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I was chiefly impressed that the film used pre-existing music rather than hiring a specific composer (Lalo Schifrin’s score was rejected and some of it re-used, if memory serves, in The Amityville Horror).
This tended to give the film a timeless tone – much as did Kubrick’s use of classical music for 2001. Although Jerry Goldsmith, Alex North, Bernard Herrman and others could have done a competant job with The Exorcist, I believe that ultimately the film gained from the more abstracted music finally chosen than it would have from a standard soundtrack composition.
The interesting thing to me is that the editing-in of pre-existing music was done so well that none of it seems obtrusive. The music is widely variegated – yet, there remains a wholeness of tone, almost as if the music pre-selected itself.
Thanks for the Penderecki information. I’ve always been a film music fan and anything relating to it – including the use of outside sources – is usually quite interesting to me!
Yes, I too have always been impressesed with the way the existing music and other sound materials were woven into the fabric of the film. My appreciation was especially bolstered when I watched the original, 1997 DVD version while listening with ear buds. I had been enjoying and studying the film ever since I first saw the film in the theaters in 1979 (I got my first VCR back in 1983), but *listening* to the film like this was a whole new experience. If you can, you should try to listen to the film with good quality ear buds or headphones. There is so much subtlety in the sound design that I’d never noticed in either the theater or the home viewing experience. Things like hearing the demon’s cry of “Merriiinnn!” in the cacophany of sounds during Merrin’s stand-off with the statue at the end of the prologue, then hearing faintly ambient sounds from the Iraq prologue as Chris is investigating the rappings in Regan’s bedroom the first time in Georgetown. The movie is just filled with stuff like that… and it’s taken over 20 years of experiencing the movie to pick up on it! I wonder if these types of sound techniques are a big part of why the film gets under one’s skin. Too bad they had to destroy this subtle magic when they “enhanced” the sound for TVYNS…
And yes, using Penderecki’s music was an absolute master stroke. But then, it seems like every time his music is used in a film it is special and highly effective. The Shining is a brilliant example, of course, and selected snipets of his music were also used to great effect in Fearless and the more recent Children of Men. Penderecki did one actual film score that I know of (an obscure Polish film called The Saragosa Manuscript, back in the 60s) which is supposedly pretty wild and wonderful from what I’ve heard. I wonder if he will ever do any others. I hope so. In the meantime, in addition to the avalaible Exorcist soundtracks (the original “Music Excerpts from…” and the remastered version included in the 25th Anniversary Box) I’ve collected recordings of just about all the Pendercki music that has ever been used in films. That’s why the release of The Devils of Loudun was so exciting to me. It’s great to have extended versions of the music that made The Exorcist so memorable and affecting.
Great comments. I love what you said about all the subtle sounds on the Exorcist soundtrack – as you say, a brilliant ploy that puts the film under your skin…
Yes, it’s always been the subtleties of the film that have impressed me most and resonated over the years. For instance, the sounds and images of the brief linking scenes are so beautifully and artfully composed. I’m thinking here of the low shot of the house directly preceding Chris’ conversation with the operator in Rome (with the subtle howl of the wind and swirling leaves), Chris’ drive home from the doctor’s office the night of Burke’s death (with the prickly sounds/music perfectly conveying her desperate confusion and inner turmoil), Karras’ departure from the MacNeil house – and Kinderman’s glimpse of the shadowy figure in Regan’s window – after the priest’s first visit (with Jack Nitzche’s wonderfully eerie crystal glasses) and especially that wonderful montage beginning with the ride home from Barringer Clinic and ending with Kinderman finding Regan’s sculpture at the base of the steps (so effectively accompanied by the otherworldly drone from the intro to Penderecki’s Cello Concerto). Then, of course, there is Merrin’s arrival at the house – so exquisitely artistic, even poetic! Unfortunately, reviewers and commentators of the film tend to miss these subtleties somewhere amidst the shock and spectacle of pea soup, spinning heads and the like (elements which could have ended up coming off as downright silly were it not for the care and attention put into all the quieter little moments leading up to them). Pity…
I can only agree with your expertise and assessments… Yeah, it’s a pity that the sound is overlooked, even by those who should be most interested in it…
On the subject of the music in The Exorcist… has anyone ever obtained an English translation of the liner notes from that original “Music Excerpts From…” soundtrack album? Both the vinyl version and the CD were apparently released as Japanese imports only, and the text is therefore all in Japanese. As far as I can tell, it seems to have a song-by-song rundown of each piece, and how/where it was used in the film. The liner notes of the remastered version (that came with the 25th Anniversary box set) were really wonderful (as was the design of the booklet itself), but the details of where particular pieces of music were used in the film were largely inaccurate. Just curious…
More Music Excerpts…
I suppose this could be posted under a more off-topic category, but as it does pertain to the original Exorcist I thought I’d come here…
A DVD of Krzysztof Penderecki’s opera The Devils of Loudun has just been released. It was filmed for German TV shortly after it’s premier in 1969, and features the Hamburg State Opera under Marek Janowski. I believe this is the recording Friedkin drew from for use in The Exorcist. From what I can tell upon an initial listen, the eerie orchestral whisper which opens Act 3 of the opera can be heard as Karras makes his way to the MacNeil home after receiving Sharon’s late night call (directly preceding the ‘Help Me’ scene).
The opera itself is quite a wild experience. Anyone familiar with Penderecki’s early avant garde work will know what to expect musically. Dramatically, it’s like a Bosch-ian vision of hell, and is surprisingly graphic for a television production (but then, we are talking Germany). The visuals are very medieval, very late 60’s/early 70’s in tone, almost Hammer-esque. The more adventurous among you might want to check it out. The DVD is available on Amazon…
If anyone would like to further discuss the music used in The Exorcist (or Penderecki’s work in particular) I’d love to see this thread continue…
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