I ever put them in The Exorcist, and I thought it was a very effective storytelling device... The subliminal editing in The Exorcist was done for dramatic effect—to create, achieve, and sustain a kind of dreamlike state." However, these quick, scary flashes have been labeled "[not] truly subliminal". and "quasi-" or "semi-subliminal". True subliminal imagery must be, by definition, below the threshold of awareness. In an interview in a 1999 book about the film, The Exorcist author Blatty addressed the controversy by explaining that, "There are no subliminal images. If you can see it, it's not subliminal."

Awards and honors

Academy Awards

The Exorcist was nominated for ten total Academy Awards in 1973, winning two. It is the first horror film to be nominated for Best Picture. At the 46th Annual Academy Awards ceremony, the film won two statuettes (highlighted in bold).

The film was nominated for:

• Academy Award for Best Picture – William Peter Blatty and Noel Marshall
• Academy Award for Best Actress – Ellen Burstyn
• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor – Jason Miller
• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress – Linda Blair
• Academy Award for Best Director – William Friedkin
• Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay – William Peter Blatty
• Academy Award for Best Cinematography – Owen Roizman
• Academy Award for Best Film Editing – Norman Gay
• Academy Award for Best Production Design – Bill Malley and Jerry Wunderlich
• Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing – Robert Knudson, Chris Newman

Golden Globe Awards

The Exorcist was nominated for seven total Golden Globes in 1973. At the 31st Golden Globes ceremony that year, the film won four awards.

• Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama
• Golden Globe Award for Best Director – William Friedkin
• Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture – Linda Blair
• Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay – William Peter Blatty

The film was nominated for

• Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama – Ellen Burstyn
• Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture – Max von Sydow
• Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress – Linda Blair

Library of Congress

• 2010 National Film Registry

American Film Institute Lists

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #3
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains:
  • Regan MacNeil – #9 Villain
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
  • "What an excellent day for an exorcism." – Nominated
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – Nominated

External links

• Official website
• The Exorcist at the Internet Movie Database
• The Exorcist at AllRovi
• The Exorcist at Box Office Mojo
• The Exorcist at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Exorcist at Metacritic
• The Haunted Boy of Cottage City: The Cold Hard Facts Behind the Story that Inspired The Exorcist, by Mark Opsasnick
• Jason Miller Remembers The Exorcist
• [3] The Exorcist steps