The Exorcist[Widescreen] - DVD

Version Details

Cast

• Linda Blair - Regan MacNeil
• Ellen Burstyn - Chris MacNeil
• Vasiliki Maliaros - Karras' Mother
• Vasiliki Maliaros - Mother Karras
• Jack MacGowran - Burke Dennings
• Mercedes McCambridge - Voice of the Demon
• Jason Miller - Father Damien Karras
• Jason Miller - Father Damien Karras .
• Peter Masterson
• Donna Mitchell
• Rev. William O'Malley - Father Dyer
• Jay Robinson
• Wallace Rooney - Bishop
• Rudolf Schuendler
• Lee J. Cobb - Lt. Kinderman
• Ron Faber - Assistant Director
• Max von Sydow - Father Merrin
• Robert Symonds
• Titos Vandis - Karras' Uncle
• Titos Vandis - Karras's Uncle
• Kitty Winn - Sharon
• Roy Cooper
• Barton Heyman
• Robert Gerringer
• Mercedes McCambridge - The Demon
• Robert Symonds - Dr. Tanney
• Rudolf Schundler

Crew

• Director: William Friedkin
• Production Designer: William Malley
• Editor: Evan Lottman
• Composer (Music Score): Jack Nitzsche
• Makeup Special Effects: Dick Smith
• Sound/Sound Designer: Buzz Knudson
• Cinematographer: Owen Roizman
• Editor: Bud Smith
• Cinematographer: Billy Williams
• Executive Producer: Noel Marshall
• Set Designer: Jerry Wunderlich
• First Assistant Director: Terry Donnelly
• Sound/Sound Designer: Chris Newman
• Special Effects: Marv Ystrom
• Composer (Music Score): George Crumb
• Makeup Special Effects: Rick Baker
• Editor: John C. Broderick
• Producer: William Peter Blatty
• Screenwriter: William Peter Blatty
• Cinematographer: Gerry Fisher
• Editor: Norman Gay
• Sound/Sound Designer: Jean-Louis Ducarme ,Gonzalo Gavira
• Book Author: William Peter Blatty
• Sound/Sound Designer: Christopher Newman ,Robert Knudson
• Production Designer: Bill Malley

Related Movies

• Exorcist II: The Heretic - DVD
• Possessed - DVD
• Exorcismo - DVD
• Repossessed - DVD

The Exorcist: AMG Review
Lucia Bozzola , AMG

Numerous viewers allegedly vomited, fainted, or just walked out, but that only helped William Friedkin's film version of William Peter Blatty's best-seller become an early-'70s blockbuster and horror milestone. Flush from his Oscar for The French Connection (1971), wunderkind Friedkin decided on a "realistic," no-holds barred approach to Blatty's reportedly fact-based novel, pushing horror special effects into new dimensions of gruesomeness (and the film way over budget in a bizarrely trouble-plagued shoot). The Exorcist went on to break The Godfather's box-office record, as Watergate-weary audiences piled in to watch the furniture fly and Linda Blair's head spin. Critics were split over whether Friedkin had taken the Rosemary's Baby (1968) mode of subtly suggestive supernatural horror into the realm of gross reactionary exploitation or whether The Exorcist disturbingly tapped into repressed fears of the unknown (including female sexuality). Regardless, bolstered by ten Oscar nominations, The Exorcist helped set the standard for R-rated horror grisliness and raise the bar for blockbuster profits. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

The Exorcist: AMG Review
Karl Williams , AMG

Containing previously excised scenes that add much to its already existing sense of menace and depth to its character development, the re-release "director's cut" of The Exorcist turns a genre masterpiece into an even richer, fuller work. In its original incarnation, The Exorcist (1973) was a bravura construction from director William Friedkin and novelist William Peter Blatty. The pair built a shocking chiller with headline-grabbing effects into one sententious layer of meaning after another. Addressing such broad concepts as loss of innocence (the intriguing suggestion that Regan's turmoil is punishment for her burgeoning sexuality -- a theme of many slasher flicks to come), the true nature of faith (Father Karras' struggle with demons both inner and actual), and class politics (the interactions between gruff, street-wise Lt. Kinderman and just about everybody, as well as those of Chris MacNeil with her director, the priests, and her daughter's doctors). With 11 minutes of added footage, the re-release version is able to explore these themes even further. Regan's character is more fully developed through a scene in which Karras listens to a tape she has made for her father, while her "possessed" personality is more gradually (thus realistically) revealed by showing her undergoing a battery of exhaustive medical exams. Demonic images also appear at several points in the film, unseen by any of its characters, adding genuine chills in moments where none existed previously and where the pace might have been waning. Most spectacular is the infamous "spider-walking" scene, in which Regan descends a flight of stairs backwards on all fours and then vomits blood, a thoroughly shocking and provocative moment. Other new details include the deletion of a final line of dialogue inspired by Casablanca (1942) -- which always struck many of the film's fans as too corny -- and digital remastering of the superb, effects-filled soundtrack from Oscar winner Chris Newman. The Exorcist is one of the best horror films ever made, and this brushed-up version adds to the work's overall impact and effectiveness as a classic of its genre. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide