horror and science fiction DVD and movie reviews and previews from curledupdvd.com - curled up with a good dvd
horror and sci-fi DVD reviews and previews from curledupdvd.com - curled up with a good dvd
DVD reviews, previews and info - horror and science fiction
 
         
 
  action movies on DVD
  animation on DVD
  art house and international / foreign language films on DVD
  comedies on DVD
  documentaries on DVD
  dramas on DVD
  children's and family DVDs
  horror and sci-fi on DVD
  suspense on DVD
  television series on DVD
  Blu-ray DVD reviews
   
 
Google

   
   

The Exorcist (25th Anniversary Special Edition) - horror/sci-fi DVD review
The Exorcist (25th Anniversary Special Edition) rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America curledupdvd.com rating: 5 stars
Actors: Jason Miller, Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn
Director: William Friedkin   Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD release: 01 Dec. 1998   Runtime: 175 minutes (1 disc)
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Widescreen, NTSC

Based on William Peter Blatty's bestselling novel, The Exorcist is a tour-de-force both in literary and film form. But does the tag of "scariest film of all time" mean it's simply a horror film? Quite the contrary. The Exorcist builds at a slow pace, but it is never dull. In fact, it could be considered more of a medical/murder mystery with serious drama complete with religious overtones. It moves and plays like a documentary before it crescendos into some seriously shocking imagery and horrific themes. What makes this so memorable and so shocking is the quality of everything in film, and by quality I mean craft.

The film has everything going for it right from the get-go. It had the tremendous novel to work from, which Blatty himself adapted for the screen. It also had William Friedkin, fresh off his Oscar win for directing The French Connection. Despite his overly zealous manner of getting reactions from his actors (it has been told that he shot guns to startle them), he does an amazing job at raising the level of intensity to such a high degree. It's that high intensity that makes The Exorcist stand the test of time. The proof of that is how well its 1999 re-release performed at the box office, with its infamous spider walk that had been edited out of the final cut in its initial release in December 1973. But even more behind-the-camera talent deserves kudos: the legendary Dick Smith's incredible make-up job that turned cherubic-faced Linda Blair into a demon, the underappreciated work of Mercedes McCambridge, who gives the demon her haunting voice, and of course, those tubular bells.

The story revolves around actress Chris McNeil's (Ellen Burstyn) daughter, Regan. When all logical medical and psychological tests show that nothing is wrong, Chris, at her wit's end, turns to Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller) for help in getting an exorcism. But Karras is hesitant, believing that current knowledge of psychiatry makes the concept of demonic possession moot. But he soon believes when the demon possessing Regan torments him to such a degree that he finally agrees to ask the church for permission in granting an exorcism. The tremendous story and exceptional performances by the cast makes this one of the greatest horror films of all time.
 
   
 
   
reviewed by Bobby Blades
   
         
    action | animation | art house/international | comedy | documentary | drama | family | horror/sci-fi | suspense | television    
    browse DVDs alphabetical by title    
    contact | home