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The Exorcist director William Friedkin recently had an interview with MovieWeb and discussed the possibilities of The Exorcist being re-released in 3D, on IMAX, remake rumours and the upcoming Blu-ray disc. Thankfully, he states, as long as he is alive a 3D version of The Exorcist is never going to happen. I personally find this very comforting. While some might think 3D is the second-coming, I still find it very clunky and gimmicky. Friedkin elaborates on 3D in this interview and touches on points I strongly agree with.
Thanks to James Cameron’s mega-blockbuster 3D epic Avatar, many upcoming films are suddenly being announced as 3D, with the idea that it’s what audiences desire. It’s becoming such a popular move by studios, in fact, that many older films are rumoured to be getting a 3D overhaul and re-released to cinemas. Not unlike the re-release of The Exorcist in 2000, only with new technology that breaks the image up to render it viewable as a 3D film.
The Exorcist is effective enough without 3D. The idea of seeing the film in this format might excite those who believe The Exorcist is a monster movie… but it’s not. I feel like 3D would be very out of place in Regan’s room, but I can’t help being intrigued by the idea. The idea of an IMAX release is also interesting. IMAX works well for action sequences, and there was a 70mm print of The Exorcist in 1979 that could be used, but I’m not sure it’s completely necessary.
The Blu-ray disc, on the other hand, is one-hundred-percent necessary and is coming our way in September 2010. Friedkin touches on how he has remastered the film for the new format release. We also know that extra special features will be included, and both the original cinema release (1973) and The Version You’ve Never Seen (2000) will be available on the one disc.
Here’s a link to the interview, and a snippet of the juicy bits pasted below.
Warner Brothers is obligated to come to me. And they do. The point is, it’s a totally different medium. I currently have control over every single frame of film when converting it to Blu-ray.
I don’t like 3D. I don’t believe there is any film that I have seen and loved that would have been improved by a scintilla in 3D. To me, it’s just a gimmick. To me, the art of cinema is the same as the art of painting. The artist takes a 2D medium and gives you the illusion of depth. If you look at any of the great paintings, you have the illusion of depth. Which is part of the art. The same with the great movies.
Billy Wilder said it best. You should never really remake a picture. If a picture was great, it will stand. And you can’t top it. If it was a piece of shit, why would you want to do it again? I’m pretty sure that with the way things are going, and the lack of imagination that exists amongst the major studios these days, they are going to eventually remake everything. That is the way of the world.
