is offered some brandy for his coffee, to which he replies, “The doctors say I should- n’t, but thank God, my will is weak.” “Everyday life is neither Olsen and Johnson [a famously chaotic Vaudeville duo]
nor The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 24-7, so if you want to build credibility you must always have some smiles along with the frights, and the tragedies and the tears, and so, yes, it was part of my plan. ... When I sat down to write the novel, I had no confidence that I was capable of writing a page, a paragraph, or even a line without a touch of the comedic.” Among other things, The Exorcist stands out as a fantastically loyal book-to-
movie adaptation, but in an ironic twist it was the director who vetoed an early ver- sion of the script for straying too far from the novel. The original draft was 172 pages; in it, Blatty edited down the events leading to the possession to a mere 30 pages in order to make room for the subplot in the novel involving Elvira, the drugged-out daughter of Karl, the servant. (Several other red herrings in the book – including the desecration of a nearby Catholic church – are also given short shrift in the film.) “It meant a lot of flashy camera and expository tricks, and it was to this that Billy
objected,” recalls Blatty of the changes, “and what I believe he meant when he told me my script wasn’t faithful to my novel.” Once the men agreed on a script, it was time to cast the film. Marlon Brando and
Jack Nicholson both coveted the role of tragic hero Father Damien Karras but were turned down by Friedkin, who feared that a huge star would bring too much baggage to the part; Gene Hackman was also briefly considered before Blatty settled on Stacy Keach, but Friedkin ultimately held out for the virtually unknown Jason Miller after seeing him in a Broadway play. Actresses considered for (and expressing interest in) the character of Chris MacNeil included Anne Bancroft, Jane Fonda, Au- drey Hepburn and Blatty’s close friend Shirley MacLaine (on whom he had based the character in the novel) before it went to Ellen Burstyn, who had recently enjoyed critical acclaim for her turns in The King of Marvin Gardens and The Last Picture Show. Thirteen-year-old Linda Blair, an unknown, was cast as Chris’ demonically possessed daughter, and the ensemble was rounded out with Von Sydow (who was in his mid-40s at the time but was convincingly made up by now-legendary effects genius Dick Smith to look several decades older), Lee J. Cobb as a gently acerbic homicide detective and Kitty Winn as Chris’ assistant. The actual shooting of the film is well covered in Warner Bros’ two-disc Blu-ray
Divine Intervention: (top to bottom) On set with (left to right) Jason Miller, Blatty and Ellen Burstyn, Chris’ assistant Sharon (Kitty Winn) returns from Regan’s room, the rite in progress, and (inset) Regan (Linda Blair) possessed.
first was that, being a superb maker of documentary films [much of the director’s early work was in this field], he would give the film the strong sense of realism that was needed. Without this, my screenplay could have been translated into something not awesome, but ludicrous. As for my second reason, I’ve for years been quoted as saying the film had to be directed by either a Catholic – even a lapsed Catholic – or a Jew, for chances were that only one or the other would have the emotional sensi- bility to truly understand the deadly reality of possession and the power of exorcism, a ritual frequently practiced by Christ himself.” Deadly serious as the subject at hand may have been, Blatty couldn’t entirely es-
cape his roots in comedy, resulting in some much-needed levity mainly during the earlier stages of both the novel and the film, such as the scene in which Father Merrin
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(out October 5), which proves just how enduring the production is. The set features a new Extended Director’s Cut of the film with even more previously discarded footage restored by Friedkin (with commentary), however purists will undoubtedly rejoice that a remaster of the 1973 theatrical version is present as well. Brand- new extras include the 30-minute documentary Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist, featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Blatty, Friedkin, Blair and cinematographer Owen Roizman (see sidebar). The retrospective was written and directed by go-to guy Laurent Bouzereau, probably the most prolific creator of DVD extras in the history of home video. There are shorter features as well: Faces of Evil, in which Friedkin and Blatty discuss different versions of the film, and George- town Then and Now, a tour of some of the film’s locations, including, naturally, the infamous house on Prospect Street. Trailers and TV and radio spots from both 1973 and the 2000 theatrical re-release abound, but the true gem in this set remains The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist, a superb feature-length 1998 BBC doc- umentary that was originally included on the DVD release of the theatrical cut. Given that the film still garners that much interest today, it’s impossible to over-
state the media frenzy it created upon its release on December 26, 1973. Certain classic horror films of previous decades had provoked some
strong and often alarming audience reac- tions, but absolutely nothing – not King Kong, not the classic Universal mon- sters, not Psycho and neither Night of the Living Dead nor Rose- mary’s Baby – had ever had such repercussions. Cases of view- ers fainting, vomiting
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