{"id":9357,"date":"2010-10-10T00:48:58","date_gmt":"2010-10-09T23:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/?p=9357"},"modified":"2010-10-10T02:16:11","modified_gmt":"2010-10-10T01:16:11","slug":"blu-ray-the-exorcist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/2010\/10\/10\/blu-ray-the-exorcist\/","title":{"rendered":"Blu-ray: The Exorcist"},"content":{"rendered":"

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William Friedkin\u2019s classic 1973 film finally gets the Blu-ray treatment from Warner Bros with a disc filled with features.<\/p>\n

One of the truly great films of the 1970s, it was adapted by William Peter Blatty<\/a> from his bestselling novel<\/a> about a young girl (Linda Blair) in Washington D.C. possessed by an evil spirit.<\/p>\n

When her distraught mother (Ellen Burstyn) can find no answers from the medical profession, she turns to a local catholic priest (Jason Miller) and an ageing exorcist (Max Von Sydow).<\/p>\n

A box office sensation at the time, it scored several Oscar nominations and became something of a pop-culture phenomenon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the UK it has a special aura, as Warner Bros decided to stop releasing it on home video after the \u2018video nasties<\/a>\u2019 scare of the mid-1980s and it only got a re-issued years later in 1999.<\/p>\n

A further special edition followed in 2000, with 11 minutes of extra footage trimmed from the original theatrical release.<\/p>\n

The film is a victim of its own success, as some modern audiences find certain effects (notably the pea soup vomit) dated and that it doesn\u2019t quite live up to its considerable reputation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>However, The Exorcist is much more than just a horror film. A disturbing drama about the breakdown of a family, the loss of faith and the presence of evil, it taps in to deep, universal fears which even the very best horrors don\u2019t even touch.<\/p>\n

Coming off the Oscar winning success of The French Connection<\/a>, Friedkin was at his creative peak and the realistic approach to the material made for a visceral and riveting experience.<\/p>\n

The lead performances are uniformly excellent: Burstyn embodies parental anguish; Blair is remarkable as the possessed youngster; Miller gives a quiet dignity to a priest haunted by guilt; and Van Sydow has tremendous presence in the title role.<\/p>\n

For the Blu-ray, Warner Bros have included both versions in a two disc set.<\/p>\n

I prefer the original theatrical cut, which feels tighter and more polished, but the additional sequences are interesting to compare.<\/p>\n

The image quality of the transfer is excellent and certain scenes looks stunning for a film that is thirty-seven years old.<\/p>\n

Friedkin attracted some serious criticism<\/a> for the Blu-ray of The French Connection, where he altered the colour of the film, even prompting cinematographer Owen Roizman to label it as \u2018atrocious\u2019.<\/p>\n

Here they seem to have made up and in the liner notes Friedkin states that this Blu-ray was:<\/p>\n

”color-timed by the cinematographer Owen Roizman and myself and represents the very best print ever made of ‘The Exorcist”.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Certain sequences have a pristine clarity to them and it is a great showcase for Roizman\u2019s cinematography, which is filled with memorable compositions and images.<\/p>\n

Warner Bros Home Entertainment has been forging a reputation as the best studio when it comes to re-releasing classic films and the extras on this disc are plentiful.<\/p>\n

It includes all the material from previous DVD versions, such as the audio commentaries and 1998 documentary The Fear of God: The Making of The Exorcist.<\/p>\n

The most notable addition is the a 3-part documentary on the film\u2019s production and legacy, featuring on-set footage shot by Owen Roizman, along with as ‘personal message statement’ from Friedkin and a 40-page digi-book with photos and essays.<\/p>\n

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The full list of extras breaks down like this:<\/p>\n

Disc 1: \u2013 Extended Director\u2019s Cut (2000) plus Special Features<\/strong><\/p>\n