the
exorcist
the version
you've never seen |
director
William Friedkin
screenwriter
William Peter Blatty
based
on his novel
producer
William Peter Blatty
cinematographers
Owen Roizman
Billy Williams
music
Mike Oldfield
Jack Nitzsche
editors
Norman Gay
Evan Lottman
Bud Smith
cast
Ellen Burstyn (Chris MacNeil)
Max von Sydow (Father Merrin)
Jason Miller (Father Karras)
Linda Blair (Regan MacNeil)
Lee J. Cobb (Lt. Kinderman)
Kitty Winn (Sharon)
Mercedes McCambridge (voice of demon)
mpaa rating: R
running
time: 122m/132m
u.s.
release: 12/26/73
re-release: 9/22/00
video
availability: VHS -
DVD
official
website
see also:
- the
exorcist III
- exorcist: the beginning
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Those who've only seen The
Exorcist on video -- or, Satan forbid, on network television
-- may, like me, gain a greater appreciation for the film in
its new beefed-up theatrical release, where its bigger-than-life
horrors and chaotic sound design can envelop you. My mother was
among the many moviegoers who, in 1973, took the Exorcist
ride and never got over it; only recently was she able to brave
it again (in diluted form, on TV). After years of my mother's
fearful build-up, The Exorcist struck me as more silly
than scary when I was finally old enough to see it, and perhaps
the film's rep as "the scariest movie of all time"
might lead to the same jaded reaction from younger audiences
who see it now for the first time.
About halfway through this refurbished Exorcist -- which
I probably hadn't seen in its entirety in well over a decade
-- I realized why I was appreciating it on a deeper level. The
Exorcist, you see, is not a horror movie. It doesn't belong
in the same class as Cheez Whiz like The Omen or the more
recent Stigmata, two other
religious-dread flicks. No, these days I read it more as a drama
with supernatural underpinnings, like a harsher, R-rated M. Night
Shyamalan film. It unfolds slowly -- perhaps, for today's audience,
too slowly -- fleshing out the humans who will soon do
battle with a demon. Director William Friedkin's style is unhurried
and decidedly unflashy except for the moments of terror; he establishes
a glum, banal reality, then violates it, cruelly, in a way that
makes us feel the pain and fear of everyone trying to
deal with the madness.
Some bits remain cringe-inducing. I still think Friedkin and
screenwriter-producer William Peter Blatty (adapting his own
bestseller) overemphasized the cuddly-cute innocence of Regan
MacNeil (Linda Blair); the contrast between the normal girl and
the possessed girl didn't need to be that severe. Ellen
Burstyn's Chris MacNeil, delirious with frustration and powerless
rage over what's happening to her daughter, can get on your nerves
after a while -- but I came to see that as a form of integrity.
Burstyn doesn't care whether we like her; she stays in character
as a flawed but decent woman cracking under the weight of the
unspeakable.
Overall, the movie remains a superbly designed machine (though
in form only; those who have called the film "impersonal"
may not remember the painfully compassionate subplot dealing
with Jason Miller's depressed priest and his failing mother).
But is this new Exorcist -- with its added footage, its
sweetened sound mix, and its handful of jarring new subliminal
images -- a travesty or an improvement? I wouldn't call it a
travesty -- the film entire remains mostly*
intact, the 121-minute cut you know and love; nothing has been
deleted -- but it isn't an improvement, either.
The newly dusted-off scenes -- originally trimmed by Friedkin
to whittle the film down to two hours -- don't amount to much:
the two priests having a brief conference on the stairs outside
Regan's room; a bit showing Regan's early visit to a doctor;
the infamous "spider-walk" sequence, more freaky than
scary. The most needless addition is a bit of chat at the end
between a priest and a detective, which is meant to echo an earlier
conversation. These new/old bits don't trash the movie (though
they overdid the new subliminals a bit), nor do they enhance
it.
My biggest gripe with Exorcist Version 2.0 is, oddly,
the way it sounds now. Yes, the sound effects have been
intensified, often to the film's benefit -- an abruptly ringing
phone sounds as if it's sitting on your shoulder; the flying
debris in Regan's bedroom patters and smashes around your head.
For those who've only seen the film in mono sound (as it was
first released), it's a real ear-opener. However, Friedkin has
also seen fit to underline many scenes -- even simple, non-shocking
dialogue sequences -- with ominously swelling, deep-chord music
cues. This gravely alters the movie's tone, in ways subtle and
obvious. Part of what freaked people out about The Exorcist
was its contrast between the naturalistic and the supernatural
-- between deceptively calm moments and loud, crashing horror.
The movie's eerie quietude is gone, replaced by a generic "This
scene might be boring and talky, but scary stuff is coming up"
horror-movie soundtrack.
The Exorcist is jolting and scarifying in either version.
But the version hailed as a great achievement in supernatural
cinema, or "the scariest movie of all time," is available
on DVD in its original form, with much of the deleted footage
included as a supplement. I plan to buy that soon. I don't plan
to buy the new one.
* Not entirely intact, I later
found out. Friedkin and Blatty made many tweaks to the movie
for its Y2K redo, deletions as well as additions; a few
bits you might remember from the original -- such as a shot of
little Regan serving drinks at her mom's party -- are gone in
the new version. DVD File ran an instructive "Cut List"
article about the differences between
the two versions.
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