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Customer Reviews of The Exorcist (25th Anniversary Special Edition)

STILL ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL HORROR FILMS EVER
Thirty years later and I still find "The Exorcist" a powerful, disturbing, and amazing work of art. William Friedkin's direction is superb, the score including Oldfield's TUBULAR BELLS still one of the best, and the whole project an exercise in terror. Let's go beyond the obvious special effects and the frightening possession of Regan McNeil, and look at the stunning performances Friedkin elicited.
Ellen Burstyn is outstanding; her mother role goes from the pampered movie star trying to stay close to her daughter to the pure terror of seeing her child possessed by Satan.
Jason Miller in his guilt-ridden role of Father Karras is mesmerizing. Tormented and doubting his faith, he nonetheless conquers these and propels the movie's grueling climax.
Max von Sydow as Father Merrin is brilliant in his subtle performance of a man near death faced with the unbelievable task of exorcising not just a demon, but the devil himself.
Linda Blair's performance is all the more amazing in that as everyone knows, Mercedes McCambridge mouthed the demon's voice, but Linda was there physically and her agony (especially in those awful hospital tests) demonstrates what potential she had, that was unfortunately never fully tapped in later films.
Kitty Winn as Burstyn's personal assistant was also very good in a supporting, almost invisible role.
And let's not forget Lee J. Cobb as Kinderman, a cop with a heart and soul a great pickup line.
THE EXORCIST has never been duplicated for its gut-wrenching horror and it's ability to creep under your skin no matter how often you've seen it.
A true classic in any genre.

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31 Years of Darkness and Light
"The Exorcist" has never seemed like a horror film, unlike "Rosemary's Baby" or "The Omen" and makes it a very difficult film to come to grips with. It is, possibly, one of the most demanding and disturbing films ever produced both on a visual and thematic level. The story, as everyone knows by now, concerns the demonic possession of a young girl (Linda Blair), living with her actress mother (Ellen Burstyn) in Georgtown U.S.A, and of the her eventual rescue through the efforts of two Catholic Priests, Fathers Merrin (Max Von Syndow) and Karras (Jason Miller). The narrative is so matter of factly executed, that we, as the audience, have no problem with what we are being asked to accept, and, despite the famous special effects and shock pieces, it is this confrontation with the supernatural, and the unquestioned plausibility in the film's execution, that leaves us totally stunned and drained at the conclusion. I must admit that this restored version is much clearer than the original. This time around the movie takes it's time, which makes the descent into darkness much more effective. There is more depth on this ocassion - the agony of the mother, the doubt and inner turmoil of Karras, and the serene and hugely heroic Merrin. I also was thankful to see more of the late Lee J.Cobb in what must be one of his greatest characterisations as Detective Kinderman, something which George C.Scott could never hope to imitate, becasue it remains a defined role for all time. This is a Catholic movie- the ritual exorcisim is verbatim and the movie examines spiritual problems, both in and outside the Seminary where some of it is shot. Upon it's initial release the majority of movie goers thought that the devil actually won the battle, which both Blatty and Friedkin admitted shocked them at the time. The overwhelming image that strikes one at the conclusion is the scene where Regan, now fred from possession embraces Father Dyer. There is a close up of Dyer's collar, and even though Regan doesn't remember any of it, the significance is shattering and moving. The character of Fr Dyer along with the other priests in the film are portrayed by real life Jesuits, to whom Blatty dedicated the book. The original excised scenes between Merrin and Karras are put back, especially the scene on the stairs, and a sequence where Merrin recites the rosary. The initial medical diagnosis makes the things that follow more comprehensible , and the scene where Karras listens to Regan on a tape she has made for her Father is quite moving. Jason Miller still shines in the role of Karras, the priest with all the doubts and anguish, but who finally finds his faith again at the expense of his own life. I don't think there has ever been a performance quite like it, and think Miller should have had a bigger career in Hollywood. There are no phoney performances in the film, and acting honours go to all. It's the kind of film that you can't single anyone out as, as an ensemble, the actors are all locked together in one ultimate goal or pursuit. "The Exorcist" will affect anyone that sees it but people of the Catholic faith more than any other. Suddenly we are not so sophisticated after all, and the film has a way of saying that maybe the precepts of fire and brimstone are not so far fetched after all. It has an unsettling way of answering people who profess to believe in a God who is all loving, but not one who would consign us to hell just as easily. That would imply that we can't pay lip service to our faith and that there are certain rules to be followed as best we can, and just like the laws of our society, if we break them, we pay a price. "The Exorcist " says that all the old stories of the Old Testament are not necessarily parables after all. Indeed, the Catholic Church still retains and ordains her priests with the holy order of exorcist, which is the third minor order. There have been reviewers who have said they found the picture absurd and laughable, but I would think in the back of their minds their humour is half heared. Watching "The Exorcist - The Version You've Never Seen" is no laughing matter, not when one brings intellect to bare on the subject. It's always interesting to see Syndow in this role and compare it to the role of Jesus he portrayed in "The Greatest Story Ever Told". One thinks of an aged Peter Cushing, crucifix in hand. Indeed, Cushing himself stated that he could never have portrayed a part in the movie as "it was too like reality" He always viewed his films as fantasy or dark fairy tales. If I had one quip to make it would have been the spider walk sequence, which seems out of place and breaks the concentration slightly, but otherwise it is as close as they come to a masterpiece, of terror, of darkness, but of the triumph of universal light over that dark. When compared with other William Friedkin films the gritty realisim is there, but "The Exorcist" will always stand alone from them, like a lonely but strangely noble figure, even though "French Connection", "Crusing" and "To Live and Die in LA", are just as matter of fact and treat their subjects with just as much sincerity. The complete version does say a lot more, but in a subtle way and the fact that it is 31 years old and still is the most provocative films ever, when all the movies once labelled "infamous" have led us to wonder what all the fuss was about, puts "The Exorcist" in the front rank of truely original movies, and one that will never lose it's power and effect. In that sense, it says something about mankind as we enter the 21st century.

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The Best and Original
This is probably the best horror film to date, still an excellent movies even though the effects are dated. It destroyed (Linda Blair's) the little girl's career as an actress because people were never able to disassociate her with the possesed girl. She was only 15 when she made the movie.