When a girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter.
I can’t tell you how nervous I am about writing this review, usually I’m never phased about it at all but since “The Exorcist” franchise was voted the winner for the next set of reviews this anxiety has been spiralling round in my mind. I know this may seem silly to a-lot of you but I feel no matter what I write here it won’t do the film any justice. Why am I feeling like this? Well you see, to me “The Exorcist” is the perfect Horror film, how can you do that any more justice?! Well I’ll try my best.
For those of you who don’t know the film is actually based on a book of the same name. William Peter Blatty also based his novel on a supposedly genuine exorcism from 1949, which was partially performed in both Cottage City, Maryland, and Bel-Nor, Missouri. Several area newspapers reported on a speech a minister gave to an amateur parapsychology society, in which he claimed to have exorcised a demon from a 13-year-old boy named Robbie, and that the ordeal lasted a little more than six weeks. For a film that’s already terrifying this fact just adds more to it’s eerie background.
Talking of eerie backgrounds you can’t forget the fact that “The Exorcist” is labelled as a ‘cursed’ film. There are many tales about ominous events surrounding the year-long shoot, including the deaths of nine people associated with the production and also stories about a mysterious fire that destroyed the set one weekend. Actors Jack MacGowran and Vasiliki Maliaros died before the film even got released. Director William Friedkin eventually asked technical advisor Thomas Bermingham to exorcise the set. He refused, saying an exorcism might increase anxiety. Rev. Bermingham wound up visiting the set and gave a blessing and talk to reassure the cast and crew.
I can’t count how many nightmares this film gave me, being brought up in a religious family the film was more like watching something that could possibly happen to me and that terrified me. The weird thing was I kept going back for more and even to this day, even though I’m not a religious person myself, it still terrifies me. Maybe it’s my sub-concious remembering the fright I had as a child up-on watching this, whatever it is it has definitely left a permanent mark on me.
The film also boasts one amazing score, even people who haven’t seen the film and who don’t watch Horror films seem to know it. There were many people who wanted to direct the movie including Stanley Kubrick (Kubrick wanted to direct the film but only if he could produce it himself, the studio was worried that he would go over budget and over schedule so rejected him) but William Friedkin did an amazing job and was perfect for this type of film. He also has some strange on set stories as he went to some extraordinary lengths to get realistic reactions from the cast. He fired off guns behind the actors to get the required startled effects. When Father Dyer is attempting to administer last rites to Father Karris, after many takes Friedkin was not satisfied so he took William O’Malley aside and asked, “Do you trust me?” O’Malley said yes just in time to get slapped across the face. Friedkin immediately said, “Action!” and the result is in the film. He even went so far as to put Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn in harnesses and have crew members yank them violently.
“The Exorcist” still continues to frighten movie lovers world wide, including me. It also has some very famous scenes that have gone down in not only Horror history but also film history. Who can forget the spider walk, the head spin and more. If you are of the minority who hasn’t yet viewed this film then make it a top priority, just remember to tell yourself “It’s only a movie!”.
Miscellaneous facts about the film:
There were originally many very brief “blink and you’ll miss them” cutaway shots in the 1973 release film, intended to create unease in the viewer. For instance: when the priest is dreaming of his mother coming up out of the subway, there is a brief cutaway of a face (Eileen Dietz), painted black and white, grimacing. There are two other places where this image is displayed: when Regan, lying on the bed, turns to look at Father Merrin and Father Karras, and just after the head-turning scene. In the “The Version You’ve Never Seen”, the same image is superimposed over other scenes in the film: the first can be seen on the hood of the stove when Chris MacNeil has just returned home from speaking with the doctors and the lights go out in the kitchen; the next image can be seen in the scene directly following the former, on the inside door of Regan’s bedroom when Chris MacNeil goes to check on her after realizing that Sharon wasn’t present in the house. The statue of “Pazuzu” (encountered by Father Merrin) can clearly been seen in the background during the exorcism in the original film. The face of the statue is also imposed onto Regan’s bedroom door in “The Version You’ve Never Seen”.
A filmgoer who saw the movie in 1974 during its original release fainted and broke his jaw on the seat in front of him. He then sued Warner Brothers and the filmmakers, claiming that the use of subliminal imagery in the film had caused him to pass out. The studio settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
Upon its initial theatrical release the film affected many audiences so strongly that at many theaters, paramedics were called to treat people who fainted and others who went into hysterics.
Several scenes were filmed that director William Friedkin would have loved to include in the movie, such as a scene showing Chris and Regan actually visiting some historic landmarks (as Chris suggests they should do in the movie). However, the soundtrack for the scene had gone missing. Another scene showed a possessed Regan slithering over the floor and upsetting several house guests by making obscene gestures with her tongue. The original negative of the scene got lost, and Friedkin refused to use a qualitatively inferior workprint he had of the scene instead.
Ellen Burstyn agreed to doing the movie only if her character didn’t have to say the scripted line: “I believe in the devil!” The producers agreed to eliminate the utterance.
Mercedes McCambridge had to sue Warner Brothers for credit as the voice of the demon.
Audrey Hepburn was William Friedkin’s first choice to play the role of Chris MacNeil, and Warner Brothers supported him because of her good critical/commercial reputation with the studio, but she only agreed to do it if it was filmed in Rome. Jane Fonda and Shirley MacLaine were also approached. Anne Bancroft was another choice but she was in her first month of pregnancy and was dropped.
Ellen Burstyn received a permanent spinal injury during filming. In the sequence where she is thrown away from her possessed daughter, a harness jerked her hard away from the bed. She fell on her coccyx and screamed in pain.
The archaeological dig site seen at the beginning of the movie is the actual site of ancient Nineveh in Hatra, Iraq.
The first scene to be shot was of a distressed Karras pacing the corridors of Bellevue psychiatric hospital, agitatedly discussing with his uncle his mother’s incarceration.
The refrigerated bedroom set was cooled with four air conditioners and temperatures would plunge to around 30 to 40 below zero. It was so cold that perspiration would freeze on some of the cast and crew. On one occasion the air was saturated with moisture resulting in a thin layer of snow falling on the set before the crew arrived for filming.
Christian evangelist Billy Graham claimed an actual demon was living in the celluloid reels of this movie.
Author William Peter Blatty once won $10,000 on the Groucho Marx show You Bet Your Life. When Groucho asked what he planned to do with the money, he said he planned to take some time off to “work on a novel.” This was the result.
The “spider-walk” sequence, which was cut from the original version, was reworked for Ruby and other low-budget films.
Jill Clayburgh auditioned for the role of Sharon.
The scene wherein Father Merrin asks Chris the child’s middle name was cut for the 1973 release, but there is still the scene where Merrin exorcises Regan and uses her first, middle, and last names.
The language lab scene was filmed in a room in the basement of Keating Hall on Fordham University’s Bronx campus. The same room was used as a Pentagon office in A Beautiful Mind.
When originally released in the UK a number of town councils imposed a complete ban on the showing of the film. This led to the bizarre spectacle of “Exorcist Bus Trips” where enterprising travel companies organised buses to take groups to the nearest town where the film was showing.
The statue of “Pazuzu” was accidentally sent to Hong Kong, before arriving on location in Iraq.
In the scene in the language lab, a white banner is visible with the following letters TASUKETE written in red. TASUKETE means “Help me” in Japanese.
If adjusted for inflation, this would be the top grossing R-rated film of all time.
This is Warner Brothers’ highest grossing film of all time when adjusted for inflation.
While he was writing the novel, William Peter Blatty was collecting unemployment benefits.
This was the film in which makeup legend Dick Smith hired Rick Baker as his assistant.
William Peter Blatty based the character of Chris MacNeil on his good friend Shirley MacLaine. Prior to the 1973 production, MacLaine attempted to have a movie made of Blatty’s novel and interested Lew Grade in backing the project, but the plans fell through.
There were three separate beds built to do three separate movements.
Father Dyer is played by William O’Malley, an actual priest who still teaches to this day at Fordham University.
The original teaser trailer, which consisted of nothing but images of the white-faced demon quickly flashing in and out of darkness, was banned in many theaters, as it was deemed “too frightening”.
The last scenes of the movie to be filmed were the first you see in the movie. The opening sequences in Iraq were shot after other principal filming was completed in the United States.
The original shooting schedule was 85 days, but filming in America lasted for 224 days.
The actual residence in Georgetown that is used for the exterior shots has a rather large yard between it and the infamous steps. The window that leads to Regan’s room is at least 40 feet from the top of the steps. This distance would make it impossible for anyone “thrown” from the window to actually land on the steps. In the movie, set decorators added a false wing to the house, so that Regan’s supposed window would in fact be close to the infamous steps.
Dana Plato claimed that she had been offered the role of Regan but her mother Kay had turned it down. In the book “Former Child Stars: The Story of America’s Least Wanted” William Peter Blatty later said that he had “no such recollection” of this actually happening, and that Plato herself may have been the source for this rumour.
The agency representing Linda Blair overlooked her, recommending at least 30 other clients for the part of Regan. Blair’s mother brought her in herself to try out for the role.
The bedroom set had to be refrigerated to capture the authentic icy breath of the actors in the exorcising scenes. Linda Blair, who was only in a flimsy nightgown, says to this day she cannot stand being cold.
The substance that the possessed Regan (Linda Blair) hurls at Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller) is thick pea soup. Specifically, it’s Andersen’s brand pea soup. The crew tried Campbell’s but didn’t like the “effect.”
Stacy Keach had originally been hired by William Peter Blatty to play the role of Father Karras until William Friedkin spotted Jason Miller in a Broadway play. Despite Miller never having acted in a movie before, Keach’s contract was bought out by Warner Bros. and Miller was cast in the role.
According to William Peter Blatty, director William Friedkin also considered Gene Hackman for the role of Father Karras.
Gonzalo Gavira was called on to create many of the special sound effects after William Friedkin recalled his work from El Topo. One of the more memorable sounds, the 360-degree turning of Regan’s head, was actually made by taking his old, cracked leather wallet and twisting it back and forth against the microphone.
After filming, William Friedkin brought production to 666 Fifth Avenue.
The contortionist Linda R. Hager was hired to perform the famous “spider walk” scene, which was filmed on April 11, 1973. Ms. Hager was able to perform the scene by use of a harness and flying wires hung above the staircase used in the set; she would advise Friedkin when she was just barely touching the stairs with her hands and feet; and then she maintained that light touch as she was moved down the staircase by the harness and wires. William Friedkin deleted the scene before the film’s December release. He felt it was “too much” of an effect because it appeared so early in the film. He later admitted that another reason for omitting the scene was that there was no way to hide the wires from view at the time. Almost 30 years later, Friedkin changed his mind and added the scene back for the extended 2000 version, with the wires digitally removed.
William Friedkin had to take an all-British crew to film in Iraq because the US had no diplomatic relations with Iraq at that time. They were allowed to film on conditions that included teaching Iraqi filmmakers advanced film techniques as well as how to make fake blood.
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.
One of the most famous scenes in the movie and the shot used for the posters and the cover of the DVD/VHS releases was inspired by the 1954 painting “Empire of Light” (“L’Empire des lumières”) by René Magritte. It is the scene where Fr. Merrin steps out of a cab and stands in front of the MacNeil residence bathed in an eerie glow.
The Greek song playing on the radio when Father Karras leaves his mother’s house is called “Paramythaki mou” (My Tale) and is sung by Yannis Kalatzis. Lyric writer Lefteris Papadopoulos has admitted that a few years later when he was in financial difficulties he asked some compensation for the intellectual rights of the song.
In A Decade Under the Influence, William Friedkin talks about the original poster that the studio created for the film. It was a drawing of Regan’s hand holding the bloody crucifix that she masturbates with. The original tag line was “God help this girl”. Friedkin rejected the poster, stating that the word “God” should not be used in a movie tag line.
In order to bring some levity to the shoot, William Peter Blatty suggested shooting a scene (not for the movie, but to amuse everyone at the screening of the rushes) in which Father Merrin would enter the house, take off his hat, and reveal himself to be Groucho Marx, a friend of Blatty’s. The parody would even go as far as featuring an appearance from the duck from You Bet Your Life. Groucho was keen to do it, but William Friedkin got sick that day and the idea was abandoned.
The demon mask used in the movie Onibaba inspired William Friedkin to use a similar design for the makeup in subliminal shots of a white-faced demon.
In the disturbing scene where Regan is masturbating with the crucifix, Eileen Dietz was used for the shot where Regan belts her mother across the face. William Friedkin felt they needed someone with more heft physically to perform the stunt, and the double was shot from the back. The crucifix scene was filmed with Dietz.
Linda Blair injured her back when a piece of the rig broke as she was thrown about on the bed.
Linda Blair received her Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination before it was widely known that previous Supporting Actress winner Mercedes McCambridge had actually provided the voice of the demon. By Academy rules once Blair was given the nomination it could not be withdrawn, but the controversy about Blair being given credit for another actress’ work ruined her chances of winning the award.
Vasiliki Maliaros had never acted in a movie before. She was discovered by William Friedkin in a Greek restaurant. Her only acting experience was in Greek stage dramas. Friedkin selected her because she bore an uncanny resemblance to his own mother and William Peter Blatty felt she resembled his mother, too.
Geraldine Page turned down the role of the mother that went to Ellen Burstyn.
Father Merrin’s arrival was filmed on Max von Sydow’s first day of work.
For the vomiting sequences, Eileen Dietz doubled (uncredited) for Linda Blair, and later sued unsuccessfully for puking credit. Makeup veteran Dick Smith rigged Dietz’s facial contours with sheets of heat-formed plexiglass that were secured at the corners of her mouth and behind her head. A camouflaged nozzle anchored in Dietz’s oral cavity provided the apparatus through which the “vomit” could be forcefully discharged, fed by supply tubes discreetly embedded in the plexiglass on both sides of her face. Such was the complexity of the set-up that Dietz could barely swallow or close her mouth.
In order to make Max von Sydow appear much older than his then age of 44, make-up maestro Dick Smith applied generous amounts of stipple to von Sydow’s forehead, eyes and neck. His facial skin was then manually stretched as liquid latex was applied. When the latex dried, his taut skin was then released causing the film of rubber to corrugate. This daily make-up procedure lasted three hours and was apparently the cause of much anguish for von Sydow.
“Entertainment Weekly” and “Maxim” voted this the Scariest Movie of All Time.
Denise Nickerson was considered for the role of Regan. Her mother took her out of the running after reading the “crucifix masturbation” scene in the script.
In a 2007 poll conducted by the UK’s The Times for the Top 50 Scariest Movie Moments, this film topped the list.
Other directors that Warner had approached included Arthur Penn (who was teaching at Yale), Peter Bogdanovich (who wanted to pursue other projects, subsequently regretting the decision) and Mike Nichols (who didn’t want to shoot a film so dependent on a child’s performance).
The scenes showing Father Karras in his room at Georgetown were filmed in Fordham University’s freshman residence, Hughes Hall, fourth floor. Hughes was once the site of Fordham Preparatory school. Since there was no elevator at the time, the windows had to be removed in order to accommodate the camera on a crane. Each year, William O’Malley talks about his experience with the movie after students watch it on the same floor where it was filmed.
The studio wanted Marlon Brando for the role of Father Merrin. William Friedkin immediately vetoed this by stating that with Brando in the film it would become a Brando movie instead of the important film he wanted to make.
In the documentary included on the 25th Anniversary Edition, the actors reveal that in many shots it was not necessary to “act”, as what was captured on film were genuine reactions. For example, Ellen Burstyn mentions that her scream and facial reaction after being slapped by Regan were due to being pulled too hard by a harness. Linda Blair’s screaming was a reaction to being bounced around on her bed. William O’Malley recalled that William Friedkin slapped him prior to shooting and this caused his hand to tremble while blessing Father Karras.
It was on this film that William Peter Blatty met his wife-to-be, professional tennis champ Linda Tuero (see Linda Blatty). She’d been hired as an extra.
The Prospect Avenue apartment where the story takes place was once inhabited by the author, William Peter Blatty, while he was a student at Georgetown University. The house was owned by Ms. Florence Mahoney and is at the corner of 36th and Prospect. During shooting of the exterior scenes the crew had to build special sets to allow sunlight in to keep her garden plants from dying.
In 1981 the film was released on video by Warner Home Video, as one of its first UK releases. At the time there was no requirement that videos should be classified by the BBFC, so the video was simply released on the strength of its existing “X” certificate. Contrary to popular opinion, the video version was never included on the Director of Public Prosecution’s list of “video nasties” and was never prosecuted for obscenity, testament perhaps to the popularity of the film and the high regard in which it was held. After the Video Recordings Act (VRA) was introduced in 1984 it became necessary for the film to obtain a certificate for video release from the BBFC. The video release was continually delayed on the recommendation of chief censor James Ferman, who advised Warner Brothers against submitting the film for a UK video certificate. A possible 1988 release was also vetoed by Ferman, who cited recent cases of child abuse as the reason. It was finally released on video fully uncut in June 1999, five months after Ferman’s retirement as UK censor.
Lalo Schifrin’s score was rejected . William Friedkin later said that had he heard the music of Tangerine Dream (who scored his later film Sorcerer) earlier, he would have had them score this film.
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.
Jack Nicholson was up for the part of Father Karras, before Jason Miller landed the role.
William O’Malley refers to this movie to students as the “pornographic horror film” he once did.
In the scene where the words “help me” arise out of Regan’s torso, the effect was achieved by constructing a foam latex replica of actress Linda Blair’s belly, writing the words out with a paint brush and cleaning fluid, then filming the words as they formed from the chemical reaction. Special effects artist Dick Smith then heated the forming blisters with a blow dryer, causing them to deflate. When the film was run backwards, it appeared as though the words were rising out of young Regan’s skin in an attempt to summon intervention.
Mercedes McCambridge regurgitated on a mixture of chewed, mushy apple and raw egg to produce the sound effect of Regan’s projectile vomiting.
In an interview on the January 12, 2007 broadcast of the Mr. KABC radio program it was revealed that actress/comedienne April Winchell was being seriously considered for the part of Regan MacNeil; however, she had developed a serious kidney infection which caused her to be hospitalized and ultimately taken out of consideration.
At one point the search for a young actress capable of playing Regan was so trying that William Friedkin claims he even considered auditioning adult dwarf actors.
According to Panorama magazine, William Friedkin didn’t give Brooke Shields the part of Regan McNeil because “she was too young for the part”. It is known that Shields at the time wasn’t known as an actress prior to the controversy of a similar film: Pretty Baby.
According to Variety magazine, it was revealed that Carrie Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds were contenders for the roles of Regan and Chris MacNeil.
One of Lee J. Cobb’s last roles before his death.
In the scene where Regan is getting her brain scan, just before the machine starts, the shadow of a cross falls across her forehead.
To entertain and distract Linda Blair during the long makeup process she had to sit through, the crew set up a television near her makeup chair so she could watch The Beverly Hillbillies.
The first horror film to be nominated for Best Picture Academy Award.
The scene where Regan projectile vomits at Father Karras only required one take. The vomit was intended to hit him on the chest. Instead, the plastic tubing that sprayed the vomit accidentally misfired, hitting him in the face. The look of shock and disgust while wiping away the vomit is genuine. Actor Jason Miller, (Father Karras), admitted in an interview that he was very angered by this mistake.
In the documentary “Fear of God”, William Friedkin states that the studio execs would come up on a weekly basis to have a look at the shooting progress. They shook their heads continuously, believing that the movie was total ridiculousness.
In an interview, Jason Miller stated that he had a major verbal confrontation with William Friedkin after the director fired a gun near his ear to get an authentic reaction from him. He told Freidkin that he is an actor, and that he didn’t need a gun to act surprised or startled.
According to William Peter Blatty, Warner Bros. wanted to change the title of the film after taking a survey which found none of the participants knew what an exorcist was.
Actress Mercedes McCambridge, who provided the voice of the demon, insisted on swallowing raw eggs and chain smoking to alter her vocalizations. Furthermore, the actress who had problems with alcohol abuse in the past, wanted to drink whiskey as she knew alcohol would distort her voice even more, and create the crazed state of mind of the character. As she was giving up sobriety, she insisted that her priest be present to counsel her during the recording process. At William Friedkin’s direction, McCambridge was also bound to a chair with pieces of a torn sheet at her neck, arms, wrists, legs and feet to get a more realistic sound of the demon struggling against its restraints. McCambridge later recalled the experience as one of horrific rage, while Friedkin admitted that her performance–as well as the extremes which the actress put herself through to gain authenticity–terrifies the director to this day.
On the documentary “Raising Hell: Filming The Exorcist” included with the 2010 Extended Director’s Cut, author William Peter Blatty reminisces that the supernatural/demonic sequences did not inspire patrons to flee theater, nor were they responsible for nausea in the aisles. The scene in which Regan undergoes carotid angiography, using direct carotid puncture and pneumoencephalography was the moment in the Exorcist which upset theatergoers. This procedure entails cerebrospinal fluid being drained to a small amount from around the brain and replaced with air, oxygen, or helium to allow the structure of the brain to show up more clearly on an X-ray picture.
According to William Friedkin, the subliminal shots of the white faced demon are actually rejected makeup tests for Regan’s possessed appearance.
Kane Hodder’s favorite film.
In one scene, the Jesuit president of Georgetown University (Thomas Bermingham) mentions that Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) is at “Woodstock”. Audiences may think the reference is to the famous music festival that took place upstate New York in 1969. In fact, the Woodstock in the film is actually Woodstock College, a Jesuit seminary in Woodstock, Maryland. Opened in 1869, the seminary closed one year after “The Exorcist” was released. The Woodstock Theological Center, a nonprofit Catholic theological research institute on the Georgetown campus, succeeded the college and remains operational today.
Alan Alda was offered a role in this movie, but rejected it because he did not like the book.
Director George Cukor loudly blasted the film and threatened to resign from the Academy if it won the Best Picture award. The only award it won was for Best Screenplay.
Al Pacino was considered among other young leading men for the role of Father Karras.
As advised by a studio executive, Director William Friedkin made several cuts to the movie prior to the release, citing that the scenes were unnecessary. This offended William Peter Blatty, the author of the novel and screenplay whom he had befriended, who thought these scenes formed the heart of the movie. Blatty even refused to speak to Friedkin for some time, but they eventually made amends. Many years later, when the immense popularity of the movie warranted a re-release, Friedkin agreed to re-evaluate some of the deleted scenes and put several of them back as a favor to Blatty, creating an extended “Version You’ve Never Seen”. By his own admission, Friedkin tends to see this extended version as his favorite.
The closing theme, “Fantasia for Strings” by Hans Werner Henze, was previously used as incidental music by the composer in his score for Der junge Törless.
Mercedes McCambridge and Linda Blair never met in real life.
The nurse who comes into Dr. Taney’s office after the arteriogram is Linda Blair’s mother, Elinore Blair
The sound of the demon leaving Regan’s body is actually the sound of pigs being herded for slaughter.
The entire exorcism scene, from start to end, lasts 9 minutes.
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