The Exorcist: Difference between revisions

The Exorcist
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	William Friedkin
Written by	Novel & Screenplay William Peter Blatty
Produced by	William Peter Blatty Noel Marshall
Starring	Linda Blair Ellen Burstyn Max von Sydow Jason Miller Lee J. Cobb Kitty Winn
Cinematography	Owen Roizman
Edited by	Norman Gay Evan Lottman Bud Smith
Music by	Mike Oldfield (from "Tubular Bells") Steve Boeddeker (2000 re-release)
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release dates	December 26, 1973
Running time	122 Min Theatrical Cut 132 Min Director's Cut
Country	United States
Languages	English Arabic
Budget	$12,000,000 (estimated)

The Exorcist is an Academy Award-winning 1973 American horror and thriller film, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl, and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her daughter through an exorcism conducted by several priests. The film features Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow, Kitty Winn, Lee J. Cobb and Jason Miller. Both the film and novel took inspirations from a documented exorcism in 1949, performed on a 12 year old boy.

The film became one of the most profitable horror films of all time and has had significant impact on viewers, grossing $402,500,000 worldwide.^[1] The film earned ten Academy Award nominations—winning two, one for Best Sound and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Based on the 1971 novel by William Peter Blatty, The Exorcist marries three different scenarios into one plot.

The movie starts with Father Lankester Merrin (Max von Sydow) on an archaeological dig near Nineveh. He is then brought to a nearby hole where a small stone head is found, resembling some sort of creature. After talking to one of his supervisors, he then travels to a spot where a strange statue stands, specifically Pazuzu, with a head similar to the one he found earlier. He sees an ominous man up a bit away, and two dogs fight loudly nearby, setting the tone for the rest of the film.

A visiting actress, Chris McNeill (Ellen Burstyn) in Washington, D.C., notices dramatic and dangerous changes in the behavior and physical make-up of her 12-year-old daughter Regan McNeill (Linda Blair), first believing her rapid change physically and mentally are due to trauma from her recent break-up with Regan's biological father. During this time, several supernatural occurrences plague the household of the McNeill's along with the sudden change in her daughter, including violently shaking beds, strange noises and unexplained movement.

Meanwhile, Father Damian Karras, a young priest at nearby Georgetown University, begins to doubt his faith while dealing with his mother's terminal sickness. Regan exhibits strange, unnatural powers, including levitation and great strength. When all medical possibilities are exhausted, her mother is sent to a priest who is also a psychiatrist. He becomes convinced that Regan is possessed.

Father Merrin, who in addition to being an archeologist is also experienced in exorcism, is summoned to Washington. He and Father Karras try to drive the spirit from Regan before she dies.^[2] Regan, or rather the spirit, claims she is not possessed by a simple demon, but the Devil himself.

At the climax of the lengthy exorcism, Father Merrin dies of heart failure and Father Karras shouts at the demon to enter himself. After this, the priest immediately throws himself outside of Regan's bedroom window in order to stop the spirit from continuing its cycle in possession. Regan is restored to her normal self, and according to Chris, claims she does not remember any of the experience. The film ends as the McNeill mother and daughter move to a different city to move on from their ordeal.

• Jason Miller as Father Damien Karras
• Ellen Burstyn as Chris MacNeil
• Max von Sydow as Father Lankester Merrin
• Lee J. Cobb as Detective Lieutenant William F. Kinderman
• Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil
• Kitty Winn as Sharon Spencer
• Jack MacGowran as Burke Dennings
• Mercedes McCambridge as Voice of 'the demon'
• Rev. William O'Malley as Father Joe Dyer

The agency representing Linda Blair overlooked her, recommending at least 30 other clients for the part of Regan. Blair's mother brought her in herself to try out for the role. Pamelyn Ferdin, a veteran of science fiction and supernatural drama, was a candidate, but the producers may have felt she was too well-known. Two other child actresses of the '70s, Denise Nickerson (who'd played Violet Beauregarde in Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory) and future Diff'rent Strokes star Dana Plato, were considered, but their parents pulled them out, troubled by the material. At one point the search for a young actress capable of playing Regan was so trying that Friedkin claims he even considered auditioning adult dwarf actors. The part went instead to Linda Blair, a relatively unknown actress. Blair's stunt double was Eileen Dietz, an older actress who was uncredited in the film and who later sued.^{[citation needed]}

The studio wanted Marlon Brando for the role of Father Merrin.^[3] Friedkin immediately vetoed this by stating that with Brando in the film it would become a "Brando movie." Jack Nicholson was originally up for the part of Father Karras before Stacy Keach had been hired by Blatty to play the role. Friedkin then spotted Miller in a Broadway play. Even though Miller had never acted in a movie before, Keach's contract was bought out by Warner Bros and Miller was cast in the role. Other actors considered for the role at the time included Gene Hackman. Jane Fonda and Shirley MacLaine were approached to play the role of Chris MacNeil. Fonda reportedly called the project a "capitalist piece of shit." ^[4]. 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 happened to be in her first month of pregnancy and was dropped. Ellen Burstyn agreed to doing the movie only if her character didn't have to say the scripted line: "I believe in the devil!" The producers agreed to eliminate this line.^[5]

Vasiliki Maliaros, who played Father Karras' mother, had never acted in a movie before. She was discovered by William Friedkin in a Greek restaurant. Her only acting experience was in Greek stage dramas. Friedkin selected her because she bore an uncanny resemblance to his own mother and William Peter Blatty felt she resembled his mother too.

The studio initially wanted Stanley Kubrick to direct the film, but he turned it down.^{[citation needed]} He later directed The Shining (1980). 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 didn't want to shoot a film so dependent on a child's performance). John Boorman said he didn't want to direct it because it was "cruel towards children". Following the success of The French Connection (1971) the studio finally agreed to sign William Friedkin for the film.

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. 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. He also fired a gun without warning on the set to elicit shock from Jason Miller for a take. The famous 'pea soup vomiting' scene in actuality did cause Linda Blair to vomit. At the the time she hated vegetables so much that when she tasted the soup she actually threw up. Lastly, he had Regan's bedroom set built inside a freezer so that the actors' breath could be visible on camera.

Lalo Schifrin's score was rejected (see also 1979's The Amityville Horror). In the liner notes for the soundtrack to his 1977 film Sorcerer, Friedkin said that had he heard the music of Tangerine Dream earlier, he would have had them score The Exorcist.

The original soundtrack LP has only been released once on CD, as an expensive and hard-to-find Japanese import. It is noteworthy for being the only soundtrack to include the Tubular Bells theme, and the composition Night Of The Electric Insects.

The archaeological dig site seen at the beginning of the movie is the actual site of ancient Nineveh in Hatra, Iraq. Friedkin had to take an all-British crew to film in Iraq because the U.S. had no diplomatic relations with Iraq at that time. They were allowed to film on conditions that included teaching Iraqi filmmakers advanced film techniques and special effects.^{[citation needed]}

The scenes showing Father Karras in his room at Georgetown were filmed in Fordham University's freshman residence, Hughes Hall, fourth floor. Each year, Father William O'Malley (who played Father Dyer) talks about his experience with the movie after students watch it on the same floor where it was filmed. The "Exorcist steps", stone steps at the end of M Street in Georgetown, were padded with 1/2"-thick rubber to film the death of Karras. The stunt man tumbled down the stairs twice. Georgetown University students charged people around $5 each to watch the stunt from the rooftops.^[5]

The bedroom set had to be refrigerated to capture the authentic icy breath of the actors in the exorcizing scenes. The temperature was brought so low that a thin layer of snow fell onto the set one morning. Linda Blair, who was only in a flimsy nightgown, says to this day she cannot stand being cold.^[6]

An apocryphal story has Friedkin supposedly asking technical adviser Rev. Thomas Bermingham to exorcise the set. He refused, saying an exorcism might increase anxiety. This probably did not happen. According to Catholic doctrine, an exorcism has to be applied for and approved by Church authorities -- this is key part of the film's storyline, so Friedkin would have known it. A blessing with holy water is all that is necessary. Rev. Bermingham reportedly visited the set, gave a blessing, and spoke briefly to reassure the cast and crew. ^{[citation needed]}

Other tales about ominous events surrounding the year-long shoot, including the deaths of nine people associated with the production and stories about a mysterious fire that destroyed the set one weekend, are probably fakelore and were either deliberately released by the studio for publicity, or concocted by tabloid writers as no evidence exists for any freakish occurrences. These stories are the source of the rumor that the film was cursed.^[7] Blatty, Schrader and von Sydow have all discounted such tales as nonsense. However, Ellen Burstyn has indicated that some of these rumors are true in her 2006 autobiography Lessons In Becoming Myself.

The scene wherein Father Merrin asks Chris the child's middle name (Teresa) was cut for the 1973 release, but there is still the scene where Merrin exorcises Regan and uses her first, middle, and last names.

Contortionist Linda R. Hager was hired to perform the famous "spider walk" scene, filmed on April 11, 1973, but deleted by William Friedkin before the film's December release. He felt it was "too much" of an effect because it appeared too early in the film before the possession was fully established by the end of the first hour of the movie. Almost 30 years later, Friedkin changed his mind and restored the scene for the special edition theatrical release. Hager used a harness and flying wires hung above the staircase used in the set.

There are actually three different versions of the "spider walk" sequence. The one ending with blood pouring from Regan's mouth is the one most frequently shown in clips. The second, actually more faithful to the book, has Regan flicking her tongue like a snake and chasing Chris and Sharon. A third take had Regan biting Sharon on the leg. The sequence has been used in Ruby (1977) and other low-budget films.

The network TV version was edited by Friedkin. He looped the Demon's more obscene lines himself because he didn't want to work with Mercedes McCambridge again. ^{[citation needed]} "Your mother sucks cocks in hell" became "Your mother still rots in hell" and "Shove it up your ass, you faggot" became "Shut your face, you faggot." By and large, this network TV version is not used for TV and cable showings today.

The Warner re-release (included in the 25th Anniversary collector's set) omits the main theme (Tubular Bells) and "Night of The Electric Insects" for rights reasons, but includes 15 minutes of music that Lalo Schifrin originally composed for the film.

The film was a huge international hit in 1973, becoming the highest-grossing film of the year.^{[citation needed]} To date, it has a total gross of $402,500,000 worldwide; if adjusted for inflation, this would be the top-grossing R-rated film of all time.^[8] It was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and also won four Golden Globes, including the award for Best Picture – Drama for the year 1974.

When released in 1973, some theatre patrons reportedly screamed and fainted while viewing the film, requiring paramedics to be called to theaters.^{[citation needed]} Theaters provided "Exorcist barf bags".^[9] A filmgoer who saw the movie in 1974 during its original release fainted and broke his jaw on the seat in front of him. He then sued Warner Brothers and the filmmakers, claiming that the use of subliminal imagery in the film had caused him to pass out. The studio settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.^[5]

Due to death threats against Linda Blair, Warner Bros. had bodyguards protecting her for six months after the film's release.^[6]

The Exorcist is regarded by some critics as being one of the best and most effective horror films; admirers say the film balances a stellar script, gruesome effects, and outstanding performances. However, the movie has developed some detractors as well, including Kim Newman, Pauline Kael and Vincent Canby, who have criticized it for what they see as 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.

The Exorcist contained a number of special effects, engineered by makeup legend and pioneer 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."^[10]

The Exorcist was also accused of, among many other things, manipulation of its audience through the use of subliminal imagery. A detailed article in the July / August 1991 issue of Video Watchdog provides stills in support of this claim. The subsequent re-release of the film featured additional "subliminal" images, particularly in the form of Captain Howdy, a white-faced demon that appears on screen at various points during the film for very brief periods of time.

In the United Kingdom, the movie was included in the 'video nasty' phenomenon of the early 1980s. Although it had been released uncut for home video in 1981, when resubmitted for classification to the British Board of Film Classification after the implementation of the Video Recording Act 1984 it was refused a release and no video copies were to be sold in the UK. However, following a successful re-release in cinemas in 1998, the film was resubmitted and was passed uncut with an 18 certificate rating in 1999, signifying a relaxation of the censorship rules with relation to home video in the UK. The movie was shown on UK television for the first time in 2001, on Channel 4. This led to "Exorcist Bus Trips" where enterprising travel companies organized buses to take groups to the nearest town where the film was showing.

The British film critic Mark Kermode is famous for claiming The Exorcist is the greatest film ever made on his weekly film review program on Radio 5-Live. During a 2004 interview, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan said that the scene in the film with Burstyn in the attic with the exploding candle was one of the scariest scenes he had ever seen.

The Exorcist was nominated for a total of 10 Academy Awards in 1973. At the 46th Annual Academy Awards ceremony, it won two statuettes.

Wins:

• Academy Award for Sound
• Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay

Nominations:

• Best Picture
• Best Actress for Ellen Burstyn
• Best Supporting Actor for Jason Miller
• Best Supporting Actress for Linda Blair
• Best Director for William Friedkin
• Best Cinematography
• Best Film Editing
• Best Art Direction

• Saturn Award Best Horror Film of 1973.
• Entertainment Weekly voted it the scariest film ever made^[11]
• American Film Institute rated the film in #3 out of the most thrilling movies. The film was right behind Jaws and Psycho.
• Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments rated the film #3, right behind Alien and Jaws.

John Boorman's Exorcist II: The Heretic was released in 1977, and re-visited Regan four years after her initial ordeal.

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. The lead character is the astronaut from Chris' party, Lt. Cutshaw.

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 contuation of the story of Father Karras. Following the precedents set in The Ninth Configuration, Blatty turned a minor character from the first film -- in this case, Det. Kinderman — into the chief protagonist.

A parody entitled Repossessed was released the same year, with Blair lampooning the role she played in the original.

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

A prequel, Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) attracted attention and controversy even before its release. It went through a number of directorial and script changes, such that two versions were actually filmed. Paul Schrader was hired as director, but the studio ultimately rejected his version. Renny Harlin was then hired as director, and permitted to reuse Schrader's footage, and shoot new footage as he saw fit, to create a more conventional shocker film. Harlin's film was released, but was not well received, including by Blatty himself. Schrader's version was renamed Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist and subsequently released. It is considered by some critics to be more thought-provoking and perhaps more frightening because of its subtlety.^{[citation needed]}

There's a 1974 Turkish movie named "Şeytan" (Turkish for Satan, the original movie was also shown with the same name) which is almost a scene-by-scene remake of the original. It's gained a reputation among cult movie enthisuasts as "Turkish Exorcist"

There have been several versions of The Exorcist released and altered. In both the TV-PG and TV-14 versions of the network version, 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 Special Edition released on DVD for the 25th Anniversary includes the original ending, not the new one used in the "Version You've Never Seen". The Special Edition DVD also includes a 75-minutes documentary titled The Fear of God on the making of The Exorcist. 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: A Prequel to The Exorcist.

This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. Please relocate any relevant information into other sections or articles. (June 2007)

• The author has stated that he had written the novel with Shirley Maclaine in mind for the lead. He apparently lived next door to her and asked her if she liked the novel. She showed high interest in playing the role as a film version, but pre-production took too long and she decided to move on to other projects. After several other actresses such as Barbara Streisand and Jane Fonda turned down the role, mostly because of the violent content in the script, Ellen Burstyn signed on.

• At least three alternate endings were considered by Friedkin and William Peter Blatty, with Blatty concerned that the audience might leave the theater after the more ambiguous ending that was ultimately used "thinking the Devil won". One was the scene between Father Dyer and Lieutenant Kinderman on the street, which was eventually used in The Version You've Never Seen, with added special FX and a musical sting at the end. Another brief alteration was considered, showing Father Karras' spirit ascending the Georgetown steps as Father Dyer looks down them at the close of the film. The other possible ending was conceived by Blatty but never scripted or shot, in which, after the climax, Father Dyer is running track on the university grounds. A jogger arrives to keep pace with him, and strikes up a conversation with Dyer. They discuss fate, destiny, and the afterlife, and Dyer would slowly realize that the jogger running beside him is in fact Father Karras. Dyer would then look up to see the sky lit up with stars, with Karras intoning, "we are the light, Joe". None of these alterations were deemed necessary by William Friedkin, who preferred the quiet, thought-provoking ending of the final cut. Friedkin and Blatty did however come together to add the Dyer/Kinderman "beautiful friendship" scene to the re-release years later.

• The sound of the demon leaving Regan's body is actually the sound of pigs being herded for slaughter; a possible reference to the story of Christ driving out demons in Mark 5:13.

• The subliminal shots of a white-faced demon in Regan's subjective "image flicks" were inspired by a demon mask used in Onibaba (1964). The mask was originally used in a teaser trailer, but was considered too frightening.

• The substance that the possessed Regan vomits really is pea soup. The soup used for the vomit scene was Anderson's brand. The crew tried Campbell's but didn't like the "effect". Linda Blair hated vegetables so much at that time, that the use of the soup actually did make her throw up. In a 1998 TV interview on Access Hollywood, Blair stated "the pea soup sequence was difficult because if the pea soup hadn't shot out in perfect synch, the soup would have choked and killed me".

• Actors Jack MacGowran and Vasiliki Maliaros died before the film was released.

• In the scene where Fr. Karras is saying Mass, the words of consecration he uses reflect an earlier version of the rite, one of a few intermediate stages between the Tridentine Rite and the Mass of Paul VI.

• The Rite of Exorcism as performed in the film is a condensed version of the actual rite.

• Max von Sydow was actually quite young (early forties) at the time of filming, and required several hours of makeup each day to appear as the frail, elderly Father Merrin.

• The film was edited at 666 Fifth Avenue in New York.^[12]

• The name of the boy who was subject of the "true" exorcism that inspired Blatty's novel was Ronald Hunkeler. After he was "cured" he went on to attend Gonzaga High School in Washington, DC, graduating in 1954. He was later a scientist with NASA. Understandably, he refuses all interviews regarding his exorcism. At last account, he was rumored to be living in Laurel, MD.

• In an interview on the January 12, 2007 broadcast of the Mr. KABC radio program it was revealed that actress/comedienne April Winchell was being seriously considered for the part of Regan MacNeil however she had developed a serious kidney infection which caused her to be hospitalized and ultimately taken out of consideration.^[13]

• The movie's eerie opening sequence was filmed in the Iraqi town of Sinjar, just below the Syrian border. The people of Sinjar are mostly Kurdish members of the ancient Yezidi sect, which worships a deity often equated with the Devil. ^[14]

• In the video game Conker's Bad Fur Day and the remake Conker Live and Reloaded, the boss of the chapter "It's War" is a little girl being controlled by a demonic robot.

• Images of Regan while possessed are frequently used as a shocking image in a prank flash animation

• 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: A Prequel to The Exorcist.

• The scene where Regan is seen masturbating with a crucifix is used as a sound bite for the opening track of Marduk's demo, Fuck Me Jesus.

• In an episode titled "Darkness Rising" in Season 5 of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, following the rise of Dahak,God of Evil who represents the "One Great Evil" and the single biggest threat the world has, as Dahak seeks to destroy the world, along with all of its gods.The recently deceased Iolaus's body is brought back to life after some time in the form of a possession by Dahak and in homage to the film The Exorcist Iolaus while possessed by Dahak shows similar actions as Linda Blair, such as a demonic face and eyes, evil powers, and the 360 degree head spinning along with a demonic voice. This arc continues on for most of the series fifth season, and in "Redemption", Iolaus/ Dahak is pinned to an altar in similar fashion as Linda Blair was while an excorcism was performed to rid the body of the evil god.

• The Demon named Pazuzu is referenced in an episode of Futurama when Professor Farnsworth calls out the name of an escaped gargoyle

• In the sitcom Dinosaurs (TV series), the baby gets infected by bacteria in one episode. As a result, it turns its head a full 360 degrees, accompanied by an eerie voice. This is an obvious parody of the infamous movie scene. In this episode, there is also an exorcism scene where priests are trying to get the baby to eat and are yelling "the power of rice compels you!"

• The name "Captain Howdy" is also used as a killer's chat room alias in the film Strangeland (1998). This film was written by Dee Snider, the former lead singer of Twisted Sister. On their Stay Hungry album, there is a song about "Captain Howdy."

• The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror comic featured a story where Lisa gets possesed by the ghost of Madonna entitaled "The Excorsister".

• The Demon named Pazazu was adopted by the virtual band Gorillaz for their second phase and can be seen in the outside of Kong Studios

• The Exorcist (1973) at IMDb

Wikiquote has quotations related to The Exorcist.

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• Complete list of actors who were considered for roles