CaptainHowdy.com The #1 Exorcist Fansite Since 1999
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
In fairness, WB, Friedkin, Blatty could have insisted the wires be removed to add more of a supernatural effect. For individuals who know about the wires, it's a bummer seeing them on the revered blu-ray.
Father Bowdern
That's true, epic. From a film stance, no one can tie Kinderman talking about the desecrations in the church with Karras and Burke's head being turned completely backward at the bottom of M street (the Hitchcock Steps) with both Karras and Chris … unless you read the book before seeing the film.
Father Bowdern
I think the disappoint in the documentaries is that they used the “Roizman Tapes” and stills from various sources. It's the old substance vs. shadow. I'm happy to see them, but I wholeheartedly agree they were all too short and sometimes just a rehash or a slightly extended/different version of the FOG interviews.
Roizman talks about Friedkin kicking the WB documentary folks to the curb because it just work for him. What a shame. Mr. Friedkin's ego got in his way (as usual) and we are left with just the “Roizman Tapes.”
It would be nice if each main player (with the exception of those who had already passed on) talked about their experiences on set; i.e., more from Burstyn when she's pulled by the wire into Regan's bedroom wall.
Father Bowdern
I really don't think the scene works in whatever configuration and was added to TVYNS to cash in on that version. It worked to WB's advantage, but the original version is the one I enjoy the most despite the Friedkin/Blatty conversations about the EDC being the perfect cut. Rubbish. It's the same thing as put lipstick on the Mona Lisa.
Father Bowdern
Damien,
That's it! I would love to see this one with Merrin skipping rope or doing jumping jacks or shadowboxing (sans the case in his left hand, of course).
Father Bowdern
I agree. That's why I don't look at the upper part of the screen! I think the CGI was in production for over two years?Â
Father Bowdern
Dear God, Justin! Let’s hope that Dietz doesn't read that and start chiming in on that one, too! Now she'll be the contortionist, too (yet another leading part)!
I'm sure Hager was probably filmed a lot that day because they were also having technical difficulties (you can see that in the “Roizman Tapes” when the fishing wire harness pulls her legs upwards and out of sync). Plus, there were the alternative versions to contend with. To me, Hager looks a little exhausted climbing back up the stars after filming the bloody variant spiderwalk and there’s no telling how many times she had to do that. As an aside, I've always noticed that Hager wears heavy mascara which does make any sense … unless she has really dark, thick eyelashes, but I doubt it. It just doesn't even look like Dick Smith was trying hard on that makeup job like he with Dietz.
Honestly, I'm only adding one more thought into the pot about the entire thing being adjusted and possibly painted in by the same “vomit graphic designer†in 1973 or with CGI in 2000 because it certainly could be a possibility. Despite reading the digibook information about “add in a mouthful of blood,” I can see that as just using CGI to “digitally enhance” that scene; but that's only a guessture.
Roizman mentions the thing about the wires for the reason that Friedkin didn't want to use the scene. I'm thinking Friedkin probably felt the scene looks, well, just silly at that point in the film or ever. If Regan was bleeding internally like that, she would definitely be in a hospital for a blood transfusion. Even more silly is the concept that Blatty wrote about in the book that would never work on film; it's genuinely stupid looking when we see it on the FOG and laughable. I really don't think Friedkin was trying for the freak sideshow with either one which more than likely would have created that. He had a hard topic to work with yet made it work (that is in the original version). I always prefer seeing Regan's full-on possession stabbing her peesh with a crucifix and spinning her head 180-degrees.
Father Bowdern
Justin said:
I think it's entirely possible the book is just wrong. But… I still wouldn't rule out the blood being 'touched up' a little with CGI.
It doesn't look that way to me, though, after seeing all the BTS footage.
I think it's entirely possible the book is correct because WB, Friedkin, and Blatty approved the content. The “Roizman Tapes” on the subject is blurry, extremely short, and has too many objects in place for a clear view. I wouldn't rule out the blood being completing done through CGI just as the vomit scene imitation was filmed.
Father Bowdern— In complete darkness we are all the same … it is only knowledge and wisdom that separates us.
Unfortunately, the wires are still there after all the digital processing and the time it took to get the BR out to market. I've written a couple of times on this forum that its a real shame that WB did not take the time to remove those wires. MGM cleaned up the Wizard of Oz and completely removed the Cowardly Lion's tail wires which took much longer than the approximate ten minutes or less that we see Regan levitating.
Father Bowdern
Hmmm … you sure about that epic? It's seems that Blatty wrote that Kinderman scraped the paint from under his fingernail into a small evidence bag. The one-and-only Sofia can answer that for the book. However, the film hardly makes a dent in connecting the dots between Regan's bird figurine, the statue of Mother Mary desecration, and Burke's death. Like I said, if the film had been longer, we could have seen this “mystery” side, but the original cut is the best.
Father Bowdern
