Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Warner Bros. – 122 mins/132 mins – 1973 – Rated R – 1080p Widescreen 1.78: 1 – Dolby Digital DTS-HD 5.1 Audio – Digibook

The Exorcist is the best horror/supernatural-thriller motion picture ever made, and to this day is still be copied with films like The Last Exorcism, which doesn’t even try to hide that it’s stealing from the original 1973 source material. Younger audiences may not appreciate the absolute brilliance of The Exorcist, because they’ve been bombarded with slasher films, watered down demonic thrillers and horror parodies, but if you locked anyone of them in a dark room and made them watched this, they won’t forget the experience. Finally The Exorcist has arrived on Blu-ray from Warner and it’s a great package, featuring not only the original theatrical film, but also the extended Director’s cut.

THE MOVIE

Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) is a single mother in the early 70’s who is juggling her career as an actress, as well as raising her young 12-year daughter Regan (Linda Blair). While filming a movie in Georgetown, Washington D.C., she begins to notice drastic behavior changes in Regan, which at first make it seem as if she’s suffering from an illness, but eventually they become more extreme and dangerous. Doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong with her, and things become worse when Regan becomes violent towards herself and others, and the plot thickens when she then claims that she is the devil. Receiving no help from anyone else to help her daughter, Chris turns to a priest named Father Karras, (Jason Miller), who is suffering from his own personal issues. Father Karras’ visits with Regan convince him that she really is possessed, and turns to the church for an Exorcism. A savior comes in the form of an older priest named Father Merrin, (Max Von Sydow) who comes to perform the exorcism. Thus begins the ultimate battle between good and evil for the fate of a young girl’s life.

The best thing about the Exorcist is that there is no detailed explanation of why the devil has possessed this young girl; it just happens and must be dealt with. If this film were made now, there would be some silly reason for the possession to make the audience feel like they’re one step ahead. The Exorcist is based on the novel by William Peter Blatty, who based his story on a true event of a demonic possession of a child. Director William Friedkin is the main reason that this film works, because it could have easily been a disaster. He has a reputation for being a brutal director, but if he wasn’t The Exorcist may have been another B-Movie 70’s horror flick.

Young Linda Blair should also be credited for delivering a performance that no child before her (or after) could pull off. It’s one thing for a child actress to look cute and mug for the camera, but when she masturbates with a crucifix; we’ve jumped to a whole new level of commanding the screen. The brilliance of The Exorcist is that even though some of the images are shocking (or at least was in the 70’s) they perfect fit the premise of the story without being exploitive. Thankfully this film relies on characters and their situation rather than visual effects and camera tricks. The same film today would be infested with CGI and not as effective. Even the few practical effect shots that are in the film, such as Regan spinning her head around, spitting up green vomit, or levitating above the bed have become some iconic that they are still referenced to nearly 40 years later.

What this generation of horror filmmakers can learn from The Exorcist is that less is more, and it’s what you don’t see that can scare the hell out of you more. After you see Jason, Michael Myers, or Leatherface slice up their first victim, you grow comfortable with them and the fear and shock value is gone. But the unseen evil in The Exorcist never shows its true face and instead is masked behind a little girl. This is why the recent film Paranormal Activity was very effective, because it took place in an environment that you should never have to be afraid in, which is your home, and you never see what the evil is.

This Blu-ray includes both the original version of the film, as well as the extended director’s cut, but purist will prefer the un-touched 1973 cut. The extended version, which was released theatrically in 2000 included ten minutes of new footage including the much talked about ‘spider walk’ sequence that was previously removed. There have also been a few touches of CGI to tweak scenes, but this really wasn’t need and doesn’t fit the feel of the film. In my opinion, and in the opinion of most die hard fans of The Exorcist, this film did not need the George Lucas special edition treatment, because it was perfect as it was.

VIDEO

Ok, anyone who says that only new films look good on Blu-ray better be ready to eat their words, because for a film nearing 40 years old, The Exorcist looks great. The full 1080p image is set in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio that will make you finally toss your old standard DVD in a closet. Director William Friedkin and the film’s cinematographer helped supervise the transfer for this Blu-ray, so thankfully fans of the film do not have to settle for less. This is a dark film, so though there are no super bright colors, the present tones stand out from the background. Details are solid so you can see all the scars on Regan’s possessed face and the key shot of Father Merrin arriving at the house (featured on the poster) looks as eerie as it did on the movie screen. Yes, there is grain, but this is a film where it adds to the look of the film. Without a doubt this is the best the Exorcist has looked on a home format.

AUDIO

Offering a Dolby Digital DTS-HD 5.1 audio mix, The Exorcist will make your skin crawl. This film’s sound design is excellent, whether it’s Regan’s possessed demon voice, the sound of her head cracking as it spins, the faint whispers in the dark or the creepy Tubular Bells theme that will give you the chills. Dialogue is done well, but there are certain points where lines sound muffled. A surround sound system is a must to get the full effect, especially for the ending exorcism, where sounds go from calm to extremely intense. Again, this is a big leap from the sound packaged on the standard DVD.

EXTRAS

This 2 disc Blu-ray is packed in a Warner Digibook and is filled with enough goodies to keep fans very satisfied, and includes both the original 1973 theatrical version and the extended cut from 2000. There are also three new featurettes that were not available for the past DVD release, and any new Exorcist material is always a plus.

Disc 1:

Director William Friedkin delivers a no holds barred audio commentary about the extended cut of his film. This is a great track because unlike most directors, Mr. Friedkin does not sugarcoat his opinions.

Raising Hell is a new 30-minute featurette that looks back at the making of the Exorcist, including new interviews with the Friedkin, Blatty, and Blair. Wish this one was longer.

Faces of Evil, another new featurette runs 10 minutes and discusses the different versions of The Exorcist, the 1973 original, 2000 Director’s cut, and the first run workprint.

Exorcist Locations is the last of the new featurettes, also running 10 minutes that looks at the Georgetown locations used in the film as they looked then and how they look now.

DISC 2:

This disc contains all the bonus features ported over from the original DVD release:

There are two audio tracks, one from Director William Friedkin, and the other from writer William Peter Blatty. Both of these cover on the original theatrical version of the film, but they are definitely worth listening to.

A ten minute sit down interview with Friedkin and Blatty talking tales from the film.

The Fear of God is a twelve-year-old documentary that celebrated the 25^th anniversary of the film. Though dated, this is still one of the best docs about the legacy of The Exorcist and a must see for fans.

The original ending is not much of a payoff as it sounds. It’s actually just an extended version of what you already saw with a few more lines of dialogue.

The complete collection of original theatrical trailers and TV commercials for The Exorcist is worth watching because the marketing was much more effective then, than the silly way most films are marketed today. One of the trailers in particular is so creepy that it stays with you.

BOTTOM LINE

This Blu-ray release is a true compliment to the greatest horror/supernatural-thriller ever made. The transfer for both the original and extended Director’s cut look as good as they will ever be, and the collection of vintage extras and the three new HD featurettes sweeten the pot even more. I f you are a die-hard Exorcist fanatic; this is Warner’s gift to you. There have been and will continue to be many copycats and clones, but there is only one true Exorcist. Thank God.

SCORES (out of 5):

The Movie: 5.0

Video: 4.5

Sound: 4.0

Extras: 4.5

Bottom Line: 5.0