Search - The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Graphic Violence, Strong Sexual Content, Not For Children, Adult Language Movie Release: 1973 DVD Release: 12/26/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Dual Layered,Restored/Remastered Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 12 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Total Copies: 1 Genres: Horror, Supernatural Horror, Religious Drama See Also: The Exorcist, The Exorcist [25th Anniversary Edition], The Exorcist [25th Anniversary Box], The Exorcist [Signed Limited Edition Box], The Exorcist, The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen

Novelist William Peter Blatty based his best-seller on the last known Catholic-sanctioned exorcism in the United States. Blatty transformed the little boy in the 1949 incident into a little girl named Regan, played by 14-year-old Linda Blair. Suddenly prone to fits and bizarre behavior, Regan proves quite a handful for her actress-mother, Chris MacNeil (played by Ellen Burstyn, although Blatty reportedly based the character on his next-door neighbor Shirley MacLaine). When Regan gets completely out of hand, Chris calls in young priest Father Karras (Jason Miller), who becomes convinced that the girl is possessed by the Devil and that they must call in an exorcist: namely, Father Merrin (Max von Sydow). His foe proves to be no run-of-the-mill demon, and both the priest and the girl suffer numerous horrors during their struggles. The Exorcist received a theatrical rerelease in 2000, in a special edition that added 11 minutes of footage trimmed from the film's original release and digitally enhanced Chris Newman's Oscar-winning sound work. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ellen Burstyn - Chris MacNeil
Linda Blair - Regan MacNeil
Max von Sydow - Father Merrin
Jason Miller - Father Damien Karras
Kitty Winn - Sharon

William Friedkin's seminal horror classic The Exorcist has lost little of its impact over the years, and Warner's 25th Anniversary Edition DVD is a marvelous example of what the format can bring to a classic film. The picture quality is excellent throughout, although the early Iraq-set scenes are now particularly striking, and all the better in glorious widescreen. It is the sound as much as the visuals that makes The Exorcist so terrifying, so it is a relief that the Dolby 5.1 audio track is utterly faultless.

The special features, located on the second side of the disc, are thorough, if not always a match for the main feature in terms of quality. There are, for example, not one but eight original theatrical trailers, and while those for The Exorcist are interesting (and in the case of the flash-image one, genuinely scary), the disc would probably be better off without a trailer for the silly sequel, Exorcist II: The Heretic. Also included are some rather bizarre television spots and some sketches and storyboards that are well worth a look. Brief excerpts of discussions between Friedkin and screenwriter William Peter Blatty illustrate the difference in vision between writer and director, notably over the ending (the original, more upbeat version of which is also included). There are commentary tracks by both Friedkin and Blatty, but both are somewhat disappointing. When Friedkin isn't rambling he is simply relaying the action with no background or insight, while Blatty's commentary, though better, has so little correlation to what is happening onscreen that it could hardly be called a commentary at all. By far the best special feature is "The Fear of God: 25 Years of the Exorcist," an outstanding documentary featuring revealing interviews with all the main protagonists. As well as detailing the film's troubled shoot and Friedkin's extreme methods of direction, it also includes missing scenes such as the famous "spider-walk" sequence. This is not quite a perfect DVD, but it is much closer to perfection than most DVDs get. ~ Patrick Lee, All Movie Guide