Egzorcysta (1973)

When a teenage girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter.

Director:

William Friedkin

Writers:

William Peter Blatty (written for the screen by), William Peter Blatty (novel)

Stars:

Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair

Won 2 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ellen Burstyn	...	Chris MacNeil
Max von Sydow	...	Father Merrin
Lee J. Cobb	...	Lt. William Kinderman
Kitty Winn	...	Sharon
Jack MacGowran	...	Burke Dennings
Jason Miller	...	Father Karras
Linda Blair	...	Regan
William O'Malley	...	Father Dyer (as Reverend William O'Malley S.J.)
Barton Heyman	...	Dr. Klein
Peter Masterson	...	Dr. Barringer - Clinic Director (as Pete Masterson)
Rudolf Schündler	...	Karl
Gina Petrushka	...	Willi
Robert Symonds	...	Dr. Taney
Arthur Storch	...	Psychiatrist
Thomas Bermingham	...	Tom - President of University (as Reverend Thomas Bermingham S.J.)

Storyline

A visiting actress in Washington, D.C., notices dramatic and dangerous changes in the behavior and physical make-up of her 12-year-old daughter. Meanwhile, a young priest at nearby Georgetown University begins to doubt his faith while dealing with his mother's terminal sickness. And, book-ending the story, a frail, elderly priest recognizes the necessity for a show-down with an old demonic enemy.

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Plot Keywords:

exorcism | exorcist | demonic possession | priest | demonic | 

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Taglines:

Somewhere between science and superstition, there is another world. The world of darkness.

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and disturbing images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Warner Brothers

Country:

USA

Language:

English Latin Greek French German Arabic Kurdish

Release Date:

26 December 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Egzorcysta

Filming Locations:

3600 Prospect Street, Georgetown, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£151,714 (UK) (19 June 1998)

Gross:

$204,565,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Hoya Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min 132 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (1979 re-release) DTS-ES (director's cut) Dolby Digital EX (director's cut) Mono (original release) SDDS (director's cut)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Due to death threats against Linda Blair from religious zealots who believed the film "glorified Satan", Warner Bros. had bodyguards protecting her for six months after the film's release.

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Goofs

In the birds-eye view of the scene where Damien is running around the track before meeting the detective, there is a fly on the camera lens.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Boy: [in Arabic] They've found something... small pieces.

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits after the title. Although it is commonplace now, it was unheard of in 1973.

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Connections

Referenced in The Thick of It: Episode #2.3 (2005)

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Soundtracks

Paramythaki Mou
(uncredited)
Written by Lefteris Papadopoulos
Performed by Yannis Kalatzis

User Reviews

They don't make em like they used to...

"The scariest movie of all time". Some movie goers agree and some disagree. I belong to the former group, though I would like to rephrase it to "One of the scariest movies of all time". For those of you who have been living in a cave for the past twenty two years, the story is of a pre-pubescent girl, Regan (Linda Blair), possessed by a demon whom purports to be the Devil himself ("Now kindly undo these straps!").

In this day and age of schlock fest horror films being relentlessly released (or spewed out for want of a better term) by the big wig studios on a quest to cash in on the latest teenage trend, this premise for a horror story may not seem so scary to most. However, it's the road we take to arrive at this supposition that makes this film stand out from the rest.

The seeds of dread and fear are planted early with screen legend Max Von Sydow's Father Merrin receiving disturbing and familiar Omens of what is to come during an archaeological dig in Northern Iraq.

We're then taken to the setting where the real horror will begin in the Georgetown home of Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn), a successful divorcée film actress living with her daughter Regan. We're initially presented with a Regan who loves horses, has a close and loving relationship with her mother, is uncomfortable with the strained relationship between her parents and has the innocent demeanour and narrow vocabulary of every normal young girl.

The carefully crafted and ever so gradual change in Regan's personality, the strange drawings and figurines she creates, the emergence of Captain Howdy (Regan's imaginary friend) and strange outbursts ("You're gonna die up there") and so called physical convulsions force Chris to turn to doctors and eventually psychiatrists to try and get to the bottom of Regan's ever worsening behaviour. Her vocabulary becomes quite extensive with spine chilling, sudden maturity and her outbursts more terrifyingly violent. After exhausting all the "somatic" possibilities for Regan's troubles Chris desperately seeks help from world weary Jesuit Psychiatrist Priest Father Karras (Jason Miller) requesting an exorcism.

By the time Karras meets Regan, any semblance of the innocent young girl has completely vanished. Karras is grappling with his faith and subsequently doubts she is truly 'possessed'. Finally convinced that an exorcism is the way to go, he seeks permission from the Catholic Church, who grant him with the condition that he perform it with the help of the experienced Father Merrin.

Merrin arrives like a knight in shining armour for the ultimate showdown! A great screenplay by William Peter Blatty (based on his book), intelligent directing from William Friedken and outstanding performances from all the cast, particularly Ellen Burstyn as the traumatised mother make for a classic piece of horror that will stand the test of time. 10/10