Exorcist Collection Box Set, The (1973-1990)
WB DVD (region 4)
The Exorcist (1973)
d. William Friedkin; pr. William Peter Blatty; scr. William Peter Blatty novel. William Peter Blatty; ph. Owen Roizman; m. Steve Boeddeker; ed. Norman Gay, Evan A. Lottman; cast. Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Max Von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack McGowran, William O'Malley (122 mins)
Exorcist 2: the Heretic (1977)
d. John Boorman; pr. John Boorman, Richard Lederer; scr. William Goodhart; ph. William A. fraker; m. Ennio Morricone; ed. Tom Priestley; cast. Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Max Von Sydow, Paul Henreid, James Earl Jones, Ned Beatty (118 mins)
Exorcist III (1990)
d. William Peter Blatty; pr. Carter DeHaven; scr. William Peter Blatty; novel. William Peter Blatty; ph. Gerry Fisher; m. Barry DeVorzon; ed. Peter Lee Thompson, Todd Ramsay; cast. George C. Scott, Brad Dourif, Ed Flanders, Nicol Williamson, Scott Wilson, Viveca Lindfors, Nancy Fish (110 mins)
In the 1970s era of genre blockbusters, William Friedkin’s film of William Peter Blatty’s best-selling The Exorcist became something of a phenomenon. Not only legitimizing the horror movie, the film shocked viewers, outraged many Catholics and provoked a new debate about levels of cinematic explicitness in the genre. People fainted in the cinemas, and some reacted with hysteria, claiming that they were possessed by satanic forces. Violent crimes and even suicides were attributed to watching this movie, as if to do so was somehow to invite evil into the viewer’s life. Slowly, the perception grew that this enormously successful movie was spiritually dangerous. Considered one of the best horror movies ever made, the film was eventually followed by a sequel, this time directed by John Boorman, which managed the dubious distinction of being labelled one of the worst horror movies ever made. It would thus be over a dozen years before another sequel was attempted, this time going back to the Blatty ethos that Boorman had avoided. Although it is the first film that looms largest in the public pop-consciousness, the trilogy emerges as a fascinating look at spirituality within the dynamics of the American horror film. read more