The Exorcist is one of the most popular horror films and is seen as the scariest horror film of all time by alot of people. To myself I wouldn't say it is, but I will say it is a really well made film that does have some good scares. This year marks the 40th anniversary of it's release and what we have here is the deluxe edition blu-ray that has both theatrical and extended cuts and now you also get a third disc that has 2 featurettes that are interviews with author of the book William Peter Blatty who tells the process of making the book as well as what he had to do with the film. This featurette has him going to different locations that have to do with both the book and film. The second featurette is a vintage interview with Blatty's teacher who he learned about exorcisms from.
This set has the two discs that were released in the original blu-ray release that came out a couple years ago. The only thing different is the third disc which I described previously and also includes an book which features an excerpt from William Friedkin's book "The Friedkin Connection". I only have one problem with this release and that is it seems to be more like a way to promote the book. The book is very much a teaser because I wanted to keep reading, but it ended and now I need to go buy the book to finish it. If I put that to the side I must say this is the truly definitive edition of the film. I found the two new featurettes to be quite interesting to watch because you learn alot about why and how the book came to be.
If you have the previous release then you should already know that the picture quality is simply breathtaking. I have never seen this film in theaters before so for me this is the best I have ever seen this film. The colors are bold and the blacks are deep. The print of this film has been very well cleaned up. I especially love the scenes that have a blue color to them when it is cold in Regan's room. I can see how many people actually get scared by watching this film and that is usually from people whom are religious and believe in demons. Personally I really never got scared while watching this film, but I did love the look, feel, and blasphemous scenes. Now there is one scene that did creep me out the first time I seen it and it was when the extended cut came out and it shows when Regan comes down the steps on her hands and backwards kind of like a spider.
Overall this is a very good release of The Exorcist, but I can only recommend this to hardcore fans of the film because really as much as I liked the new featurettes it's not worth the double dip. If you still only own one of the DVD releases then I suggest you pick this release up. The packaging is nice as well and is made of a very solid and hard slipsleeve that you put the blu-ray case in as well as the book. I give this release a solid 5 out of 5!
-Daniel "Damnation" Lee
Director: William Friedkin
Lead Actor/Actress: Linda Blair
Genre: Horror
Blu-ray Release Year: 2013
Theatrical Release Year: 1973
Time Length: 132 mins./122 mins.
Rating: R
Region Code: Region A
Release Company: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Website:
www.warnervideo.com
ADDITIONAL SCREENSHOTS:
The Exorcist is one of the most popular horror films and is seen as the scariest horror film of all time by alot of people. To myself I wouldn't say it is, but I will say it is a really well made film that does have some good scares. This year marks the 40th anniversary of it's release and what we have here is the deluxe edition blu-ray that has both theatrical and extended cuts and now you also get a third disc that has 2 featurettes that are interviews with author of the book William Peter Blatty who tells the process of making the book as well as what he had to do with the film. This featurette has him going to different locations that have to do with both the book and film. The second featurette is a vintage interview with Blatty's teacher who he learned about exorcisms from.
