Creating The Exorcist - Pt 1

The Pre - production of the The Exorcist

As I have already mentioned the film Exorcist is based on the same name novel by William Peter Blatty. The production team shoot the Exorcist Film not only in U.S.A. but also in Iraq.

The director of the the Exorcist William Friedkin, wanted to be the film very realistic, as a result almost all effect in the film are mechanical. The exterior’s of McNeil house was shoot in Georgetown, U.S.A. The Interiors of MacNeil house where built at New York’s Ceco Studios.

The Director of Exorcist

It was William Peter Blatty's idea to choose William Friedkin, to direct Exorcist. William Peter Blatty wanted the Exorcist have energy as it was William Friedkin’s previous masterpiece “The French Connection ”.

William Friedkin used D.W. Griffith’s manipulation techniques of the actors to get desired performance. Among the applied techniques where firing a gun without warring on the set  to elicit shock from Jason Miller for a shot, also, he slapped Father William O’ Malley to add intensity as he administered the last Rites to the during Father Damien Karras.

Friedkin, routinely filmed the actors unaware, zeroed in on her pain and used the shot. Linda Blair (the possessed Regan McNeil) and Ellen Brustyn (Mac Neil) suffered by pain during the shooting of the special effects scenes. Linda Blair’s screams “Stop it! Stop it! It hurts” are genuine while she was pulled back and forth on the bed and unfortunately for her the rig came loose during shooting and Linda felt the deadly pain.

Also Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) is thrown across the room after witnessing the crucifix masturbation. Jason Miller (Father Damien Karras) receives a pea soup - in the face (it was used as Regan’s Vomit) surprisingly and unexpectably.

I need to highlight that during the shooting of Exorcist, there were overruns - William Friedkin blamed for the overruns the crushed set and he announced to journalist that:

“There are strange images and visions that showed up on film that were never planned”, also he cited the following real events as empirical evidence to his opinion:

(1). Jack McCorman died shortly after the completion of his role.

(2). Max von Syder’s brother died on the day the actor arrived on the Exorcist set.

(3). The statue of demon Pazusu went missing en route to the Middle East and turned up two weeks later in Hong - Kong.

(4). The set inexplicably burned down.

William Friedkin asked the technical advisor of the film Father Bermingham to exorcise the set. Father Bermingham refused because there was the danger to spread fear and panic to cast and to the crew.

William Friedkin is responsible for the use of sentences like “Your mother is %^&**(( in hell” and he used sounds from real exorcism.

Elias Stoikos

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Awards and Nominations of Exorcist

Academy Awards of Exorcist 

The Exorcist was nominated for ten Oscar Awards. It’s the first  horror movie to be nominated for Best Picture. During the 46th Annual Academy Awards the film Exorcist was nominated for.

1. Academy Award for Best Picture - William Peterr, Blatty and Noel Marshall

2. Academy Award for Best Actress - Ellen Burstyn

3. Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor - Jason Miller

4. Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress - Linda Blair

5. Academy Award for Best Director - William Friedkin

6. Academy Award for Best Writing Adapted Screenplay - William Peter Blatty

7. Academy Award for Best Cinematography  - Owen Roizman

8. Academy Award for Best Film Editing - Norman Way

9. Academy Award for Best Art Direction - Bill Malley and Jery Wonderlich

10. Academy Award for Best Sound - Robert Knudson, Newman Chris.

Won two

a. Academy Award for Best Writing Adapted Screenplay - William Peter Blatty

b. Academy Award for Best Sound - Robert Knudson, Newman Chris.

Golden Globe Awards of Exorcist

The film Exorcist was also nominated for seven Golden Globes in 1973. Won four.

1. Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama

2. Golden Globe Award  for Best Director - William Friedkin

3. Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Pictures - Linda Blair

4. Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - William Peter Blatty

Exorcist was also nominated for

1. Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Pictures - Ellen Brusthyn

2. Golden Globe Award for Supporting Actor -  Motion Pictures - Max Von Sydow

3. Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actress - Linda Blair

American Film Institute - The Exorcist

The Exorcist is recognized by American Film Institution (AFI) and it was nominated to be among the best 100 films of this century. Also, it is thirt on the list of best Thrills, and Regan McNeil (Linda Blair) is number 9 on AFI’s list of Heroes and Villains.

Briefly The Exorcist :

 

AFI’s 100 years - 100 Movies - Nominated

AFI’s 100 years - 100 Thrills - 3th

AFI’s 100 years - 100 Heroes and Villain

- Regan McNeil 9th

AFI’s 100 years ---- 100 Qoutes

- What an excellent day for an Exorcism - Nominated   

       

Elias Stoikos

The Release of Exorcist

The Exorcist film reaches the audience

Warner Bros producers of the film Exorcist used a very conservative release pattern, they opened the film only in thirty cinemas, where the Exorcist was played exclusively for only six months. Actually this conservative release strategy would have killed off the majority of candidate blockbusters, but the film Exorcist was unstoppable, and did not influenced the route of film to be a phenomenon, and it remains the highest - grossing film of all time.

The Audience response

There was a hysterical response, there were audiences fainting and vomiting - cinemas had kity litter waiting to clean up after the Exorcist screening. Also there were audience prefearing to leave theater rather than exposing themselves to watch more screenings. According to Toronto Medical four women had to be confined to psychiatric care after seeing the Exircist. In Berkely - California, one viewer attacked the screen in an effort to “get the demon”.

The director of Exorcist William Friedkin was considering recalling and re- editing the film, but the Studio executives had a different opinion and the film was kept as it was in the first realease.

The reaction of Catholic Church

The Catholic Church supported the film and according to Catholic Times it was profoundly spiritual. There was also a large number of request for exorcisms in Catholic church - scepticism was the official Catholic Church response.

The reaction of Scientific community

The majority of doctors and psychiatrists were less impressed and the warn audience of the possible dangers watching this film.

Actually, the Exorcist was responsible for the definition of a new clinical condition known as “cinematic neurosis”, in which disturbing films exposed psychiatric problems in people with no history of mental illness. The Exorcist is being considered the first ever film to had a such widespread neurotic audience response. According to experts part of its power was related to be its depiction of disturbed childhood, recalling unresolved youthful anxieties etc.

The Exorcist was also blamed to be responsible and source of motivation for a range of criminal and suicidal acts and antisocial behavior. Among them is included one murder in UK - in October 1974 a teen had killed a nine - year - old girl told to York Crown Court that watching the Exorcist made him to do it.

The reaction of Industry

In the beginning in the USA the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) had given it an R rating, allowing children to see the film with parental approval, but there was the pressure of the media, the public and finally the R rating changed, from R rating to 17 years certificate. In United Kingdom the film Exorcist passed uncut with a X certificate but it was unvailable on home video for fourteen years. 

The reaction of Goverments and others

In Tynisia the film Exorcist was banned in 1975, because it was considered by authorities a Christian propaganda film. On the other hand the Evangelical groups in United States, believe that Exorcist was a pure Satanic film. 

Fortunately, the Academy Award Board had a different opinion and the film Exorcist was nominated for 10 Oscar Awards.

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Cast of Exorsist

Casting actors and actress for Exorsist 

Blatty hoped Brando and Jack Nicholson as Father Karras, but the film director of Exorcist William Friedkin had a different opinion. Friedkind worried that stars of such magnitude would overshadow the credit of director and will work against the film's documentary style. William Friedkin favored no - stars for Exorcist casting. 

Ellen Busty plays the part of Chris MacNeil.

Chris McNeil (fictional character) is a celebrity, a famous actress and atheist. When her 12 years old daughter Regan McNeil (Linda Blair) started to behave strangely Chris brokes down emotionally. She is trying to help her daughter, to find a solution to and to safe the life of her daughter. She visits neurosurgeons, psychiatrists and finally Catholic priest.

Jason Miller plays the part of Father Damien Karras

Father Damien Karras is a Jesuit - Catholic priest, a vocational counselor and a psychiatrists. Father Damien Karras before the exorcism he has lost his faith because the death of his mother. Father Damien Karras helps father Merrin at Regan’s exorcism. Jason Miller was trained to be a Catholic Priest, after the Exorcist film appeared in "The Ninth Configuration", and he played the part of "Patient X" in the Exorcist III (Blatty, 1990).

Max von Sydow plays the part of Father Merrin

Father Merrin is an experienced exorcist who had conducted a large number of exorcists in the past and he has experienced expelling demons through exorcisms. Father Merrn knows the dangers and risks during the exorcism but he has no hesitation to face demonic forces during exorcism. Max Von Sydow was known to audience because of his appearence in many Ingmar Bergman's films, like The Seventh Seal / Det Sjunde inseglet (1958) after the Exorcist he appeared in The Night Vision (Laslo Benedek, 1977), Deathwatch / La Mort en Direct (Bertrand Tavernier, 1980), Needful Things (Fraser Clarke Heston, 1993) and Dario Argento's Sleepless / Nochosonno (2001).

Linda Blair plays the part of Regan McNeil

Regan McNeil is a 12 years old girl, a very friendly, social and optimistic girl. Suddenly, is starting to behave very strange, there is no explanation and day by day her behaviors is getting more aggressive until her exterior look change. Regan is possessed by a demon (Pazuzu). 
The Exorcist film was the first of Linda Blair, she received an Oscar nomination for her part, and owes her fame to the film, but her association with the role made it near impossible for her to het parts in major films. But she appeared in films including Hell Night (Tom DeSimone, 1981), Chained Heat (Lutz Schaarwachter, 1983), Witchcraft (Rob Spera, 1988), also shr reprised her Regan role in the Repossessed (Bob Logan, 1990), and most recently she has been involved breaking into The Blair Witch Project (Scott LaRose, 1999) and Cyber Metldown (Mary Case, 2004). I desrves to highlight the fact that Lind Blair received after the Exorcist film release a large number of death threats. There were also rumours according to which Linda has been damaged during the shooting of the film and Linda's parents were members of an occult satanic organization and they had Satanic associations.               

Lee J. Cobb plays the partr of Lieutent William F. Kindermann

Lieutent William F. Kindermann is the character of Lieutent William F. Kindermann a older police detective investigating the Bruke Denning's death, he believes that Denning's death is related ro Regan. 

Jack MacGrowman as Bruke Dennings 

Bruke Dennings is an eccetric film director and close friend of Chris. Bruke dies unexpectectly in mysterious conditions while he was staying alone at Chris house looking after Regan. Before the Exorcist film, Jack MacGorwan appeared in Polankski's Cude - Sac (1966) and Dance of the Vampires (1967) as well as in several more mainstream projects   

Vassiliki Malliaros plays the part of Father Karra's mother

The mother of father Karras is illa nd she dies, Father Karras is suffering from depression after his mother death. 


Cameos in The Exorcist 

There are two cameos in the Exorcist film, the first is the nurse who comes into the office after the arteriogram is Linda Blair's mother. The second cameo is the producer of Crash Course as the audience see him briefly talking to Burke Dennings. 


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Origins and sources of inspiration of the film Exorcist

The Horror film Exorcist is based on the same name novel of William Peter Blatty.

William Peter Blatty

William Peter Blatty was studying at the Jesuitical Georgetown University, read in a Newspaper about the Mt Rainer exorcism case. Mt Rainer was a fourteen years old boy who was possessed by the Devil. Finally Ctaholic Priests exorcised him after several failed attempts. Later Church announced that  the Mt Rainer case was not a demonic possession case but it was possibly a case of hysteria with mild telekinetic effects. Blatty had a different opinion the case of Mt Rainer was evidence for the existence of God and Satan.

According to “Cinema pf the Occult new age, satanism, Wicca and spiritual films" (Carol L. Fry) the book was inspired by the exorcism case of Roland Doe, which involves the demonic possesion of young girl and her’s mother’s desperate effort to unchain the life of hers daughter from demonic spirits by asking two Priests to conduct an exorcism.

William Peter Blatty, believed that a book about demonic possession open new gates to the unknown and will travel readers imagination into new territories. He started to search sources for his book.

Firstly, William Peter Blatty approached the Catholic Priests who conducted the exorcist of Mt Rainer. There was a negative answer from Priests, the family of Mt Rainer was not willing to reveal information about the nightmare of possession.

How the Exorcist was born.

One of the Priests who had conducted the exorcism Father Bowdern, was willing to help William Peter Blatty to research the possible novel based on the real case of Mt Raines, he proposed to Blatty the change the gender of the victim - the gender of demonic possessed youth from boy to girl in an effort to protect sensitive data information of the Rainer family.

The fisrt draft of the novel was finished in the summer of 1970. Blatty showed his work to Chris McNeil and she took it to producer Lew Grade, but there was no interest for film rights.

The Film Rights of The Exorcist

Harper and Row bought the rights of The Exorcist, and finally the rights of the book were bought by Warner Bros for $641.000 and Blatty took the position of producer and also wrote the firs draft of screenplay.

Elias Stoikos

   
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The Exorcist

The Cast of Exorcist

The release of Exorcist

Psycho the Movie

Psycho - Shower Scene


Resources 

The Exorcist - wikipedia      

The Exorcist - Internet Movie Database 

The Exorcist - Warner Bross  

The Exorcist

The Exorcist (1973) is among the best horror films ever! A unique horror movie about possession and exorcism!

“Somewhere between science and superstition, there is another world. The world  of darkness”. The exorcist is a film about this world of darkness.

The poster of Film The Exorcist

The Exorcist (Film - 1973)

The Exorcist is a masterpiece of Horror Cinema, produced in USA by Warner Bros INC / Hoya Production Inc and it’s duration is 122 minutes.

The film exorcist directed by William Friedkin, produced by William Peter Blatty. The exorcist is based on the novel “The Exorcist” written by William Peter Blatty, the screenplay is written also by William Peter Betty.  

Executive producer of the exorcist is Noel Marshall and associate producer David Salven. Director of Photography in the film exorcist is Owen Roizman (during the Iraq sequence was Billy Williams).

Editors for this masterpiece are Evan Lottman, Norman Gay (Iraq Sequences : Bud Smith). Responsible for the Exorcist special effects is Marcel Vercouetere, for the Optical Effects is Marv Ystom and Make- up artist in exorcist is Dick Smith.   

Synopsis of film “The Exorcist”

The plot of exorcism is about the possession of an innocent girl Regan and the fight of Regan’s family against demonic forces. Psychiatrists can not cure Regan there is only one solution, Exorcism. Meanwhile, a strange death took place in Regan’s house, Crash Course director Burke Dennings is killed. The body of Burke Dennings found at the foot of the stairs outside McNeil’s house, his head was turned around.  The mysterious death of Doctor Dennings and the inability of scientist to explain the chaotic Regan’s behaviour, motivate the MacNeil family at exorcism.    

Mrs MacNeil, Regan’s mother approaches Father Karras, a local Jesuit priest, who is experiencing a crisis of faith, after the death of his mother. Father Karras visits the Mac Neil house and collects evidence, records demonic voices, the demon through Regan speak to Father Karras about the death of his mother. On Regan’s belly appear the words “Help me” and Father Karras is taunting with having neglected his mother.

Father Karras approaches the Jesuit upper hierarchy, who agree an exorcism but recommend Father Merrin, who has performed successfully one before.  The Exorcist (Father Merrinb) arrives at MacNeil house, he refuses to hear the back-story of Regan’s possession by Father Karras and he proceeds immediately with the exorcism. During the exorcism Regan’s head spins all the way around, she levitates from the bed. The Exorcism is very difficult. Father Karras told Mather Mrrin to leave, later returned to find the older priest dead, he attacks Regan, telling the demon to take him. He is duly possessed, but retains enough control to hurl himself from the window and fall down the stairs, killing himself.

Regan recovers and remembers nothing of her possession, the family moves away.

Cast of film “The Exorcist”

Ellen Burstyn (Chris MacNei), Max Von Sydow (Ftaher Merrin), Lee J. Cobb (William Kinderman),Kitty Winn (Sharon Spencer), Jack MacGowran (Burle Dennings), Jason Miller (Father Damien Karras), Linda Blairr (regan MacNei), Revered William O' Malley (Father Dyer), Barton Heyman (Dr Klein), Pete Masterton (Clinic Director), Rudolf Schundler (Karl), Gina Petruska (Willie), Robert Symonds (Dr Tanney), Arthur Storch (Psychiatrist), Reverrend Thomas Berminham (President of the University), Vasiliki Maliaros (Karra’s Mother), Titos Vandis (Karras’ Uncle), Wallace Rooney (Bishop), Ron Faber (Assistant Director), Donna Mitchell (Mary Jo Perrin), Roy Cooper (Jesuit deacon), Robert Gerringer (Senator), Mercedes McCambridge (Voice of the Demon).

Trailer of film "The Exorcist"  

Elias Stoikos

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Resources


1. The Exorcist (film) in wikipedia

2. The Exorcist (Film) on Internet Movies Database

3. The Exorcist - Warner Bros Inc