Exorcist, The (1973)
Front Cover Actor
Ellen Burstyn Chris MacNeil
Linda Blair Regan MacNeil
Max von Sydow Father Merrin
Kitty Winn Sharon
Lee J. Cobb Lt. Kinderman
Jack MacGowran Burke Dennings
Wallace Rooney Bishop
Jay Robinson Father Dyer
Donna Mitchell Karras' Uncle
Rudolf Schuendler Karras's Uncle
Max von Sydow Father Lankester Merrin
Jason Miller Father Damien Karras
Lee J. Cobb Lieutenant William Kinderman
Kitty Winn Sharon Spencer
Linda Blair Regan Teresa MacNeil
Reverend William O'Malley Father Dyer
Barton Heyman Dr. Klein
Peter Masterson Dr. Barringer, Clinic Director (as Pete Masterson)
Movie Details
Genre Drama; Horror
Director William Friedkin
Writer William Peter Blatty
Language English
Audience Rating R
Running Time 2 hr 0 mins
Country USA
Color Color
Plot
Novelist William Peter Blatty based his best-seller on the last known Catholic-sanctioned exorcism in the United States. Blatty transformed the little boy in the 1949 incident into a little girl named Regan, played by 14-year-old Linda Blair . Suddenly prone to fits and bizarre behavior, Regan proves quite a handful for her actress-mother Chris MacNeil (played by Ellen Burstyn , although Blatty reportedly based the character on his next-door neighbor Shirley MacLaine ). When Regan gets completely out of hand, Chris calls in young priest Father Karras ( Jason Miller ), who becomes convinced that the girl is possessed by the Devil and that they must call in an exorcist: namely, Father Merrin ( Max von Sydow ). His foe proves to be no run-of-the-mill demon, and both the priest and the girl suffer numerous horrors during their struggles. The Exorcist was one of the first blockbusters of a resurgent 1970s Hollywood film industry, raking in $89,000,000 in North America alone and paving the way for Jaws , Star Wars , and numerous other blockbusters to come. Linda Blair might have won an Academy Award for her bone-chilling performance, had the public not learned that her low, demonic moanings were actually performed by an uncredited (and, by her account, underpaid) Mercedes McCambridge . The Exorcist received a theatrical rerelease in 2000, in a special edition that added eleven minutes of footage trimmed from the film's original release, and digitally enhanced Chris Newman 's groundbreaking, Oscar-winning sound work. — Hal Erickson
Personal Details
Seen It No
Index 99
In Collection Yes
Purchase Date 8/2/2003
Tape Label 32
Product Details
Format VHS
Region Region 1
Release Date 2003
Nr of Disks/Tapes 1
Links
Internet Movie Database