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 #204 | 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 | psychiatrist | faith | actress | 

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Taglines:

Nobody expected it, nobody believed it, and nobody could stop it. The one hope, the only hope: THE EXORCIST

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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

Linda Blair injured her back when a piece of the rig broke as she was thrown about on the bed.

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Goofs

In the basement with the Ouija board, Regan is playing with a table tennis paddle and ball. She puts the ball under the paddle and rests it on the table when her mother brings the Ouija board. Clearly the ball is under the paddle as evidenced by the angle of the paddle. In the very next shot, the paddle is flat on the table and the ball has disappeared. In the next shot, the ball reappears as demonstrated by the angle of the paddle.

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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 Happening (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Cello Concerto"
Written by Krzysztof Penderecki
Courtesy of Angel Records

User Reviews

Engraved into your minds...forever

For those who watched this film on the big screen when it was re-released and thought it was 'comical, funny, not disturbing nor scary' are just do not understand the complexity that surrounds this movie. Back in '73, no one was expecting a film of this kind, and I know it has been said many times but it WAS way ahead of its time. A time where cinema was in its infancy, religion was practiced on a larger scale than today and showing such violent, graphic and disturbing scenes was not thought of as being possible, one can understand why it has been banned for so many years.

I recently watched this movie (at night, before bedtime) and it really left me thinking of how such horrifying scenes could be shown and portrayed in such a way. There were many scenes that would not get out of my head (for those who have seen the movie would know what scenes they are). I could not sleep that night and that hasn't happened since I saw Nightmare On Elm Street Part 1 when I was 6!

What makes things worse is that there are well known cases where people have been possessed by the devil or a supernatural being, which leads them in doing evil deeds.

When you mix a horror movie with religion on such a large magnitude, things can heat up and become very unpleasant.