CaptainHowdy.com The #1 Exorcist Fansite Since 1999
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I may be reading too much into it, but Friedkin says he’s all about stark opposites in The Exorcist film.
Dark/dimly lit scenes, followed by harsh light.
Cacophany, then immediate quiet (the ‘sow is mine’ scene, door slam, Chris and Sharon sitting silently), and vice-versa (Chris and Regan chatting, then the loud pub scene).So the introduction of an innocent, happy, laughing child versus a scowling demonic abomination, even when it’s a gradual change, seems okay for a two-hour film, as opposed to a novel that can take its sweet time.
(I will say though, the Regan and Chris play-wrestling scene verges on saccharine!)I nodded off during the movies Mimic, Sleepy Hollow (<- har-de-har-har), and Fellowship Of The Ring, all while in the theatre. A friend of mine wanted to fast-forward the 'Karras meets his mother in her apartment' scene, but he got more caught up in the movie as it went on, I'd say around the 'sow is mine' scene and onwards, haha!
Check out the guns on Linda!
Not very surprising that she’s getting the most face time there (of course, I ain’t complaining).Her “In time” line delivery was great, and just out of the blue.
It's *still* a horrible scene to watch, but seeing it broken down into individual takes from different angles, with crew members on a set, actually makes it kind of amusing!
The screening at my theatre has been bumped ahead a half-hour to 7:30pm, according to movietickets.com.
Better to be rescheduled later in the evening than earlier, of course. But it's weird, aaaall the other movie theatres in my local area have the standard 7pm start time. I already have my pre-purchased ticket with 7pm printed on it, so *shrug*Oh, and I have rats in the attic, so I'm gonna get some traps…
(and yes, they're “clean” rats.)
I’m really impressed by the visual clarity of all this wonderful footage.
So, per Friedkin, if it weren’t for the soundtrack being missing, that scene would’ve been put back in the movie??
Well, better to just leave it out, instead of trying to somehow recreate the audio with foley work and voice impersonators or something.
Besides, like Sofia said, Regan was supposed to be misty-eyed and sad, and Linda just looks mildly concerned.Linda saying the line with Friedkin’s voice is a bit of a hoot.
The DVD cover is pretty wicked, though.
Evil Regan in green tint, just before she grabs her some psychiatrist scrote! 😀Well, obviously the shock value of The Exorcist isn’t nearly as great as an initial viewing, after seeing this movie several times over the years.
BUT… one emotion I’ve gotten in more recent viewings is my eyes almost well up toward the end, when Chris sees the cured “normal-looking” Regan crying while in a fetal position. That whole scene, in fact! The shot of lifeless Merrin, Karras at the bottom of the steps, Kinderman looking over at Chris and Regan embracing.
I don’t know if it’s me showing my age (probably is), but the scene didn’t affect me like that when I first saw the movie on VHS in 1990.
Point is, I may have uh, “something in my eye” in the theatre on Thursday 😉Roller Boogie is fun, and Linda is cute, but – no surprises here – it’s also badly dated and badly acted.
Night Patrol is a bit crude (the sperm bank scene is… ugh), but a few of the gags are original. Linda’s character’s name is Sue Perman, and she almost faints when the midget captain’s speech includes the words “crap tonight”, then they beat you over the head with the joke. Ehh, you kinda have to see the movie.
Well, the first pic looks like a cross between Regan thumping Karras on the back with her bound fists, and when Karras is checking Regan’s heartbeat with a stethoscope.
Aww, look at little Rags/Pazuzu sleeping, so cuuute!And the second pic shows Linda having her back damaged, yadda yadda yadda.
Great stuff, as always.
Unable to access YouTube at this time, so I’m watching the CHUD video…
Seeing those rooms extending past the other side of the camera is just fascinating. They really went all-out on this BTS footage. Okay, that’s it, I want this Blu-Ray NOW! Aren’t they just currently sitting in some air-conditioned warehouse, waiting to be sent out? 😉“R. Schundler” (Karl) had his very own fold-up director’s chair? Really?
Thank you for the explanation on the possible reasons for that “20 minutes” line getting cut, Father. Very plausible, if I may say so.
Okay, the spider-walk scene. I’m assuming the “Regan comin’ atcha” shot was an outtake, along with the side shot of the spider-walk itself. Along with the footage of Regan snaking her tongue out and crawling on all fours after Sharon.
There’s a quick “pat-pat-pat” of ‘footsteps approaching’ sound effect during Chris’s reaction shot. (Excellent ‘terrified’ acting by Ellen Burstyn, by the way.)
The mouth gushing blood: CGI? It looks very convincing, even practical, it drips onto her nose. It aaaalmost had me thinking they constructed an entirely new staircase set in 2000, looking exactly like the 1973 set, with the same photography, and a new contortionist actress with red corn syrup in her mouth, just for that one shot.
But that can’t possibly be the case. Can it?Which brings me to another scene. Don’t know if it’s been previously brought up here.
The medallion scene at the film’s end, specifically that one shot where Dyer hands it *back* to Chris. That really was filmed in 1973, right? Not recreated in 2000 to complete that scene.
The line “Why don’t you keep it” sounds like it was spoken by another actor, maybe one of the new foley artists for TVYNS.Good point about that music put in during the ‘calling the hotel in Rome’ scene. The music adds a creeping “Uh-oh” kind of suspense. BUT without any music, it’s just Chris’s voice ranting away on the phone, which is pretty tense.
The line “I’ve been on this line for 20 effing minutes”, I think someone on this board previously said why they thought that line was cut?As for subtlety, there’s all that new foley work, including the miscellaneous voices in the background. It does create a fuller, more expanded, off-camera atmosphere, even if some of it is clearer and sharper than the original sound.
The dialog in the bar scene: a guy says “Yeah, I’ll be right back” and some woman says, I shit you not: “This is my favorite part, whoo! Whoo!!” She’s referring to the Ramblin’ Man song, which by the way, got blasted to 11. Friedkin always said he wanted sharp contrasts in light and sound between scenes.
The sound effects in Iraq get a boost too. Those pick-axes? More like slegehammers. The constant “ding-ding-ding, ding-ding-ding”? You’ll hear it again when Merrin receives the telegram.
Regan’s projectile vomit attack on Karras, the original sound is a low roar, the new sound is a badly dubbed “Blecch!”
The sounds of women weeping and sobbing when Karras sees ghostly Mother Karras sitting up in bed. Very creepy, and a reminder of the asylum.Critics can talk all they want about the new “God is in His heaven, all is right with the world” ending with Dyer and Kinderman, but the echoey chanting heard when it shows the boarded-up window is, I think, a very effective, almost poignant bookend of sound, as you hear it with the title card at the start of the film.
Ah, a communal experience while watching The Exorcist, it’s gonna be fun!
I’m curious about audience reaction to certain scenes: the door slam that ends “the sow is mine” scene, the crucifix, the Sal Mineo reference, the crucifix, the needle in Regan’s neck, the exorcism… mainly the crucifix.Actually, back in 2000, the one scene that made the audience jump the most was the telephone that rings when Karras is playing the tape backwards. We’ll see if it happens again
