When a mysterious entity possesses a young girl, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.When a mysterious entity possesses a young girl, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.When a mysterious entity possesses a young girl, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
- Won 2 Oscars
- 18 wins & 21 nominations total
William O'Malley
- Father Dyer
- (as Reverend William O'Malley S.J.)
Peter Masterson
- Dr. Barringer - Clinic Director
- (as Pete Masterson)
Thomas Bermingham
- Tom - President of University
- (as Reverend Thomas Bermingham S.J.)
Storyline
Did you know
- Trivia(at around 1h 20 mins) When Regan projectile vomits at Father Karras, the vomit was intended to hit Jason Miller in the chest, but the plastic tubing misfired, hitting him in the face. His reaction of shock and disgust while wiping away the vomit is genuine, and Miller admitted in interviews that he was very angered by this mistake.
- GoofsWilliam Peter Blatty closely modeled the exorcism scene on the actual rite of exorcism in the Church's "Rituale Romanum". Father Merrin can be seen opening a copy of the Rituale in the scene in question. However, the priests depart from the Rituale in two important details. First, there should have been four people (apart from Regan) in the room during the exorcism: the exorcist himself; an assistant priest to take over in case the exorcist died midway through; a member of the victim's family of the same sex as the victim, to help restrain her; and a doctor, to (among other things) administer any medication that was needed. Due to the "2 Priest rule", Fr Merrin should have delayed the second round of the exorcism and phoned the bishop to get a replacement for Fr Karras, instead of trying to tackle it on his own.
- Quotes
Demon: What an excellent day for an exorcism.
Father Karras: You would like that?
Demon: Intensely.
Father Karras: But wouldn't that drive you out of Regan?
Demon: It would bring us together.
Father Karras: You and Regan?
Demon: You and us.
- Crazy creditsThere are no opening credits after the title. Although it is commonplace now, it was unheard of in 1973.
- Alternate versionsThe network TV version originally broadcast on CBS in the '80s was edited by William Friedkin, who also shot a replacement insert of the Virgin Mary statue crying blood, replacing the shot of a more obscenely desecrated statue. Friedkin himself spoke the Demon's new, censored lines; he was unwilling to work with Mercedes McCambridge again. The lines "Your mother sucks cocks in hell, Karras" and "Shove it up your ass you faggot" were re-dubbed by Friedkin as "Your mother still rots in hell" and "Shut your face, you faggot." Several of Ellen Burstyn's lines were also re-dubbed by the actress, replacing "Jesus Christ" with "Judas Priest" and omitting the f-word. Most of the profanity spoken by Regan is also cut out, as are the shots of her being abused with a crucifix and forcing Chris' face into her crotch. There is also a slightly alternate shot of Regan's face morphed into the white face of the demon just after Merrin arrives at the MacNeil house (the theatrical versions only show the beginning of the transformation). This network TV version is rarely if ever used for TV and cable showings today.
- ConnectionsEdited into Exorcist II: The Heretic: Alternate Opening (1977)
Featured review
Some movies are landmarks. This is one of them.
Good : There are a lot of goods that I can talk about this particular film. First off, every gothic horror, for example, The Conjuring, are inspired by this film in one way or the other. But, none of them are as good as this one. I love Conjuring 1 & 2, but that might have never existed if it weren't for this movie. So, what makes it so good? We are given a mysterious introduction to an old priest who would play a prominent role later. It gives layers to the character of young priest, which is quite interesting. The set up is done quite well. The story is being told quite well. And it has the most important aspect that most horror films today lack - the dread and actually terrifying scenes. Right from the opening credits, it feels uneasy. It tries to give us a really terrifying vibe. And it just intensifies further and further. Even the scenes having no tension don't feel like so. And, it cuts to some terrifying scenes so suddenly but smoothly that we will be exclaiming "holy (you know what)!". That's some true horror film. It was 1973. You had absolutely no technology or CGI. They still made an entire bed shake which looked so scary and realistic! The 180 degree turn is still an awesome effect. They did it way better, and all of it looked more realistic than CGI! It had some ideas involving Ouija board and exorcism, which are now termed as "clichés". Having watched so many horror films before watching this, it should've felt corny. But it felt real good. There is probably no horror movie, in particular a supernatural or gothic horror movie, that has not been inspired by this movie in some way or the other. And the ones which got as many things right as possible as in this one, were respectively better. This movie is a masterpiece!!
Bad : It has sequels. Damn those pathetic sequels!! But again, good God almighty, only few people know about those stupid movies.
Conclusion : It is a must watch for every horror fan. Some parts may feel clichéd to some, but that's where those "clichés" started. Go with a fresh mind and examine how it all started. I am optimistic that you will love it.
Rating.
Score : absolute 10/10
Grade : A+
Good : There are a lot of goods that I can talk about this particular film. First off, every gothic horror, for example, The Conjuring, are inspired by this film in one way or the other. But, none of them are as good as this one. I love Conjuring 1 & 2, but that might have never existed if it weren't for this movie. So, what makes it so good? We are given a mysterious introduction to an old priest who would play a prominent role later. It gives layers to the character of young priest, which is quite interesting. The set up is done quite well. The story is being told quite well. And it has the most important aspect that most horror films today lack - the dread and actually terrifying scenes. Right from the opening credits, it feels uneasy. It tries to give us a really terrifying vibe. And it just intensifies further and further. Even the scenes having no tension don't feel like so. And, it cuts to some terrifying scenes so suddenly but smoothly that we will be exclaiming "holy (you know what)!". That's some true horror film. It was 1973. You had absolutely no technology or CGI. They still made an entire bed shake which looked so scary and realistic! The 180 degree turn is still an awesome effect. They did it way better, and all of it looked more realistic than CGI! It had some ideas involving Ouija board and exorcism, which are now termed as "clichés". Having watched so many horror films before watching this, it should've felt corny. But it felt real good. There is probably no horror movie, in particular a supernatural or gothic horror movie, that has not been inspired by this movie in some way or the other. And the ones which got as many things right as possible as in this one, were respectively better. This movie is a masterpiece!!
Bad : It has sequels. Damn those pathetic sequels!! But again, good God almighty, only few people know about those stupid movies.
Conclusion : It is a must watch for every horror fan. Some parts may feel clichéd to some, but that's where those "clichés" started. Go with a fresh mind and examine how it all started. I am optimistic that you will love it.
Rating.
Score : absolute 10/10
Grade : A+
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $11,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $233,005,644
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $8,175,666
- Sep 24, 2000
- Gross worldwide
- $430,872,776
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