The Exorcist (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, Lee J. Cobb

Top 250 #203 | Won 2 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 14 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 Spencer
Jack MacGowran	...	Burke Dennings
Jason Miller	...	Father Damian Karras
Linda Blair	...	Regan MacNeil
Mercedes McCambridge	...	Demon (voice)
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

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:

priest | girl | faith | washington d.c. | actress | 

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Taglines:

The Devil Inside

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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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

Release Date:

16 March 1974 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Exorcist: The Version You Haven't Seen Yet

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$10,497,444 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$8,175,666 (USA) (22 September 2000)

Gross:

ESP 1,343,229,032 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, 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

On the first day of filming the exorcism sequence, Linda Blair's delivery of her foul-mouthed dialogue so disturbed the gentlemanly Max von Sydow that he actually forgot his lines.

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Goofs

At one point in the exorcism, Karras stands right at the end of the bed as it begins to thump on the floor. There's a cut to a wider shot showing this end lifting off the floor but Karras has vanished. A subsequent shot shows him still standing in that spot.

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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 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Polymorphia"
Written by Krzysztof Penderecki
Performed by Orchestra of the Cracow Philharmonia
Conducted by Henryk Czyz
Courtesy of Philips Records

User Reviews

Review of The Exorcist.

For as long as I can recall, I've always possessed (no pun intended) an innate feeling that there exists outside the realm of our established dogma things that defy conventional logic. When I was in the sixth grade, I read the book, "The Exorcist," which scared me senseless. The idea that the Devil could infiltrate the delicate core of one's being called a soul absolutely terrified me at such a young age. After seeing the movie, I was speechless. Have been ever since. William Friedkin's transformation of the book to the movie was superb, in my opinion. (Not all adaptations are.) Dick Smith's special effects, in contrast to today's make-up advancements in the film industry, are still able to stand the test of time. The acting was splendid, from Lee J. Cobb & Jason Miller, to Ellen Burstyn and Max von Sydow's limited appearance in the piece. Friedkin's slice-of-life direction enhances the essence of the fear-factor in an oddly subtle fashion, as though the viewer were actually alongside the characters in the film. Lending to the creepiness of the film is the fact that there exists a minimal musical score (Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" does accompany two nuns strolling gingerly down a Georgetown street in autumn, their robes billowing slightly in the wind). The palpability of what happens to a young Linda Blair has astounded me for over three decades. Having been so taken with the notion that inhuman entities DO stalk the earth and have never existed in human form, I've written a couple of novels on the subject matter, myself. I liken the new version that had been released a few years ago to the last nail in the proverbial coffin of effectiveness, making this one of the best horror-genre films of all time. Simply put: I've never seen any film that remotely comes close to what this movie has done to me (in terms of frightening me senseless). Linda Blair's cute Regan MacNeil is utterly transformed into a beast which is flat-out disturbing to behold. The movie has moved me ever since I had seen it at age fourteen, and I suspect will always. Put simply, at age forty-three I still have a difficult time watching it on my own. Great job, Mr. Friedkin and crew!