Evangelist Billy Graham told the National Enquirer that he was afraid to watch it, saying that "the Devil is in every frame of that film",[204] a remark later characterized as Graham believing the print itself to be possessed. "What we tried to do, by means of the lighting, was to give it a kind of ominous feelingas if some lurking, mysterious thing were hanging over it. [38] While doing his press tour for that film, Friedkin began reading a copy of the novel Blatty had sent. Believe that and you perforce must believe everything the demon has to say, including the accusation that Fr. In northern Iraq, Catholic priest Lankester Merrin participates in an archaeological dig which unearths a medallion of Saint Joseph and an artifact representing Pazuzu, an ancient demon. "[55], Stuntwoman Ann Miles performed the spider-walk scene in November 1972, after having practiced it for two weeks. [305], Blatty's script for the film has been published in two versions. [281] The film was also nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards, winning four, including Best Motion Picture Drama. The music was heard only during scene transitions. "[55], While much of the filming took place in the set for Regan's bedroom, there were some other parts of the house set that presented challenges when filming. Others can laugh it off as garbage, but are American Catholics willing to see their faith turned into a horror show? Traditionally, the phrase la plume de ma tante ("The pen [quill]of my aunt")has been used to teach elementary Frenchhence, demonic wordplay. [1] The archaeological dig site shown is ancient Hatra, south of Mosul. While it worked initially, "[t]he problem was the crew and the cast all got sick so we had to stop shooting", she said. [91], The Exorcist has several special effects, engineered by makeup artist Smith. To Chris' horror, the possessed Regan turns her head backwards and speaks in Dennings' voice. A later cast listing adds Mary Boylan and The Rev. Despite its lack of any supernatural content, many audience members found the angiography, where blood spurts from the tube inserted into Regan's neck, to be the film's most unsettling scene[80][83] (Blatty said he only watched it once, while the film was being edited, and avoided it on every other viewing). Generally, ego is used simply to mean one's sense of self-importance or self-esteem, whether exaggerated ("big ego") or not ("a healthy ego"). "I thought, how can a movie have that kind of impact before it even opens? Friedkin then asked if O'Malley trusted him; when the priest said yes, Friedkin slapped him hard across the face to generate a deeply solemn yet literally shaken reaction for the scene, offending the many Catholic crew members on set. [168] He believes that part of the reason for Warners' decision to open the film in limited release was the studio's certainty that the film would be rated X, severely attenuating its commercial prospects. Key observed the use of the Pazuzu face (which Key assumed was Jason Miller in death mask makeup). Although some Greek is spoken, ethnicity is not a concern of this film. "[55], The scenes where Merrin and Karras perform the exorcism were challenging to film. FATHER KARRAS: You speak Latin? [186], English film critic Mark Kermode named it his "favorite film of all time".[191]. Are people so numb they need movies of this intensity in order to feel anything at all?" "But I'd rather be ungracious than be a hypocrite." Palindromes are words or phrases having the same meaning when read from left to right and right to left: civic, level, redder, redivider, for example. "[203], The changes to the film's ending from the novel, Blatty agreed, might have made it harder to perceive that "the mystery of goodness" was the theme of the work, since it appeared to many viewers, including some of those who had written in the magazine, that the film ended with the demon triumphant through the deaths of the priests even if it had been successfully exorcised from Regan. "But for God's sake", said Blatty, "if you shoot something for a year, people are going to get hurt, people are going to die these things just happen. He also said that he loved the classic horror film "The Exorcist," directed by William Friedkin in 1973 and based on a 1971 novel by William Peter Blatty. As a result, all video copies of The Exorcist were withdrawn in the UK in 1988 and could not be purchased for 11 years. Production took twice as long as scheduled and cost almost three times the initial budget; some deaths and accidents that occurred have led to a belief that the film was cursed. Warners also used some practices that had made The Godfather successful for Paramount the year before, such as making theaters commit to showing the film for at least 24 weeks. [120] Another writer there blamed the reactions on the mainstream audience's general unfamiliarity with horror cinema and its conventions. [223], Director Martin Scorsese placed The Exorcist on his list of the 11 scariest horror films of all time. The priests there, they engage, they talk to these demons. "The Exorcist" Warner Bros. "On screen, the fewer the elements, the more important each becomes. "I hated to do that", he admitted. Perri first showed Friedkin a version in which both of them had their names in two-line stacks, but later changed it so Friedkin's name was on one line, to distinguish him slightly. It was the Iraq sequence at the beginning of the film, and after Friedkin disliked his first attempt, Smith worked through a weekend to recut the footage to a rhythm based on the sound of a blacksmith hammering an anvil near where Father Merrin is having his tea, a change that the director liked more. In orthodox Catholic Christianity, exorcists are priests, but, very few priests are exorcists. Both Jews and pagans made ritual use of water. Stuti Gokhale. Dietz was appreciative of this display of control on his part. For the same reason he greatly reduced the suggestions that Karras was responsible for both Denning's death and the desecrations in the chapel, hints he felt many readers had missed anyway. "[77], The angiography scene, in which a needle is inserted into Regan's neck and spurts blood, as Blair undergoes the steps of the actual procedure,[78] caused audiences the most discomfort, according to Blatty, who himself admitted he never watched it when viewing the film. "It was backbreaking work but the results were quite pleasing. They also appealed for more aid from psychologists. If you can see it, it's not subliminal. "When it's exposed against black it tends to, what's called, bloom. "For all its blood, vomit, and obscenities, "History Has Not Been Kind To "The Exorcist", "Dr. Joseph Laycock: Associate ProfessorPhilosophy", "Friedkin, Blatty sue studio over Exorcist reissue", "Pantera's 'Vulgar Display of Power' Turns 20", Sophia S. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Matter of SG-A v. Indiana Dept. "[207] In The New Yorker, Kael echoed his insinuations that the board had yielded to studio pressure in rating the film R: "If The Exorcist had cost under a million or been made abroad, it would almost certainly be an X film. [14] Lew Grade made a modest offer for the rights that Blatty said later he would have accepted due to his difficult financial circumstances, but for his requirement that he produce. [21] Blatty recalled that studio head John Calley had been reading the book at his home, alone, in his bedroom, and found his dog unusually unwilling to join him on the bed. This realism meant that the kitchen set, with much stainless steel and glass, was "virtually impossible" to light beyond the practical ceiling fixtures and whatever other lights they could manage to sneak in and hide. DEMON: Eno on ma I. Eno on ma I. Holy water is water that has been blessed and, for centuries, has been used to convey a blessing to churches, homes, persons, and objects. [241][270] In 1990, Blair starred as a housewife needing exorcism in the parody Repossessed. "True, Regan tells Fr. As a result, the film went $2.5 million ($12.5million in modern dollars[19]) over budget,[21] ultimately costing the studio $12 million ($59.8million in modern dollars) to make. [55] the 80-pound (36kg) Blair wore a bodysuit under her nightgown with attached hooks for monofilament wires. The Exorcist was released in 24 theaters in North America in late December 1973. He soon secured a deal with Warner Bros. for $641,000. He considers it the best trailer made for the film. The possessed Regan is confined to her bedroom. "[81] The San Francisco Bay Guardian's reviewer called it "quite simply the dumbest, most insultingly anti-intellectual movie I have ever come across". Crew also recalled that he was temperamental, often firing people without warning. He said they always have an immediate . This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 11:29. Orthodox Interest: Though the priests in the film are Catholic, the main priest of the movie is named Father Damien Karras, a Greek, and the demon speaks Greek to him on one occasion. Mind you, Demon/Regan just telekinetically threw open a bedside table drawer and the Father, who is trying to figure things out, asks her/it to do it again. He said some striking visuals in the film had not been intended and could not be explained. Beyond Karras' initial professional skepticism, that perspective is absent from the film. Because the house from which he falls was set back slightly from the steps, the crew built an eastward extension with a false front to film the scene. In Old French, a phrasesimilar to ce m'est a vis is o m'est vis,"that seems to me," and a Latincounterpart is mihi est vsum. "[198], Critics of the movie's depiction of Catholicism were not limited to the Church. Production was delayed for six weeks while it was rebuilt. He argued that his deal with the studio made him a co-owner of the film property and thus he had unique rights to access those records. William Peter Blatty's novel is based on the real-life 1949 exorcism of a young boy, known by the pseudonym Roland Doe. Kael had nonetheless also described The Exorcist as "the biggest recruiting poster the Catholic Church has had since the sunnier days of Going My Way and The Bells of St. Mary's" since the film "says that [it] is the true faith, feared by the Devil, and that its rituals can exorcise demons. [104], Special sound effects for the film were created by Ron Nagle, Doc Siegel, Gonzalo Gavira, and Bob Fine. In order to give it the same available-light look as the house interiors for an establishing shot that included the stained glass windows, it was necessary to rig it with 225-amp "Brute" arc lights on 30-foot (9.1m) parallel mounts. [64] A mansard roof was added to account for the scene in which Chris investigates the scratching noises in the attic. Elinore was not a typical stage mother, and Linda's credits were primarily in modeling and a single soap opera role. Nelson himself recalls going from "having a seven-year contract as his associate producer to the guy he hated most in the worldin two minutes" after Friedkin overheard him telling Calley on the phone that the sound editors were "basically finished". [91] Friedkin cut it over Blatty's objection just prior to the premiere, since he thought it appeared too early in the film for such a drastic effect on Regan to be visible. [83], "The camera pointedly does not express the horror of Regan's experience with modern medicine, it only records it, allowing the audience to take away from it what it will", writes critic John Kenneth Muir of this scene in Horror Films of the 1970s. To Blatty's dismay, Friedkin cut this scene early on in the editing process without consulting him. "[110] In an interview for a 1999 book about the film, Blatty addressed the controversy by explaining that, "There are no subliminal images. [269] In one scene, Sigourney Weaver's character has become possessed by an evil spirit, as Bill Murray's Dr. Peter Venkman attempts to communicate with her she begins to speak with a deep, husky voice and levitates above her bed. The latter two were not on the best of terms at the time, according to Perri[56] (Blatty had sued Friedkin and the studio almost two months before the film's release to make sure his name was included in the opening credits[1]), which affected how he styled their names in the credits: "[Legally], their names had to be the same size but where Bill Blatty has three names, of course they had to be the same size." [46] Friedkin reportedly cast Vasiliki Maliaros as Karras's mother after encountering her in a Greek restaurant. How every letter can be (annoyingly) silent, Helping you navigate the linguistic road ahead. He saw the story, in which Kinderman investigates a string of murders that seem to have been committed by a possessed, resurrected Father Karras, not as a sequel to The Exorcist but an exploration of the same themes within the same fictional universe by some of the original's minor characters. Originally they came in that order, as in the script; by reversing them, critic Mark Kermode says, the film shows Karras's mother's predicament as a direct cause of his spiritual crisis. Harper was about to give up and had even, according to Blatty, treated him to a farewell lunch, when an opportunity to appear on The Dick Cavett Show came up after one guest canceled and the other, actor Robert Shaw, was too drunk to go on. [13][6] Harper & Row, believing the book would sell well, published it and sent Blatty on a 26-city book tour. Over the course of her various sessions with the priest, Anneliese revealed the names of many of the more notable demons who possessed her. Some of the film's content, such as the crucifix scene, involved acts and utterances that were specifically sacrilegious from a Catholic perspective. Miller had had a Catholic education, and had studied to be a Jesuit priest himself for three years at Catholic University of America (also in Washington) until experiencing a spiritual crisis, as Karras does at the beginning of the story. He eventually agrees to the exorcism and hears the voice of his deceased mother speaking to him from inside the 12-year-old child he is trying to exorcise. [216] It was passed uncut with an 18 certificate, signifying a relaxation of the censorship rules for home video in the UK, in part due to Ferman's departure. Thomas Bermingham, the Georgetown professor who assigned Blatty to do the research on demonic possession that later informed the novel, took the role of the university president. "All I can tell you is that the way you think I did it is not the way we did it," Friedkin told Castle of Frankenstein at the time. The lawsuits resulted in one film being pulled from distribution and the other one having to change its advertisements. [280], The Exorcist was nominated for 10 Academy Awards in 1974, winning two. He accused veteran director George Cukor of having led a campaign against giving the film any awards, accounting for its meager haul. The crowds gathered outside theaters sometimes rioted, and police were called in to quell disturbances in not only New York but Kansas City. "I felt we had to go through all of that. Roizman said the 7-foot (2.1m) ceiling of the basement set left no room for conventional lighting setups. It was restored to the 2000 director's cut,[92] albeit with a "muddy, grainy" look that one critic said made the scene seem superfluous,[93] using a different take showing Regan with blood flowing from her mouth. Before we begin to translate the unforgettable scene during which coming-of-age Reganwho has already urinated on the floor at a party, performed a spider-walk, levitated a bed, and spewed pea-green vomitprofoundly speaks Latin (and French) through the Demon to Father Damien Karras, a word on exorcism. Learn a new word every day. Malachi Martin went to perform an exorcism on a. He quotes Blatty, who recalls Friedkin telling him that people would come to the film to see the crucifix scene more than any other. "My theory over the years has been that at that point in the movie, most of the audience is a little out of it" he said two years later. And when I see that they are Jesuits, whom I thanked on the acknowledgement page of my novel for 'teaching me to think,' I can only conclude that the fault must be mine, and that what I thought obvious, was not. Many viewers did not realize he was made up at all, which Alan McKenzie calls "a tribute" to Smith;[95] critic Pauline Kael, whose review of the film in The New Yorker was generally unfavorable, called it "one of the most convincing aging jobs I've ever seen"[96] According to Friedkin, it took four hours to apply the makeup every morning. All four shared the Academy Award nomination the film received for its editing. [23][24] The film also excludes the detail from the book that when possessed, Regan experiences constant diarrhea, requiring that she wear a diaper and giving her room a strong odor. The media saw it differently, and it sold well. Afterwards, he had Burstyn interview Miller about his life with the camera focusing on him from over her shoulder, and finally asked Miller to say Mass as if for the first time. "[39], Bernard Herrmann, famous for his scores for Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock, including the staccato string bursts that accompanied the killings in Psycho, was offered the opportunity to score the finished film. "[204], The Rev. [195] Friedkin speculates that it is easier to empathize with Regan in that scene, as compared to what she suffers while possessed later in the film.