The Exorcist (Blu-Ray)

The Exorcist, Academy Award® winning director William Friedkin's masterpiece of suspense haunted, intrigued, and thrilled the world. When the movie was first released in 1973, viewers were blown away. Audience members were frightened out of their wits and literally out of their seats. Some ran out of the theatre; others got physically ill or couldn't sleep for weeks. Newly remastered in 1080p from the original camera negative, this 2-disc Blu-ray includes both the remastered Extended Director's Cut as well as the remastered theatrical version of the film. Says Friedkin, "After my final cut of the original the Exorcist, I took out 12 more minutes before we actually released it in theatres. Years later, Bill Blatty asked if I'd consider reviewing some of that rejected footage (which he always felt should have remained) with an eye towards putting it into a new version. Bill gave me the best piece of material I've ever received and because of that and because the film had such a major reputation over some 25 years, I agreed to revisit all these scenes. When I saw them, I came to realize that Bill was, in fact, right. With technical advances, scenes that didn't work then could now be fixed with CGI and there were others that I thought strengthened the spiritual aspect of the film. Warner agreed and released a whole new theatrical print in 2000 which we called the Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen. And I now agree with Blatty that this is the best and most complete version." This Extended Director's Cut contains three new documentaries: Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist, including new revealing set footage produced and photographed by cinematographer Owen Roizman, as well as camera and makeup tests, interviews with Friedkin, actress Linda Blair, author/screenwriter/producer William Peter Blatty and Roizman himself; the Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now featuring a tour of the iconic locations where the film was shot, including a visit to the famous "Exorcist steps"; and Faces of Evil: The Different Versions of the Exorcist with Friedkin and Blatty discussing the different versions of the film and showing outtakes. The result is a new immersive viewing experience that takes you on the set of the film and offers a unique, up-close perspective of the filmmaking and special effects process that is rarely seen. This Blu-ray edition is packaged with a personal letter written by Friedkin inside a 38-page Blu-ray Digibook featuring striking photos, cast bios, revealing production notes and more.