Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #208 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-12-26
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: French, Portuguese
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 132 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Director William Friedkin was a hot ticket in Hollywood after the success of The French Connection, and he turned heads (in more ways than one) when he decided to make The Exorcist as his follow-up film. Adapted by William Peter Blatty from his controversial bestseller, this shocking 1973 thriller set an intense and often-copied milestone for screen terror with its unflinching depiction of a young girl (Linda Blair) who is possessed by an evil spirit. Jason Miller and Max von Sydow are perfectly cast as the priests who risk their sanity and their lives to administer the rites of demonic exorcism, and Ellen Burstyn plays Blair's mother, who can only stand by in horror as her daughter's body is wracked by satanic disfiguration. One of the most frightening films ever made with a soundtrack that's guaranteed to curl your blood, The Exorcist was mysteriously plagued by troubles during production, and the years have not diminished its capacity to disturb even the most stoical viewers. Don't say you weren't warned! --Jeff Shannon

DVD features
Although it was endorsed by director William Friedkin (reportedly with some reluctance), this "new" version of The Exorcist was criticized by many as a marketing ploy, and now exists for perpetual debate among horror fans. In addition to a few more subtly inserted "subliminals" of demonic imagery, 12 minutes of previously unseen footage focus on four new scenes: the series of physical tests (spinal tap, etc.) that Regan (Linda Blair) must endure; a post-ritual scene between priests Karras (Jason Miller) and Merrin (Max von Sydow), in which Merrin postulates that Satan is targeting them in order to make them despair and doubt their faith; a different version of the famous "spider-walk" scene (shown as an outtake in the previous special edition DVD's making-of documentary), in which Regan eerily walks down stairs in an upside-down, crablike movement, with blood dripping from her mouth; and a new ending, in which Father Dyer (Rev. William O'Malley) meets Lieutenant Kinderman (Lee J. Cobb) and the two of them share a casual chat about movies, echoing Kinderman's earlier talk with Father Karras. This final change was viewed by many as the most egregious, destroying the closing note of the original version. Fans and critics alike found much more to praise in the spectacular remixing and remastering of the film's original soundtrack, which is now scarier than ever in Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

The Exorcist (movie DVD)
It's still a frightening movie, but I used it as an example of the "old
way" of thinking of demonic possession. Theology has preogressed a lot since the movie came out.

Correction to DVD review of film
I read the DVD review that stated that the scene between Lt. Kinderman and Fr. Dyer was not in the original film and that devotees of the film found this added scene as altering the film. I saw the film when it was originally released as a college student and the scene was in the original film. When I got my copy of the film when it was first released on VHS the scene was missing. This scene was restored in this version--not added. What I do not remember about the film when it originally played in theaters is whether Father Dyer handed back the medal to Mrs. McNeil or whether it was her just handing it back to him. Sorry, I usually don't write reviews but I couldn't let this error about the Kinderman-Dyer scene go uncorrected.

You won't sleep for a week...
If you actually believe in real exorcisms, and possesions, then this movie will keep you shaking for weeks. It's traumatizing. Although terrifying, it's also a great movie. I don't even like to watch scary movies, but this one is one I love to have in my collection.