Comment One of the greatest and most critically acclaimed horror movies of all time, and arguably one of the best. Little introduction is need for this movie, and its highly recommended that you download this movie, if only to see if you agree with the concensus on this one
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 eleven minutes of footage trimmed from the film's original release, and digitally enhanced Chris Newman's Oscar-winning sound work. ? Hal Erickson
Although it was endorsed by director William Friedkin (reportedly with some reluctance), this "new" version of The Exorcist was criticized by many as a marketing ploy, and now exists for perpetual debate among horror fans. In addition to a few more subtly inserted "subliminals" of demonic imagery, 12 minutes of previously unseen footage focus on four new scenes: the series of physical tests (spinal tap, etc.) that Regan (Linda Blair) must endure; a post-ritual scene between priests Karras (Jason Miller) and Merrin (Max von Sydow), in which Merrin postulates that Satan is targeting them in order to make them despair and doubt their faith; a different version of the famous "spider-walk" scene (shown as an outtake in the previous special edition DVD's making-of documentary), in which Regan eerily walks down stairs in an upside-down, crablike movement, with blood dripping from her mouth; and a new ending, in which Father Dyer (Rev. William O'Malley) meets Lieutenant Kinderman (Lee J. Cobb) and the two of them share a casual chat about movies, echoing Kinderman's earlier talk with Father Karras. This final change was viewed by many as the most egregious, destroying the closing note of the original version. Fans and critics alike found much more to praise in the spectacular remixing and remastering of the film's original soundtrack, which is now scarier than ever in Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound. --Jeff Shannon
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