[TEDDY HEADSPIN]

Before Chris enters Regan's bedroom, a brief super-imposition of the statue's head appears on the door. As she leaves, irately seeking Sharon, Pazuzu's sculpture manifests on the wall to the left.

 

Bought the VHS copy of TVYNS. Visible. DVD? Very visible. Blu-ray? They cannot be seen. The shriek sound effect as she opens the door remains to match the sight of something startling, except there is no sight to compliment it.

 

I have neither heard nor read of anybody with a similar oddity in the hi-def version, so I even manipulated the temperature, brightness and sharpness of the screen. To no avail.

 

Does anybody else have a copy wherein these bizarre omissions exist?

[fatherbowdern]

Headpsin,

I'm sure I do. I have lots of copies of the film in various formats. (However, I refuse to buy anymore.)

WB tinkered with every copy since the days of Beta and VHS and Laserdisc … particularly with the sound. So you aren't seeing any illusions … you are just observant. I remember watching a VHS copy when I first got surround sound in last house and I thought they did the best job on that one with subtle nuances that others may not notice but were very intentional and well thought out.

Father B

[Justin]

Both of those effects added to The Version You've Never Seen have (thankfully) been omitted from the new print. I guess Friedkin either missed that sound effect or felt it still had it's place there

[TEDDY HEADSPIN]

Thanks, guys. I didn't know Friedkin had removed those visuals. Now, if he'd only get rid of that superimposed face on Regan during the hypnosis scene.

 

I do prefer the soundtrack on TVYNS, though. Far more evocative and atmospheric. That subtle, portentous aural piece as Kinderman and Karras discuss the desecration and Denning's murder is especially welcome.

[fatherbowdern]

I agree that superimposed Captain Howdy face on Regan is quite literally ignorant. Of course, the quick flashes throughout the film of CH are annoying as well. How many demons actually appear on range exhaust hoods?

Father B

[Jason Stringer]

TEDDY HEADSPIN said:

I do prefer the soundtrack on TVYNS, though. Far more evocative and atmospheric. That subtle, portentous aural piece as Kinderman and Karras discuss the desecration and Denning's murder is especially welcome.

Interesting topic, Teddy. I find the added soundtrack in that particular scene completely takes me out of the moment. It's one of the many reasons I'm not a fan of TVYNS/EDC.

The scene plays perfectly in the original cut. Deliberate pacing is aided by the natural sounds that surround them while they walk and talk. The back-and-forth of the tennis training as they pass the courts parallels their back-and-forth discussion; the wind that swirls through the trees of the university brings a sullen atmosphere against up-beat, competitive students training in the background.

These elements combine to create an all-natural and subtle atmospheric 'drone' which is in-keeping with the documentary style of the entire film. I find the addition of unnecessary strings drown out these natural cues, causing the scene to play more forced and, ironically, less atmospheric.

It's all there in their amazing performances. It can be seen on their faces. A synthetic drone to indicate to the audience something eerie is being discussed is detrimental to what was a perfect scene.

Just my thoughts, of course. I invite interesting discussions like this as I like hearing how other people perceive different versions of The Exorcist. I am fascinated by a generation that has only known 'The Version You've Never Seen' and modern-day horror.

Don't even get me started on the spiderwalk scene…

[ChristCompels]

TEDDY HEADSPIN said:

Thanks, guys. I didn't know Friedkin had removed those visuals. Now, if he'd only get rid of that superimposed face on Regan during the hypnosis scene.

 

You mean he didn't? I always found that superimposition to be quite annoying and overdone. The original visual of that scene remains the best and quite sufficient. 

[drexul]

It’s funny, but Friedkin putting those effects in, and then taking them back out is more troublesome to me then if he had left them in. It’s tinkering rather then thoughtful additions being made. I expect more from him. What bothered me soooo much more then those “subliminals” is captain Howdys head sitting on the range top. That scene would have been greatly improved by having that face very, very slowly illuminate and vanish behind her, as though the demon was manifesting standing behind her….almost barely perceptible….like a ghost. The location and this quick flash bulb appearance so bothers me. I think that Captain Howdy observing, barely perceptible, almost strangely curious behind her in the back of the kitchen would have been chilling.

That said, none of the additions to that scene were in anyway necessary. I will say, to a person that had seen the movie a hundred times, it made the theatrical viewing that year kind of exciting…not knowing what was going to happen. That’s why I actually like the spider walk scene. Me and my three friends were sitting there, knowing full well what was coming. What we didn’t know was how the scene would finish, with the mouth full of blood, the sound Regan makes and the fade to black with the further sounds. I remember we all kind of giggled nervously and looked at each other. It was kind of a smaller version of the blindside that viewers were faced with when it originally came out. I think the spider walk begining could have been tweaked better, but the end of it was a good payoff in my opinion.

Regans features morphing in the hypnosis scene though….ugh.

[Author]

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