The Exorcist (1973)

Director: William Friedkin
Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J Cobb

Synopsis:
The daughter of a famous actress begins to show signs of psychosis, but when modern medicine has no answers, another possibility remains: demonic possession.

Impressions:
Sometimes there are iconic pieces of cinema that just pass you by. I did actually try to watch this once years ago, back when I was stationed in Italy, but my battle buddy and I didn't get too far into it. I've been meaning to give it another shot for years, especially after I posted a review for the sequel. It felt silly having a review of Exorcist II: The Heretic and not the original. Well, it's time to resolve that.

Where do I begin? Pop cultural osmosis and a shift in norms have done a lot to diminish the film's shock value, but I think many people will still find it a fairly disturbing watch. It's a slow burn, with the explicit signs of Regan's possession not appearing until almost halfway into the runtime and the big exorcism scene being saved for the last thirty minutes. This provides a lot of time to build suspense, raise tension, and firmly establish the characters. I like how even the vast majority of the priests in the film treat exorcism with skepticism and Father Karras' wavering faith makes the challenge of facing the demon all the more powerful. Despite not having a lot of screentime, Max von Sydow has a commanding performance, but I have to praise all the major players. Ellen Burstyn, John Miller and Linda Blair all deliver the goods, and I have to give a particular nod to Linda Blair for doing so well at such a young age. (Further research comforted me to know that she was excluded from some of the more egregious scenes, a small mercy.)

While we've gotten rather numb to all sorts of objectionable content, I think the film still packs quite a punch and I can see how scandalous it was back in '73. a mere five years after the end of the Production Code. (Warner had to have greased the gears with the MPAA quite a bit to secure an R rating, I'm sure.) It's not an easy watch and I wonder how many modern viewers will have the patience for it, but I have to give all due credit for the craft on all fronts. It's reputation is well-earned on all fronts. Serious cinephiles will definitely want it in their collection.

Rating:
Own It