Do I really need to recap what the storyline of
The Exorcist is for anyone reading this? Everyone older than 13 years of age has either seen William Friedkin’s masterful adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s novel about demonic possession, or wants to see it (again or for the first time). It’s a rite of passage, a landmark moment for movie buffs, horror fanatics and casual film watchers alike. With its well-developed (and all too human) characters, documentary-like pace, unbelievably grotesque moments of nastiness and still-disturbing use of foul language (
’You mother sucks c**** in hell’) “The Exorcist” has withstood the passage of time better than other 70’s horror landmarks.
Last year's Exorcist: The Beginning” theatrical release by Warner Bros. has brought forth a re-release of its three Exorcist movies into a DVD bundle: 2000’s The Version You’ve Never Seen, 1977’s Exorcist II: The Heretic and 1990’s The Exorcist III. We’re reviewing all three movies today here on PSXNATION, along with this 25th Anniversary Special Edition DVD of The Exorcist that Warner released back in 1998. It’s currently out of print and a little hard to find, but you ought to put the extra effort to get this if you’re serious about your Exorcist DVD needs. It’s also the version of the movie we’ve all been watching on home video for the past 31 years. That alone makes this DVD a must-own for true fans of horror fans, since its bonus features happen to include the deleted scenes that went into The Version You’ve Never Seen re-release.
As a motion picture experience The Exorcist works because, despite all its gory set pieces and violent moments, it works as a drama about the human endurance in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. It forces the audience to put themselves in the shoes of the movie’s characters and feel/think as they do. If you were in the shoes of professional single mother Chris MacNeal (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore’s Ellen Burstyn) and your little daughter Regan (Linda Blair) started mutilating herself and uttering profane religious blasphemy, what would you do? Like Chris in the movie, I would consult every mental health professional within reach to seek the most logical explanation for my daughter’s sudden mood swings and odd behavior. And this coming from yours truly, an Atheist man that was raised Catholic by a single-mother that went on to become a child psychologist (go figure! :-)
That’s the same logical conclusion given by Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller) when Chris comes to him looking for an exorcism as a matter of last resort. The fact that this meeting takes place after Chris has seen Regan do some pretty nasty and unbelievable things to herself (including mutilation with a crucifix in the most intimate of areas) is half the reason we, as an audience, can identify with Chris’ desperation. The other reason the meeting with Karras is believable is that, for the previous hour, we’ve been watching the priest struggle with his own inner demons. His faith in doubt and the loss of his mother fresh on his mind, Karras (himself a psychiatrist) approaches Regan’s condition as a form of mental illness in need of psychiatric treatment.
When Karras becomes convinced there is need for an exorcism to free the little girl from her problems we know (and director William Friedkin knows that we as the movie’s audience will know) that this wasn’t a decision that was arrived to lightly or easily. As the opening scenes set in Iraq aptly preface it, The Exorcist is about an ongoing theological battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. As personified by Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow), good has to sacrifice a lot of in order to thwart its nemesis. The forces of good triumph at the end of The Exorcist (hope that didn’t ruin the movie for you Exorcist virgins out there, all 12 of you!) but not without paying a heavy personal toll on both the living survivors and those that had to sacrifice their Earthly beings. All to save the soul of a young woman who was only guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
A horror classic that keeps getting better with age (and continues to be squeezed dry by Warner for all the sequels it can), The Exorcist is a must-own DVD in either it’s ’73 Director’s Cut version (AKA this one!) or the 2000 ‘Version You’ve Never Seen.’ Be warned though, the former is a little harder to find and a bit pricier than the newer version. It has a few plot lapses that the 2000 re-release covers, but it’s still a masterpiece of tightly wound-up tension that detonates on its audience with devastating effectiveness at the director’s whim. Me? I own them both, which is the way it should be until someone wises up and releases an end-all, be-all Exorcist DVD with both versions of the movie accessible, ala Independence Day or The Abyss. Hey, a guy can dream right?
The Disc:
Keep in mind this 25th Anniversary Special Edition DVD of The Exorcist was released in 1998, when the format was barely in its consumer infancy. Thankfully Warner rolled out the red carpet for this release, sparing it the hideous fate of other Warner movies released on DVD at the time (Goodfellas anyone?). After an Introduction by William Friedkin the movie’s Widescreen Anamorphic (1:85:1) Video Transfer revels itself to be a little soft and, at sporadic moments, too grainy for my taste. The newer Exorcist: The Version You’ve Never Seen DVD has sharper resolution and less picture damage, but skin tones and color palettes remain equally muted on both versions. For a digital transfer done seven years ago the picture in Exorcist SE isn’t too shabby. The BBC documentary on the B side of this ‘flipper’ disc looks pretty good too (more on that below).
The English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is good but shows the age of its source material by largely relying on the center speaker for dialogue, which often loses its battles against the side-speaker coded demon cries and screams. Again, the Exorcist TVYNS DVD has a leg-up on its predecessor with a more aggressive and in-your-face mix that is piss-your-pants good. A French Mono Track is offered, along with English & French Subtitles. Two Commentary Tracks are included with the film, and they’re both disappointing for different reasons. Director Friedkin’s track is too dry and dull, not to mention it repeats the same information given in the other bonus features (mainly the BBC documentary). Writer/producer Blatty’s comments also repeat known facts, plus the man stops talking midway through the film leaving the track to host an assortment ofSpecial Sound Effect Tests before returning to the English track. Very disappointing.
Flip the disc over to side B, and a wealth of special features makes the lameness of the commentaries an afterthought. Under the ‘Things in the Attic’ heading (??!!) you’ll find a 77:08 min. BBC documentary, ’The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist’, that’s about as well put together and informative as one would expect from the fine folks over at Great Britain. It’s also split into 22 chapters (yes!), so feel free to turn it off midway and come back to the part where you left off when you feel like it. Interviews with lots of cast & crew members (make-up God Dick Smith, a grown-up Linda Blair, etc.)? Check. Testimonials of what a son-of-a-bitch William Friedkin was to everyone involved in the making of this film? You bet, and Friedkin doesn’t apologize for his behavior in his interviews. The all-important deleted scenes (which would become part of the Exorcist: TVYNS movie in 2000)? They’re all here, plus a whole lot more. I swear I thought I saw a kitchen sink too!
The BBC documentary alone is reason to track down and own this Exorcist SE DVD, but there’s more. Still under the ‘Thing in the Attic’ link: an Interview Gallery (three short clips of Friedkin and Blatty commenting on the film’s deleted scenes), the movie’s Original Ending (which is now the ending of “Exorcist: TVYNS”), 2:45 min. worth of Sketches & Storyboards, Six TV Spots and Four Theatrical Trailers (including one for “Exorcist II: The Heretic”). On both sides of the ‘flipper’ disc there are still pages with in-depth information about the movie’s Cast & Crew, Awards and the so-called Exorcist: True Story (the alleged 1949 exorcism that inspired William Peter Blatty to write his screenplay). You’ll also find outdated Reel Recommendations
that include the so-called ‘bonus’ theatrical trailers for Beetlejuice, The Devil’s Advocate, Fallen” and Interview with the Vampire.
bottom line:
The 'Version You’ve Never Seen' DVD of The Exorcist
has better picture and sound than this 25th Anniversary Special Edition DVD. The latter, however, is the only DVD with (a) the original version of the film and (b) a boatload of neat extras that complement the experience rather well. If I were forced to choose between the two I’d go with this Special Edition version. You can’t go wrong picking either Exorcist
DVD (or both versions) and reliving Regan MacNeil’s nightmare over and over again.
By - J.M. Vargas
1/2
