Blatty reveals new documentary for 40th Anniversary Blu-ray

I’m looking forward to bringing Exorcist fans a plethora of goodies throughout 2013 in celebration of The Exorcist’s 40th Anniversary. I’m extremely excited for the greatest horror film of all time to reach this milestone.

The key item coming our way is a brand new Blu-ray from Warner Brothers and fans might be pleased to learn: it seems the disc won’t be just another rehash of the already-successful 2010 release.

In a recent communication with TheNinthConfiguration.com, author, screenwriter and producer of The Exorcist, William Peter Blatty, confirmed a new 40-minute documentary will be a new special feature on the Blu-ray, detailing the 1949 case of possession that inspired his novel.

Blatty wrote:

…to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Exorcist film Warner Brothers will put out a new high def Blu-ray with lots of new features, including a 40-minutes doc featuring a revisiting the tiny guest house in which I wrote the novel and reminiscing about it, plus some never-before-seen footage of an interview about the 1949 case of possession with Fr. Eugene Gallegher, the Jesuit priest in whose class at Georgetown U. I first heard about it

Add to this the confirmation from director William Friedkin that he worked on a new digital print which is being transferred for the Blu-ray and things start to take shape. The same print screened at the Seattle Film Festival and Friedkin stated it looked “exactly like it did through the viewfinder when I shot the movie.”

While the new documentary and a fresh print are all-but confirmed, it is interesting to note Blatty also says there will be “lots of new features”. What could they be? Cinematographer Owen Roizman’s behind-the-scenes footage from the previous release will be extremely hard to top, so I wonder what Warner Bros. might have in store. (Feel free to speculate with us in the Everything Exorcist Discussion Forums).

In his email to TNC.com Blatty also details upcoming releases of his other novels and future projects. Be sure to visit TNC.com to get all the Blatty-rich details!