CaptainHowdy.com The #1 Exorcist Fansite Since 1999
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Listening to the scenes with Linda's voice (with the exception of the La plume de ma tante line), it gave me the sense of a little girl exhibiting the split personality as opposed to being possessed by a demon….which would lend credence to Fr. Karras' arguments against possession.  It certainly put a new context on the scenes listening with Linda's voice.
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Maybe I'm just too forgiving. LOL!
Father Bowdern said:
Steve Dunlap said:
I absolutely agree that Linda had the right guidance with Friedkin and Ellen Burstyn. It's great to be able to have that kind of nurturing, take you under the wing role model to have to help you on your path. But, in my opinion, we must also credit Linda for her ability to take those on set tutelages, take them to heart, and perform them so well. 🙂
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This is great discussion, by the way. 🙂
Just like I said above: “The good thing I can say about Blair’s acting abilities is that she was excellent at imitation and never let the camera stand in her.”
ÂAfter The Exorcist wrapped, Blair stepped into newer roles with different directors like John Boorman who had no idea how to handle an inexperienced actress like her. After all, there would not have been a sequel called The Heretic without her. Although she had Richard Burton and Louise Fletcher on set, I'm sure she felt even more awkward in their presence under the most inept helmer for this film. As straw pointed out, lines like, “”I was possessed by a demon. Oh! It's okay, he's gone now!” showed just how ridiculous Blair performed as an actress … including the idiotic tap dance scene.
Sadly, Blair reminds me of is a bad porn actress trying desperately to read her lines off of cue cards just before stripping down for the full frontal nudity onslaught to come. OUCH … click here.
Father Bowdern
LOL! I stopped after 10 seconds into that video you linked. It was unbearable.
 I've seen a couple of her other movies (beyond Heretic) and this was all too sharp a reminder of her post-Exorcist days.Believe me, I know she's done some really crap movies, and her acting did not improve. It's really too bad…it's almost as if she were a top that was spun up, and then fell off the table….and no one bothered looking for the top.
And yeah, that line “Oh, I was possessed by a demon. Oh! It's okay, he's gone now.” On the one hand….yeah, the line really sucks, and the delivery didn't do much to help it at all….but I can also see the line in context….after all, if I recall correctly, she was speaking to a little girl who had some kind of communicative issue…so it was sort of meant to be sweetly delivered, but it fell flat.
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But yeah, it is sad that she wasn't given more tutelage, and more “under the wing” treatment (like in The Exorcist) so that she could go on to be a better actress. At least she admits that some of the movies she's done were utter crap.
I absolutely agree that Linda had the right guidance with Friedkin and Ellen Burstyn. It's great to be able to have that kind of nurturing, take you under the wing role model to have to help you on your path. But, in my opinion, we must also credit Linda for her ability to take those on set tutelages, take them to heart, and perform them so well. 🙂
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This is great discussion, by the way. 🙂
It is an interesting point that is brought up about how Pazuzu operates. And if we hold Dominion to be in canon with the history of The Exorcist, then we basically see Pazuzu saying: “I can do anything! Don't f*** with me!”
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He takes a crippled, beaten, and grotesquely formed boy, the very poster child of pain and suffering, and turns him into a thing of beauty (perhaps symbolizing the perfection that Lucifer was before he was cast down from Heaven.)
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And then he takes a beautiful little girl many years later, and turns her into a ghastly figure of horror and vileness, subjecting her to much pain and suffering.
It does indeed take the edge off the movie when you watch the “on-set” filming footage with Linda Blair smiling while wearing the demon makeup.
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There are a lot of folks who feel that children are not good actors. But, with the right guidance, they can be quite the little stars/starlets. I still look at sweet scenes like Regan and Chris having mother/daughter pillow talk, Regan, Chris, and Sharon talking about the horse, and find a very naturalistic approach to the acting. The conversations sound like conversations, and not forced scripting. Almost as if they were somewhat improvised.  To me, that's acting. 🙂
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And her blank expression as she says to the astronaut: “You're gonna die up there.”….niiiiice.
I didn't really find much wrong with the extended hospital visit scenes either.Â
I would say one scene I did find the acting just a little skewed with was when Rags asks Chris: “Mother, what's wrong with me?” That did sound a little forced.
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But, that's also solely an opinion. 🙂
But the thing was, George C. Scott was originally intended to play Lt. Kinderman in the original Exorcist, but he was busy at the time with Patton, so they got Lee J. Cobb instead…who did a tremendous job with the role. He always cracks me up with his conversation with Fr. Karras.
Actually, I was quite disappointed when they removed the Pazuzu flash from Regan's wall at that point. At least they kept the Captain Howdy flash when the kitchen lights are going haywire.
Heh, wait until The Black Hole hits blu-ray. (If anyone here is familiar with that movie–Disney's first PG rated film).Â
In that movie, suspension wires were all too visible.  They'll really stand out on blu-ray if they aren't digitally removed.
While I enjoyed Kubrick's take on “The Shining”, the tv miniseries is apparently a much closer adaptation of the King novel, as it shows the gradual decline of sanity and the breakdown of the family.
LOL! Apologies if this was a slightly uncomfortable subject, Ceru. :) It had been so long since I'd read the novel…the only thing that really stuck with me in the novel was the spiderwalk/tongue flick scene (half of which was restored for TVYNS).
