[Get2Me]

Did anyone notice the EW.com article recycled the famous non-Linda, Exorcist II shot to accompany the blurb about why The Exorcist is overrated?

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20406056_12,00.html

Tsk. Tsk. You’d think they’d do a little research.

Now, if we’re talking about E2 being overrated as the worst film of all time, well it truly is that bad and so much worse than anyone could ever imagine – as a sequel to The Exorcist. I happen to enjoy certain scenes from it, but as a whole, the movie just left me scratching my head.

[Get2Me]

I like the cover for the DVD version of The Exorcist but I don’t enjoy how, for those of us who haven’t yet jumped on the Blu-ray bandwagon, The Exorcist: The Version You’ve Never Seen or rather The Exorcist: Extended Director’s Cut will be the only cut of the film available in standard definition. It’s as if the original theatrical version of the film never existed, and as such it’s only available on disc 2 of the Blu-ray edition. If anything, the theatrical cut of The Exorcist should be on disc 1 and The Version You’ve Never Seen/Extended Director’s Cut should be the addendum on disc 2. Why give TVYNS top billing when the theatrical cut of the film is what started it all?

[Get2Me]

Father Merrin said:

Both versions are remastered. Does that mean the original version in the blueray set has that cold “blue” tint to it? I prefered the original how it was… ummm… originally lol.

I, too, hope Friedkin didn’t punch up the blue tinting. In fact, I hope he removed it completely. It added nothing to the film and I think it actually broke the documentary feel. It was too other-worldly. The original 1970s colors were much more of the era and made the film more realistic. Flesh tones are flesh colored, not blue. This is Regan we’re talking about not Violet Beauregarde from Willy Wonka. There are no blueberries here! I’d LOVE to have a home version of the film whose coloring resembles the original VHS video version I rented so many years ago that shocked and scared me half to death! I only hope that “remastered from the original camera negatives” means the Blu-ray edition of The Exorcist will be everything BUT blue!

And while I’m ranting, is now a good time to mention that I hate the Digibook artwork? What’s up with “The” being a different color than “Exorcist”? It looks strange. I understand the graphic designers were trying to do something different, however it just doesn’t work in this case.

At least they retained the original typeface.

[Get2Me]

I just had to join the Captain Howdy forums and put to rest all the speculation. I can confirm, without a doubt, that the Regan dummy does, in fact, reside at The American Museum Of The Moving Image located in Astoria Queens, New York. At least it/she was there in autumn 2007 when I visited specifically just to see it/her.

If I remember correctly the placard nearby stated that it/she was displayed on (permanent?) loan from Dick Smith himself! There was also a small TV screen playing a loop of the head spinning scene during the exorcism. I guess it was supposed to provide a point of reference for the uninitiated viewing the dummy, but all it did was emphasize how much time had passed since The Exorcist was made.

I must say, it was a bit disappointing. Cool, but not quite what I expected. I thought it would bring the movie to life even more and perhaps scare me (THAT FACE!) a bit, but time has not been kind to the dummy. It/she looked awfully faded and really quite artificial. The skin was almost too tan and, aside from the facial details and the night gown, everything kind of blended together color-wise. I wish I could explain what I saw better. I’d post a picture but photography was strictly forbidden – I couldn’t even sneak a picture on my cell phone because the dummy was situated near the entrance to that floor’s collection of props and there was a guard standing a bit too close for comfort. Damn.

The whole experience was oddly surreal. Disappointment or not, I’m glad I finally got to see the Regan dummy. It’s definitely worth checking out.
Peace,
Peter

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