The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology (1973-2005)

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by balthazar_bee

Agreed. You know that old saying that the best movies are successful for all the wrong reasons? Well, if that was true in 1973, I'd say we're seeing some fallout from the "most shocking motion picture experience" reputation it has.

This is a movie that has a brilliant script, equally brilliant performances, and doesn't have an ounce of fat on it. Plus, it's got Mr. Grit himself, Billy Friedkin in his prime, behind the camera.

And, although it's not strictly an age thing, it seems like many younger people are distracted by the fact that they're not viscerally afraid from the opening scene. Their parents and older folks have been crowing about it for years, how it traumatized them, how they slept with the light on for weeks afterward (that's me!), and their reaction is, "This?"

Hey, I still think it's pretty damned scary (as much as that can be true for a movie), but these days I find myself more captivated by what a skillful piece of work it is -- how purposeful, how direct, how intelligent, and how authentic it is about the characters it contains.

It's funny, watching this again, I tried to catalog what would be excised () if it were made today. No Iraq, no Mama Karras, no lengthy and methodical conversations between Karras and Chris MacNeil, or Karras and Kinderman, or Kinderman and Chris...

What would be left? Peeing on the rug, crucifix in the crotch, swiveling head and a few added scenes of mischief? But why would we care?

excellent post... agree on all

[peterw5]

Thanks for the screen-caps hatter76.

It looks like the difference in framing is negligible. I don't think it will have any affect on my enjoyment of the film.

[OI8T12]

Originally Posted by crutzulee

Agreed... As my kids get older, I'm constantly thinking about the timing of when I will introduce them to the various milestones in cinema.. The exorcist provides a bit of a qyandry as I have not raised them with notions of good and evil, heaven and hell or god and the devil.. They could never get what I get out of this film..

I was 16 when I first saw this and it really did a number on me. This was back in 1973. You have to remember, nothing like this was ever shown on the screen before.. Ever. I was scared for weeks after. I'm still scared. I read the book a couple of years later and I was up for the whole weekend, with the lights on (even during the day) and I was traumatized even more. I'm still in therapy. My hair is standing on end while I type this. I must go take my meds.

[bigshot]

Originally Posted by crutzulee

Agreed... As my kids get older, I'm constantly thinking about the timing of when I will introduce them to the various milestones in cinema.. The exorcist provides a bit of a qyandry as I have not raised them with notions of good and evil, heaven and hell or god and the devil.. They could never get what I get out of this film..

Don't worry. Watching the news will teach them what you didn't.

[hatter76]

Originally Posted by peterw5

Thanks for the screen-caps hatter76.

It looks like the difference in framing is negligible. I don't think it will have any effect on my enjoyment of the film.

yeah the cropping dosent bother me, it suits the film.

But I've been very "Intimate" with this Film, so I automatically noticed.


it really looks better than I expected, the DVD has white specs and hairs in a lot of places, which actually gave it more of a retro look, making sense given the fact that it takes place before the 1973 film.

But the Blu Ray seems to have no trace of these so far

[MichaelR]

Originally Posted by hatter76

here are a few comparisons between the DVD and Blu ray

Very interesting indeed. Is that the Dutch DVD or the U.S.? The AR looks closer to Univisium's full 2.00:1 than 1.85:1.

I still can't find any definitive information on the theatrical exhibition.

[hatter76]

Originally Posted by MichaelR

Very interesting indeed. Is that the Dutch DVD or the U.S.? The AR looks closer to Univisium's full 2.00:1 than 1.85:1.

I still can't find any definitive information on the theatrical exhibition.

it's from the US DVD, but I have the 2 disc Steelbook release of the Dutch DVD, and it's the same ratio

[MichaelR]

Originally Posted by hatter76

it's from the US DVD, but I have the 2 disc Steelbook release of the Dutch DVD, and it's the same ratio

Thanks! I updated the review.

If anyone has information on the theatrical AR, please PM me. IMDb says "2.00:1", which is clearly wrong.

[BNex99]

DOMINION was shot in Vittorio Storaro's "Univisium" aspect ratio of 2.00:1, and the original US DVD reflected this.

I never saw the film theatrically, so I don't know how it was presented, but it wouldn't have been that difficult to show it in 2.00:1; they could have either pillarboxed a scope print, or letterboxed a flat print.

[hatter76]

Was great to be able to say Howdy to this old friend in DOMINION!

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[Kryptonic]

Honestly, I kind of prefer Exorcist III and Dominion over the first film, which often gets too bogged down in schlocky nonsense that doesn't really gel very well with the more serious themes and content of the film.

[crutzulee]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

Honestly, I kind of prefer Exorcist III and Dominion over the first film, which often gets too bogged down in schlocky nonsense that doesn't really gel very well with the more serious themes and content of the film.

OH NO YOU DIDN'T!!!!

[AllOuttaBubbleGum]

Originally Posted by Xen11

The Exorcist was scary and extremely powerful for me as a kid when I believed in that stupid bullshit. But now, the only thing scary in the film is the underlying "is what I think is happening, happening?".


Regardless of what Blatty and Friedkin are shopping about the meaning of The Exorcist these days, on the simplest level it's ultimately a very crafty, persuasively made exercise in the suspension of disbelief--or make believe--and can be enjoyed as such. No different than having a blast with POLTERGEIST or The Grudge, or falling for the sleight of hand of a magic trick. It's fun to be in the hands of masters who can bring all the tools of cinema to bear in fooling your senses, facilitating a dream. The effectiveness and seriousness of The Exorcist causes some to want to make a leap into discussions about the nature of evil, the existence of demons. I've never understood the impulse. I've always thought the reason we crave experiences like The Exorcist is because we know these things cannot exist, and it's only with an absolutely committed to a sense of "realism" exercise like The Exorcist do we get a chance to play along and give ourselves a case of the heebie jeebies for a couple of hours.

Otherwise, to me, The Exorcist has also worked as an allegory: Regan's possessor as a stand-in for the ills of the world, with Karras and Merrin there as the white knights to join it in battle.

Beyond that, Blatty and Friedkin's--he actually used to be the agnostic in the mix--talk of any basis in a true story or The Exorcist itself being an argument for the existence of demons as a force in the world are just spoiling our fun.

[crutzulee]

Originally Posted by hatter76

Was great to be able to say Howdy to this old friend in DOMINION!

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I think you mixed up that last pic with a scene of Jim carrey in The Mask..

[crutzulee]

Originally Posted by AllOuttaBubbleGum

Regardless of what Blatty and Friedkin are shopping about the meaning of The Exorcist these days--ugh--on the simplest level it's ultimately a very crafty, persuasively made exercise in the suspension of disbelief--or make believe--and can be enjoyed as such. No different than having a blast with POLTERGEIST or The Grudge, or falling for the sleight of hand of a magic trick. It's fun to be in the hands of masters who can bring all the tools of cinema to bear in fooling your senses, facilitating a dream. The effectiveness and seriousness of The Exorcist causes some to want to make a leap into discussions about the nature of evil, the existence of demons. I've never understood the impulse. I've always felt that the reason we crave experiences like The Exorcist is because we know these things cannot exist, and it's only with a merciless, absolutely committed to a sense of "realism" exercise like The Exorcist do we as rational beings get a chance to play along and give ourselves a case of the heebie jeebies for a couple of hours.

Otherwise, to me, The Exorcist has also worked as an allegory: Regan's possessor as a stand-in for the ills of the world, with Karras and Merrin there as the white knights to join it in battle.

Beyond that, Blatty and Friedkin's--he actually used to be the agnostic in the mix--talk of any basis in a "true story" or The Exorcist itself being an argument for the existence of demons as a force in the world are just spoiling our fun.

The only thing that I would counter your post with is the fact that there are many of us, of a certain age, who grew up catholic for whom this movie represents a frighteningly real portrayal of the world.. As our elders saw it... A world in which the events depicted in this film were not only possible, but were actually happening..
For those of us that were able to leave that cave, this movie can and still does take us back to that place.. If even for a few hours.. It's masochistically fun..

[Kryptonic]

Originally Posted by crutzulee

OH NO YOU DIDN'T!!!!

Please.

[AllOuttaBubbleGum]

Originally Posted by crutzulee

The only thing that I would counter your post with is the fact that there are many of us, of a certain age, who grew up catholic for whom this movie represents a frighteningly real portrayal of the world.. As our elders saw it... A world in which the events depicted in this film were not only possible, but were actually happening..
For those of us that were able to leave that cave, this movie can and still does take us back to that place.. If even for a few hours.. It's masochistically fun..

While that was the furthest thing from my experience, I agree The Exorcist still works--as a fiction--and that's why it's such a masterful film.

In my previous post, I mentioned it also functions as an allegory. I should qualify that: The Theatrical Cut does, but the Extended Director's Cut lost me with its inclusion of the Karras/Merrin dialog on the staircase, which errs by having the effect of not only interpreting the possession, but by decoding the film itself as--in this particular case--having a specifically christian reading. In my opinion, that scene crowds out the symbolism, narrows its potential subjective meaning to the audience and therefore shrinks the overall impact of the film.

It's the Theatrical Cut for me.

[Dylan34]

Originally Posted by AllOuttaBubbleGum

While that was the furthest thing from my experience, The Exorcist still works--as a fiction--and that's why it's such a masterful film.

In my previous post, I mentioned it also functions as an allegory. I should qualify that: The Theatrical Cut does, but the Extended Director's Cut lost me with its inclusion of the Karras/Merrin dialog on the staircase, which errs by having the effect of not only interpreting the possession, but by decoding the film itself as--in this particular case--having a specifically christian reading. In my opinion, that scene crowds out the symbolism, narrows its potential subjective meaning to the audience and therefore shrinks the overall impact of the film.

It's the Theatrical Cut for me.

I enjoy both cuts of the film and to me, that scene between Merrin and Karras on the stairs works well. I'm glad they cut that back in for the extended version.

[SymbioticFunction]

According to this, five dvds of Dominion were 2.00:1.

http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=8346

Odd that the blu-ray is different.

[LastRide]

My buddy had to sleep with the lights on for 3 weeks after watching the Exorcist when we were kids.