The Exorcist

The Exorcist (1973)

2:02 (122 min)

Horror, Thriller, Drama

United States, Iraq

8/10
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7.7/10
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8.1/10
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All about film

Video 45

Photo 280

Actors and characters

1:39

Photo 280

Production

Hoya Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros.

Release date

26 December 1973

Budget

$12 000 000

Revenue

$329 017 945

Director

William Friedkin

Scenario

William Peter Blatty

Author

Composer

Jack Nitzsche

Producer

William Peter Blatty

All team (37)

Actors

Ellen Burstyn

Chris MacNeil

Linda Blair

Regan MacNeil

Jason Miller

Father Damien Karras

Max von Sydow

Father Lankester Merrin

Lee J. Cobb

Lt. Bill Kinderman

William O'Malley

Father Joseph Kevin Dyer

Kitty Winn

Sharon Spencer

Barton Heyman

Dr. Klein

All actors and roles (10)

• Jane Fonda and Shirley MacLaine were contenders for the role of Chris, Regan's mother, which ultimately went to Ellen Burstyn.
• Ellen Burstyn agreed to star in the film on the condition that her character would not utter the phrase: “I believe in the devil!” as required by the script. The producers agreed and decided to remove this statement.
• John Boorman was offered the opportunity to direct the film, but he refused, stating that he did not want to film such a brutal story about a child. However, the director accepted the offer to direct the sequel: “Exorcist II: The Possession” (1977).
• Mercedes McCambridge, who voiced the demon, sued Warner Bros. studio for not including her name in the credits.
• Lalo Schifrin’s musical score was rejected (it can be heard in “The Amityville Horror” (1979)). The film's director, William Friedkin, later admitted that had he heard Tangerine Dream’s music earlier, he would have invited them to write the music for “The Exorcist.” Tangerine Dream (which at various times included Christopher Franke, Paul Haslinger, Edgar Froese, Peter Baumann, Jonas Schmoelling, and Ralf Weigand) wrote the music for Friedkin’s next film, “Sorcerer” (1977).
• The agency representing Linda Blair did not recommend her for the role of Regan, offering over 30 other young actresses instead. Ultimately, only the girl's mother’s intervention allowed the issue to be resolved.
• Stanley Kubrick wanted to direct the film, but only on the condition that he also be one of the co-producers. The studio owners worried that Kubrick might exceed the budget and filming schedule, so they hired Mark Rydell as director. However, Blatty (the film's screenwriter and author of the book) insisted on William Friedkin. After reaching a deadlock with Rydell, the studio ultimately gave Blatty what he wanted.
• Filming process: August 14, 1972 – July 20, 1973.
• In September 2000, a restored version of the film was released with 11 additional minutes of footage; the film was advertised as “The Version You’ve Never Seen.” The restoration cost $1 million. The new version grossed $8.1 million in its opening weekend and $39.6 million over three months of release.
• Ellen Burstyn injured her spine in the scene where Regan violently throws Chris away. Burstyn was secured with a special rope, which a crew member was supposed to pull on cue from the director. In one take, the crew member pulled so hard that the actress hit the floor and screamed in pain in her tailbone. Friedkin immediately pointed the camera at her and completed the scene with a dramatic close-up.
• Christian evangelist Billy Graham stated that a real devil had possessed the film reels.
• Padding made of a layer of rubber had to be applied to the staircase to film the fall of the holy father.
• In 1990, a parody of “The Exorcist” titled “Exorcist II: The Possession” was released, with Linda Blair once again playing the possessed victim.
• William Friedkin invited Gonzalo Gavira to create the sound effects after appreciating his work on the film "The Burrow" (1970).
• The film was shot in a house once inhabited by William Peter Blatty himself when he was a student at Georgetown University.
• William Peter Blatty once won $10,000 on Groucho Marx’s show "Beat the Clock." When the host asked him what he would spend the money on, Blatty replied – “On writing a novel” — which turned out to be "The Exorcist," published in 1971 and becoming a bestseller.
• The director's cut of the film reveals Regan's middle name: Theresa.
• The nurse who enters Dr. Terry's office after the arteriogram was played by Linda Blair's mother, Eleanor.
• Jill Grainbo auditioned for the role of Sharon.
• William Peter Blatty played a cameo role: the producer of the film starring Chris; he talks to the film's director, Burcke.
• The name “Captain Howdy” is used as the killer's computer name in the film “Strangeland” (1998). The film's screenplay was written by Dee Snider, the leader of the band “Twisted Sister.” This band’s repertoire includes a song called “Stay Away from Captain Howdy” (album “Stay Hungry” released in 1984).
• The scene where Father Merrin asks Chris for her daughter's middle name was cut, however, when Merrin performs an exorcism on Regan, he states the girl's full name: Regan Theresa MacNeil.
• Acrobat Linda R. Heger was invited to perform the famous “spider walk” scene. The scene was filmed on April 11, 1973. A wire was stretched along the staircase, using which she slid, so Heger only lightly touched the floor with her hands and feet bent at an incredible angle. The scene was cut by Friedkin and did not make it into the original version of the film, as the director felt it had too strong an effect in the first half of the film, while the horror in “The Exorcist” should build gradually and reach its climax only at the end of the film. The cut material was restored by Friedkin in the director's cut of the film.
• “The Spider Walk,” which was cut from the original version of the film, was used in “Ruby” (1977), as well as in some other low-budget films.
• The scene where Father Karras listens to the tape he recorded was filmed in a room at Keating Hall at Fordham University, a Jesuit university in New York. The same room was used as a Pentagon office during the filming of “A Beautiful Mind” (2001).
• For filming in Iraq, Friedkin had to assemble a crew consisting exclusively of British citizens, as the United States had no diplomatic relations with Iraq at the time. Iraq agreed on the condition that Iraqi filmmakers would also participate in the filming.
• The video release in the United Kingdom was delayed for a considerable period on the recommendation of the country's chief censor, James Ferman. The film could have been released on video in 1988, but was again rejected by Ferman, who cited several cases of child abuse as the reason. The video release finally took place in June 1999, after Ferman retired.
• “Entertainment Weekly” magazine named “The Exorcist” the scariest film in the history of cinema.
• On one of the first days of filming the exorcism scene, a monologue full of profanity delivered by Linda Blair made such a strong impression on Max von Sydow that he simply forgot his lines.
• William Peter Blatty found inspiration for writing the book by learning about a real-life exorcism case that occurred in 1949. The writer, while studying at Georgetown University, read an article by Bill Brinkley in the «Washington Post» (August 20, 1949) which reported on an exorcism performed on a 13-year-old boy on Mount Rainer, in Maryland. Father Albert Hughes and Father William Bourdern conducted the exorcism of Roland Doe (a pseudonym) from January to April 1949.
• The statue of the demon “Pazuzu” was mistakenly sent to Hong Kong instead of Iraq.
• The film's release in 1973 was accompanied by mass hysteria, fainting viewers during screenings, and ambulances stationed near cinemas. There were also more curious incidents. For example, one viewer fainted during a screening and hit his head on the back of the seat in front, breaking his jaw. He sued Warner Bros., claiming he was influenced by the “25 frames” that filled the film. The studio managed to resolve the issue out of court by paying the excited filmgoer a certain sum.
• In the scene where audio recordings are being listened to in the laboratory, you can notice a poster hanging with the inscription “TASUKETE!”, which translates from Japanese as “Help me!”.
• The famous film poster, depicting Father Merrin standing in front of the McNeil house, borrows motifs from René Magritte's painting “Empire of Light” (“L’Empire des lumières”), which he painted in 1953.
• Another poster was created for the film – it depicted Regan's hand clutching a bloodied crucifix with which the girl had injured herself. Below was the tagline: “God, save this girl!” Friedkin rejected this poster and stated that the word “God” should absolutely not be used in the tagline.
• The Greek song playing on the radio as Father Carras leaves his mother's apartment is called “Paramythaki mou”, performed by Yannis Kalantzis. Several years later, the song's author, Lefteris Papadopoulos, who was experiencing financial difficulties, demanded some compensation from the filmmakers for the use of his intellectual property.
• The scene where we see Father Carras in his room in Georgetown was filmed in a freshman dormitory at Fordham University in New York.
• To lighten the mood on set, William Peter Blatty suggested filming a scene for fun in which Father Merrin enters the house, takes off his hat – and turns out to be Groucho Marx, a friend of Blatty. The parody was supposed to appear in one of Groucho Marx's shows, but William Friedkin fell ill on the day of the shoot, and the scene was never filmed.
• After the film, Linda Blair received a huge number of threats. Warner Bros. had to hire bodyguards for her for six months.
• The sounds made by the demon leaving Regan's body are actually the squeals of a pig being sent to the slaughterhouse.
• While William Peter Blatty was writing his novel, he was receiving unemployment benefits.
• Friedkin was inspired by an image from Kaneto Shindo's film 'Onibaba' (1964) when creating the demon's mask (which appears in several moments only in the director's cut of the film).
• This film effectively launched the career of the famous makeup artist Rick Baker. He was hired as an assistant by the legendary makeup artist Dick Smith.
• William Peter Blatty created the character of Chris MacNeil with Shirley MacLaine, a friend of the author. During the pre-production stage, Shirley became very interested in the project and wanted Lew Grade to produce the film, but her plans didn't come to fruition.
• Three beds were built for the film, each used for different scenes.
• Father Dyer was played by priest William O'Malley.
• The first teaser for the film, which contained only a few images of the 'white-faced' demon, was banned in many cinemas as it was considered 'too frightening'.
• Linda Blair injured her back when the special rig used to throw her around the bed broke.
• Linda Blair was nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Supporting Actress” even before it became known that another actress (Mercedes McCambridge) had actually voiced the demon. According to the rules of the Academy, Linda could no longer be deprived of the nomination, but the discussion that the award should belong to McCambridge effectively took away all of Linda’s chances of winning.
• Max von Sydow was quite young at the time, and to become an aging, wise exorcist, he had to spend several hours a day in the makeup artist's chair.
• The studio wanted to cast Marlon Brando in the role of Father Merrin. Friedkin immediately opposed this, arguing that it would no longer be his film, but a “film with Marlon Brando”.
• Father William O’Malley told students that the film was based on real events approximately 80% of the time. He explained the difference between the events in the film and the actual facts, for example: — a boy, not a girl, was actually possessed; — the exorcism case took place not in Delaware, but in Maryland; — the color of the “pea soup” was not actually green. He stated that many other things had actually happened.
• The scene in Iraq, with which the film begins, is the last scene shot. Filming in Iraq began after filming in the United States was completely finished.
• In the documentary dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the film, many actors admitted that in some scenes they didn't have to "act," as in many episodes the actors had a genuine reaction. For example, Ellen Burstyn's scream, after falling in one of the scenes, was caused by a strong jerk of the extra on the rope to which the actress was tied; Linda Blair's scream was a natural reaction in the scene of "jumping on the bed"; Father William O'Malley recounted that Friedkin gave him a resounding slap across the face to film the scene of Father Carras' confession, during which Father Dyer's hands trembled and his voice shook and broke. To make the character look frightened in the frame, Friedkin ordered assistants before the "Action!" command to fire a shot near the actor's ear with a rifle or unexpectedly turn on ominous music through the speakers.
• Vasiliki Maliaros, who played the mother of Father Carras, had never acted in a film before; her only acting experience was on the Greek theatrical stage. Friedkin met her in a Greek restaurant and was struck by her incredible resemblance to his mother. Later, Blatty said that Maliaros also resembled his mother. This was her first and last role in a movie; she passed away at the age of 90 almost a year before the film's premiere.
• Geraldine Page turned down the role of Regan's mother.
• According to the schedule, the film was supposed to be shot in 85 days, but the duration of the filming process in the United States alone was 224 days.
• Max von Sydow played the iconic scene of Father Merrin's arrival at the McNeil house on the very first day of his work on the film.
• In reality, the distance from Regan's room window to the staircase outside is much greater than in the film – at that distance, it would be impossible to fly out of the window directly onto the staircase. Therefore, the set decorators added an additional “fake” extension to the house, making the supposed window of Regan's room appear very close to the staircase.
• Actress Dana Plato claimed that she was offered the role of Regan, but her mother opposed it. Blatty himself says he doesn't remember anything that could confirm this rumor.
• “The Exorcist” was the last film of Lee J. Cobb, who played Lieutenant Kinderman in it. The actor died suddenly after filming the movie.
• In the “green liquid” scene, Linda Blair’s stunt double, Eileen Dietz, appeared. Dick Smith, the film’s makeup artist, fitted the contours of Dietz’s face with small sheets of plexiglass (acrylic glass) around the edges of her mouth and on the back of her head. A hidden nozzle was fixed in her mouth cavity, where a special device was also located, allowing the “vomit” to be ejected at high speed. Small tubes filled with “green substance” were inserted into the plexiglass on both sides of her face. This was the most complex part of the construction, which meant Dietz couldn't swallow properly and couldn’t fully close her mouth.
• Composer Steve Bodecker was invited to write several musical samples for the restored director’s cut.
• The full version of the film has a runtime of 132 minutes.
• Father John Nicola – author of the monograph “Demonic Possession and Exorcism” – served as the film’s technical consultant.
• The bedroom where the main action takes place was set up in a pavilion at the 20th Century Fox studio on the west side of Manhattan. The interiors of a two-story house were also built here. In the adjacent room, all sorts of equipment and air conditioners worth $50,000 were installed, capable of cooling the air to zero degrees Celsius, so that real steam came from the mouths of those present. The entire room swayed and trembled, while the external background remained motionless. “We used various technical devices,” says Friedkin, “some beds hung from the ceiling – they could be used to depict flight around the room – others made the girl jump.”
• About a thousand girls auditioned for the role of Regan, but none impressed the producers. Then Friedkin got involved in the casting process. Finally, when the list was narrowed down to twelve candidates, Friedkin asked their mothers to read the novel along with the girls so that they could then easily discuss the content. After that, many voluntarily withdrew from filming. “With those who remained,” says Friedkin, “I talked about the book, and, frankly, I was amazed by their intelligence. Children have changed since I was a boy. Of all of them, Linda Blair was the least embarrassed by the difficulty of the task and understood it more deeply than the others. We were convinced that this role would not harm her.” Despite this, Blatty insisted that the girl undergo a medical examination, and only after that was she allowed to film.
• Alongside professional actors, the film featured two Jesuits who also served as consultants, another priest, and an entire commission of doctors.
• The Soviet newspaper «Pravda» wrote on February 2, 1974, about cases of madness resulting from watching the film: «Chicago psychiatrist Louis Schlen reports that after the film began showing in the city, he had an increase in patients. Two young men who had seen the film had to be sent to a psychiatric hospital. Four patients discovered the devil within themselves, two – in their children. In Boston, people call the Catholic center daily asking for unclean spirits to be exorcised from them.»
• The scene from the film where Chris MacNeil decided to find the source of a strange noise in the attic ranked second in the «Scariest Moments in Cinema» ranking, according to the Japanese publication Play.com.
• On January 29, 1974, the San Francisco Chronicle received a letter from serial killer Zodiac praising the film «The Exorcist». The killer reported that it was the «best satirical comedy» he had ever seen.
• The “Version You’ve Never Seen” adds several visual effects: – when Regan comes to Dr. Klein for the first time, while undergoing an electroencephalogram, she briefly sees the “white” face of the devil; – when Father Karras dreams about his mother, a flash of light with the same face of the devil can be noticed; – when Chris MacNeil returns home, she enters the kitchen, then the lights go out, and when the lights come back on, the face of the devil can be seen again: on the range hood above the stove; – before Chris enters Regan’s room, an image of the head of the Pazuzu demon statue, which can be seen at the beginning of the film, appears full-screen on the door; – then, when Chris leaves the room, an image of the Pazuzu demon in the form of a gargoyle gradually appears on the wall, to the left of the door; – in the exorcism scene, the fleeting face of the devil can be noticed again: this time instead of Regan’s face.
• «The white» face of the devil appearing in some scenes of the director’s cut is the made-up face of actress Eileen Dietz.
• Some moments in the film were re-edited by William Friedkin specifically for the TV version: — in the TV version, only the face of the Statue of the Immaculate Virgin Mary is defiled (unlike the extremely indecent theatrical version); — phrases containing blasphemy were also re-edited, by Friedkin himself due to his unwillingness to work with Mercedes McCambridge again. The phrase “Your mother is sucking in hell, Karras, you piece of non-believing scum” was replaced with “Your mother is rotting in hell,” and the expression “Shove this cross up your ass” was replaced with “Shut your mouth.”
• In the scene where the possessed Regan masturbates with a crucifix, the film crew used a stunt double. Specifically, when the daughter pushes the mother away with such force that she flies towards the wall. To stage this trick, a thin rope was attached to the actress’s waist belt, and a stuntman was positioned in the background to pull it at the right moment. However, the scene directly involving masturbation with the crucifix was entirely performed by Linda Blair herself, who said she was fully aware of what she was doing and what she was trying to depict.
• According to Craig Hamrick's book “Barnabas and Company: Casting 'Dark Shadows,' a Television Classic,” Dennis Nickerson was considered for the role of Regan. However, her mother immediately withdrew the girl after reading the “crucifix masturbation scene” in the script.
• The film is based on William Peter Blatty's novel 'The Exorcist' (1971).
• Jane Fonda and Shirley MacLaine were among the contenders for the role of Chris MacNeil. Audrey Hepburn would have agreed to play the role if filming took place in Rome. Ann Bancroft could also have played Chris, but she "missed out" as she was in her first month of pregnancy.
• During the exorcism scene, the temperature in the bedroom was significantly lowered to achieve genuine "icy" breath. Linda Blair, who was wearing only a light shirt, admitted that she couldn't even stand that day – it was so cold.
• Filming was plagued by frequent mishaps and mystical events. Nine people connected to the production of the film died. Once, on a weekend, all the sets burned down – the cause of the fire remains unknown. Actors Jack MacGowran and Vasiliki Maliaros died shortly before the film's release.
• After the film's release, the staircase down which Father Karras rolled became a Georgetown landmark and is now known as the "Exorcist Steps," consisting of 75 steps located at the end of M Street. During filming, a stuntman had to roll down it twice, and to keep bystanders out of the frame, university students paid residents $5 to stay outside the camera's view.
• Warner Bros. offered the direction of the film to the following directors: Arthur Penn, who declined as he was teaching at Yale at the time; Peter Bogdanovich, who wanted to finish other projects first (and later regretted his decision); Mike Nichols, who did not want to direct a film that depended entirely on a child's acting; and Marc Rydell.

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