I think it was exactly at the right time. Had it come out in the 80s it likely wouldn't have been as raw, and had it come out post 80s it would have gotten ruined by CGI. It literally was at the perfect time for great practical effects, and and older world feel, the grimyness and bland colors of the 70s films, mixed with great practical effects. It was literally the perfect time. Movies were still slower paced which lends itself to a movie like this where it is grounded in reality and doesn't go to far into phantasy, or go overboard and take you out of it to th epoint where you think this couldn't happen. It pushes that line but doesn't go over it like every single demon posession ghost movie after.
No doubt, i am starting to believe that we live in this home we call earth or gaia...whatever the nam is, here among and between common people and great people. I dont want to sound fascist or some other way. BUT, the same way... that we have unforgetable movies, Greaters Movies. The problem present us (viewers, directors, common people...) when we have a terrible movie and we have good or A Very Good Momento! ¿ok? Well that is something that we must tolerate. Thanks.
Snuck down to the spare room in the middle of the night to watch this when I was a child. One of the worst decisions of my life. I couldn't sleep for weeks.
'The Exorcist' succeeds most from the fact that it is first and foremost a well made dramatic film. It takes its characters seriously and invests you in their situation. It builds its horror in layers rather than hitting you all at once with jump scares. And then it just goes balls-out wild with its (at the time) innovative special effects. And then gives you an emotional ending! It's a hell of a good character driven, well-acted film, plain and simple.
Exactly! What a lot of the sequels, reboots, etc, always fail to do to it's incorporating those human elements in the film. They focus more on the shock factor and cheap scares, rather than creating characters that feel real. What I love so much about the original is the relationship of the mother and daughter, and her complete desperation of trying to save her, as well as father Karras struggle to regain his faith, while at the same time dealing with the guilt of losing his mother. It's all perfectly written and acted. It deserves all the praise that it has been given.
@@Danjoker. That's the highlight of a lot of the 70's movies - the emphasis on character first to drive the story from there. 'The Godfather' works for that reason. 'Annie Hall'. Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver' gives you a look into a twisted mind in depth before becoming a shoot out. You're more invested then.
Perfect film perfect horror film , taps in to the subconscious results of waning religious belief in the latter part of the 20th century, only part of it that made me shout then laugh was believing there’s rats in the loft when it sounds like a 900lb grizzly moving a wardrobe around😂
All the relationships in the film feel genuine. Especially the younger priest, with the guilt about his mother (I also like the fact that he tells the mother to get psychiatric help first). Also you really feel like her and Linda blair are mother and daughter.
I think that you using the word arguably is being overly submissive it is easily the best horror and amongst the greatest movies of all time regardless of genre which is seldom seen.
@@EnjoySackLunchthe subway scene and him waving at his mom and she cant see him and shes acting weird? As ive gotten older that scene is absolutely terrifying, and ive had that dream
@@kevinwhelan9607 another bull crap performance, they guy was terrible . How you seem Hot to Trot with Bobcat G? He's a a better choice and you KNOW IT, IF YOU REALLY STUDY
I know people who say it isn't scary or it's too dated. If you watch it in a theater full of people you will have a different experience than watching it at home with the lights on and multiple distractions....people talking, checking phones, etc. Nothing is scary under those circumstances. The movie gets off to the races immediately. That opening sequence is just everything. Ellen Burstyn walks home from work with the famous theme in the background. Trick or treaters race by with their costumes blowing in the wind. Then that iconic shot of the nuns with their robes blowing around. It's just so good. By the time they start using the Ouija board and talking about Captain Howdy I'm already terrified.
Watched it recently on 4k, and I generally agree, though I will say some of the end bits are extremely cringe. When the two priests are doing the blood of christ compels you bit? I couldn't help but laugh. Outside of that, still extremely unnerving and scary movie.
I saw this when I was around 14, maybe 15. When it was released, and I have seen thousands of different horror movies in the last 50 years, but no other movie scared me like this one did.
I remember going to the cinema to watch it with my two sisters and I was the same age (I got in) they went to the pub after it and I had to walk home alone and I remember walking all the way home in the middle of the road on a windy night... I was terrified 😂😂😂
I remember seeing this as a teenager when it first came out. There were literally people in the audience throwing up, crying, and screaming in absolute terror.
People were a weird combination of very tough but also soft and fragile back then. We have been toughened by seeing so much gore and horror in the news and on film.
70s films just hit different, especially 70s horror, The Exorcist and The Omen are perfect imo, modern horror just doesnt come close. As a grown man The Exorcist is the only horror movie that still makes me uncomfortable and I have seen all flavours of horror
The 1970s were by far the greatest decade ever for movies. I was in my teens back then and it seemed like every week a masterpiece was released, it was unreal and back then we had movie THEATERS, giant ass movie screens and balconys in the theater, sound systems that would feel in your gut. In terms of horror the Exorcist will never be beat, and for suspense Alien will never be beat. I saw that with my mother and when the alien popped out of the guys stomach my mom got so shocked she kicked the metal support of the seat in front of her and broke her foot
@@tonybozzelli287 - Oh wow, I saw that in the theater as well and with my dad who got totally freaked out. That scene where his head gets cut off by the glass, I couldn't believe they put that in a movie not it's like nothing today. But remember the photographs with the white streak throuogh the people? Wow that gave me such a chill down my spine. The best horror movies will always be the ones that are most believable
Quentin is so right! Back in 1973,seeing it in theaters was the only way. No internet,memes. We didn't have all the info we do today,and that added to the fear. ALL practical effects! Great video,thanks.
I watched this movie at least five times in my life. Every time I watched it, it takes me one whole week to get it out of my head. This movie is a masterpiece.
Agreed. William Friedkin was a genius. The critics (and a**hole American filmgoers) threw him under the bus after "Sorcerer." But that was a brilliant movie, too.
I’ve seen this movie a hundred times and I feel the same sense of dread every time. To me it’s not just a horror movie. I put it in the same category as the godfather as far as great movies go.
I remember the first time I saw this movie I was SO scared that I literally thought I’d never be happy again. I felt like there was no hope anymore lol. What a powerful movie it is!
It is hard to explain to younger people (I am in my late fifties) how terrifying the movie was. It was the first horror film that I saw that felt almost like a documentary. It was shocking.
I can’t even begin to imagine how scary it must have been. I watched it in the early 2000s and I think I’ve never been so scared in my life. I had to distract myself with video games or dvds. In the 70s I think I would have been traumatized 😂
I actually went to the theater and saw the re-release. The audience was filled with kids and they were laughing during scenes. I was thinking WTF???, this isn't a comedy you dumb*ss kids! They just didn't get it!
Friedkin's background was in docs, so that is what you were vibing for sure. The film is shot so flat and matter of fact, that is what makes it so unnrerving.
Eh. What's a price compared to the love and reverence it has garnered from its audiences? Especially considering the mediocre and formulaic movies that receives academy awards and similar prizes all the time. The Exorcist brought the very art to new levels, that's a whole other level
Friedkin was a genius. Saw The Exorcist on video when I was 15. Only movie ever gave me nightmares. If Tarantino still shows this on Saturday nights in October at his movie theater, I would definitely make it part of a trip to LA
One of the film's most poignant moments occurs when Chris asks Karras if her daughter will die, and he simply replies, "No." Karras isn’t offering polite reassurance or telling her what she wants to hear-he truly means it. The film is not merely about exorcism or possession but about the emotional and spiritual battles we all face.
That’s why it transgresses its genre. Yes it’s a horror film. But it’s about god and faith and the meaning of our lives. Like, there’s never been a horror movie as deep as it, and it’s also why it makes it the most frightening.
I am 41 years old and this movie still scares the shit out of me. I saw it for the first time in 2000 when it was back in theaters and they add the deleted scenes back in and when she came downstairs doing the spider walk scared me so much that I couldn’t get that part out of my head for weeks after I saw it.
No matter how many times I watch this masterpiece of film I am always impressed by the entire experience Friedkin delivers. From location to music score to cast and cinematography the whole film is a perfect example of how to make a convincing psychological, thriller/horror. The pace, tone, colours, or lack of, the coldness, everything fits. The Exorcist is up there with the greatest movies of our time and rightly so and no matter how many times other directors have tried to encapsulate the essence of this film (The Exorcist 3 comes closest) they just can't get it. My only regret is that I never got to see it on the big screen but at least I watch it every year around Halloween on DVD. It's a true classic in every sense of the word.
I have been to the rerelease, when it came out. I had to go alone, because my wife wouldn't watch it. Cinema was packed and I got seat 13 in row 13, which was the last decent place not in front of the screen.😈
the moment that always got under my skin was when karras is first brought to see regan. Karl is outside of her bedroom door and as they approach he gives the news "it doesn't want straps". He called regan "it" to her mother. This speaks about the evolution that went on in the house, at that point they were calling her daughter "it" without flinching.
@@feathermorren4456 I need to add this also.. One of the creepiest scenes was when Det. Kinderman was sitting outside in his car looking up at Reagan's window and you see her shillouette floating past the window.. Knowing that the scene right before, she was strapped down to the bed 😵💫!
@@TheFremenBluethat’s what he means. How they completely ignore her humanity when she fully becomes possessed. They know deep down it isn’t a mental health issue which he struggles with the entire film
@@starshiplazyboy475are you trolling? People say they love that movie. Prince of Darkness is another movie I cant get into. People say they are good but they just seem crappy.
Kael’s criticism is rich, because this is - actually - based on true events: an exorcism successfully carried out by a Catholic priest. One of that priest’s close confidants was a hard nosed, no-nonsense Jesuit who happened to also be my high school instructor 10 years ago. A level headed man, I’ll never forget him tearing up, explaining the true story to me when I visited him at his nursing home about a year ago. That exorcism happened.
I was born in ‘74. So some time after that, I was maybe 5-7 years of age, and it was released for TV and EVERYONE was talking about it. Not knowing what we were asking . . . we requested and begged our (evil) step mother to watch it. She must’ve known how horrible it was. It blew the doors off cinemas. I remember her saying “alright . . . but if you stay up to watch it, you have to watch the whole thing.” Knowing that we would have nightmare nightmares. The movie started and it got scary, so much so that we were crying and trying not to open our eyes. I could hear here say “now you guys wanted to watch it so don’t do that!” We had to sit there and watch it but I tried my best to cover my eyes and ignore the horrific sounds and conversations. We were scared of our step mother. She was mean and manipulating and would makes us feel like we were nuisances and not worthy of love among other abusive tactics. To this day, I don’t know what I was more afraid of… The movie or her… But the movie ended and we were able to process it as entertainment. To this day I dislike her and while I’m still afraid of this movie… I can appreciate its artistic and successful execution of the most terrifying movie in existence.
I think what makes the Exorcist so scary that it still holds up today, is that William Friedkin didn't want to direct it as a horror film, like Halloween or Friday The 13th and Nightmare On Elm Street, he wanted it to be a serious film like a drama that dealt with a story of a possessed young girl.
It is actually based on a true story about a young boy who became possessed in Baltimore, MD which is where I saw it. Then they moved him to a facility in St. Louis, MO. I'm in Indiana but I was in Baltimore helping my sister who had dislocated her shoulder swimming in the ocean. Supposedly, the true story took place just 2 miles from where they lived at the time. The movie scared me to death, I saw it in 1976 and I'll never forget it!
@@ImYourOverlord I'm not sure about that, the central focus is the possessed girl but you can have your opinion. They did interview the actual priest who performed the exorcism. Research it and look it up, it's very interesting. I'm sure you can find it on TH-cam.
The exorcist also works as a movie about a mother whose child is suffering from a mental/physical illness that doctors are giving up on and the mom is left hanging on a prayer. Worst nightmare of a parent.
People were already pumped up and freaked out before the movie even started.You had to be alive then to witness firsthand all the hype this movie received.
“The Exorcist” (1973) and “The Shining” (1980) are the two best horror movies of all time. The decade from 1973 to 1982 was a bounty for horror movies: - The Exorcist (1973) - The Wicker Man (1973) - The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) - Jaws (1975) - Carrie (1976) - The Omen (1976) - Suspiria (1977) - Halloween (1978) - Dawn of the Dead (1978) - Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) - Alien (1979) - The Shining (1980) - An American Werewolf in London (1981) - The Thing (1982)
Those are good, scary movies. I read The Shining before I saw the movie. It was much scarier in my imagination. Robert Guillaume played Dick Halloran in my head, Robert Ulrich was Jack Torrance, in my imagination. Neither of the movies compared to reading the book.
I'd add The Omen II to that list. Critically, it is not on the same level as The Omen but it has some very potent scenes, like the skating scene and the fatricide scene. Or when the snobby schoolteacher challenges Damien to a history quiz and Damien pwns him, knowing every event in detail as the teacher went farther back in history. To me that scene is as potent as anything in horror.
This is played every October, at the crest theater in Sacramento! Definitely one of my favorite horror movies! But also one of my favorites 🎥 films, period😮!
I was 12 in ( 1980 ) and alone in the house. Uncensored version on Montreal TV. "Do you know what she did.....?" When my parents got home, I was sitting up in bed, and I had turned on every light in the house. Last movie that ever truly scared me.
I don't know which "adult" in my life when I was a 5-7 year old kid made me watch this movie; but it literally traumatized me for decades! Decades!!! The image of Reagan full-on possessed haunted me well into my 30's (ok 40's :/). Every time I went to bed I feared turning on the lights because her image would enter my mind. I still shy away from even looking at that image of her to this day. Watch it at night alone? NO WAY!!!
I saw this movie in around 77 I believe. I do remember my mom and dad seeing the first release. Now my dad was one tough s.o.b. ! Nothing scared this guy. But when they came home, he had a look on his face I never saw before and never saw since. He told me years later, after I came out of the military, that for the longest time, he couldn't get her face out of his head. My point is, this movie 🎥 leaves a mark that never goes away. I am a true horror movie fan . But, with the exception of one or two movies this movie is still FANTASTIC! Even now.
Probably the only movie that really scared me. In 1978 it was playing at our local theater at the midnight movie. A couple of my friends and I went to see it on a Thursday night. About 5 minutes in, one of my friends got up and walked out. Friday Night another of my friends wanted to go see it. So I told him I'd go with him. My friend who had walked out, also decided to go back and try again. About 10 minutes in, he walked out again. Saturday Night, same thing happened. A third friend wanted to go. So he and I and my friend who walked out went to see it. I was like, Robert, are you sure you want to go? You're kinda just wasting money. He said, "No, no, I want to get through it. I think I can get through it this time". He lasted about 15 or 20 minutes before he just couldn't take any more and he walked out. I talked to him later and he told me that when he was a kid, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang scared him. I laughed so hard. I was like, if Chitty Chitty Bang Bang scared you, you have no business going to The Exorcist.
@@mst3kpimp It was 46 years ago. I don't remember exactly what was going on. Maybe it was when the priest was at the archaeology site and saw the vision, I don't know. Why is it so important to you?
I always recommend that people read the novel. I always thought Karras was better developed. The movie has a brilliant style in itself, but the book delivered the humanity of Karras. When he is dying, there's a description of his eyes, which the movie doesn't do justice to. It's not that Catholicism wins, it's that the faith of one man standing for what is right matters. It's a heroic story just like a Batman tale, but such a more intimate setting of people who have lost or are losing, but find the honest courage to get back up for what is right.
Does he win though? I always thought the flash of his mother’s face at the curtains before he jumps shows he was deceived and that all along the target wasn’t Regan, it was Karras and the old guy.
@@jameslangley2196 Maybe he didn't win. When he returns in Legion, you do find out how much he was made to suffer. But at times the heroic value can still be a tragic value. Because whatever the cost to him was, he did accept it to release the child from her suffering. And though I agree that Karras and Merrin were targets, I think the girl was also a target. Did he win, perhaps not, but did he give it up for the sake of the child, I believe so. Anyway, that was my take, thank you for the thought.
The director and screenwriter, and maybe the actors, have to decide how material is translated - what to alter or leave out entirely. Because maybe it isn't best when depicted in a totally different medium. I prefer to look at it like this: you have two versions now, perhaps both good in their own ways 😃
Dec. 26th 1973 through winter 74. Chicago. Opening night was cold and blustery amid the lighted downtown christmas reds and blues. The lines went around the corner. One for tickets for the next show after the next show.. One for tickets for people about to go in. I partly holding my mom's hand while craning above shoulders looking as the line inched forward. The marquee poster of the shadowed priest under the lamp post melted into view. A lady in front of us lost her nerve and wanted to leave. Her family physically restrained her. Her grip tightened around the rosary she held. Just before we reached the lobby, Up the street were twirling red white lights looming larger toward the theater. It was an ambulance. No siren. Then two more behind it. They parked and sat. Suddenly, the lobby door flung open to a waving hand from a guy in a red vest, an usher probably. Two paramedics rolled in something like a wheelchair and out came someone strapped in with a bag over the face. Then another... and another. I squeezed my mother's hand. I was not ready to see this film. The theater owner later made an arrangement with the alderman to have an ambulance parked around the corner from the theater on a regular basis for the next few months. I bought the book, read it, saw it again in a packed theater. Never saw so many people in one place get sick at the same time over the same thing. They ran up the isle to throw up in the rest room only to let go in the lobby. Then back they went. Out came a bucket on wheels rolled in by an usher in gloves with a sqawking hip clip radio. Amazing.
My older brothers waited until my parents went out, then they tied me to a chair, put me in front of the television, and made me watch this film, they thought I’d be shaking, and screaming, but the joke was on them, I loved it, it scared the hell out of me, but I really enjoyed it, I was eleven years old.
I saw this movie in a packed theater on its original released in 1973. It was an astonishing experience. People reacted viscerally and vocally to the movie. I was completely keyed up for hours afterwards.
ever since EVERYONE tried to top it, and no one EVER came close no matter CGI's no matter what they do, NOTHING will ever come close to the "EXORCIST" and we horror crazes we keep searching for the same high but nothing ever came close and dont think ever will
Wow. I feel vindicated slightly because I think people often don’t really notice the kiss on the cheek and Linda Blair’s amazing “Why did I just do that?” moment right after. It’s one of the best moments of the film IMO, and QT evidently is very fond of it as well.
They say the biblical/religious influence in QT's life was his GrandMother,Heaven Bless Her,Now & Forever,it make's his work so much more rich & real:)
I was a sophomore @ Duquesne and saw "The Exorcist" w 2 friends a couple of weeks after it opened. It was a full house and the movie was incredible+ got big audience responses. One friend, a big dude, blocking back on Champion, intermural Football team, jumped out of his 4th floor room crashing on 1st floor roof. Was taken to a pysche hospital. He was a bit freaked out after the movie but we had no idea the huge effect it had on him. He did come back to school a couple years later + graduated.
I feared this film. I eventually went to see it at a multiplex on Saturday October 31st 1998 just after its ban was lifted in the UK. My feelings after watching The Exorcist... uplifted. Good won at a cost for this girl, and they gave their lives to do it. She was saved because of the father and priest faith in a mercifull god.
Thefe was NOTHING uplifting about that thing..... Good lost. Evil triumphs over good. It made god look weak and evil look crazy strong.. I walked away from it feeling depressed I do not fear the devil tho.
@@coreyhall1150 I have to agree. The demon wanted Father Merrin - they were old adversaries. The girl was just a tool to lure in Father Merrin so it could kill him. The demon also got an additional bonus win by taking Father Carras's life. But as the girl is the central character in the movie, we feel good because she is saved - but at the cost of 2 men of God.... The movie is amazing - one of my top 5 movies of all time. The fact it was made in the early seventies, and still holds up today, is testament to the writer and the film makers of the time....
@@ShaneHall-n3r I think this movie is cursed honestly. They used a real demons name in it. In the later versions they edited the name to just "Im the devil" that movie is scary to me cause it is so real...... I mean demons DO take over ppl.
I had the same experience in the movie theater around 2000 but with a screening of the old version. Everybody had seen it, maybe many times, many of us were not allowed to see it or watch it on tv as kids, and everybody reacted like it was the first time.
@@Johnnyhotrockets I honestly don't think he committed those crimes, it is very shaky, but just knowing the man took the life of someone certainly makes that scene even worse.
For me horror movies are usually comedies except Exorcist and Halloween 1978. I don’t know what it is but those two movies actually make me turn my head and look around the living room. No other horror movie does this. Not even The Shining.
I think Rosemary's Baby is an underrated horror movie. It's scary because the world portrayed in the movie actually exists to a degree most people wouldn't believe.
My dad told us kids in the early 90s that the Exorcist was INSANE! Folks were puking in the ailes, having heart attacks in the theaters, etc. I watched it in 1997 - 1998 and though it was obviously scary or shocking, it almost fell flat considering the amount of warning and build we had listened to for years. All and all a really good horror movie & way ahead of its time.
You have to keep in mind that it was in 1973. . . When They wrote and directed a movie of a 12 year old girl (Ahem)ing herself with a crucifix saying “let Jesus (AHEM) you!” Then took her mother’s head and shoved it (there) and said “L1ck me!” This was next level horror and to this day if that came out people would strike against its content. It’s only that it came out then that it was a different time and allowed. (Although many did protest) Almost no movie can live up to the hype at this degree… But every horror movie always something to this movie. You seen some version of these things in other movies. They always use little girls and women now and this sort of started all that. It was gross, disturbing and other worldly . . . and deserves all the praise and hype for what it accomplished. You just have to have been born during the era Just Star Wars was a game changer then too. . . now with sci-fi movies, it’s all been seen and done, there’s no magic. It’s just story. That’s why it Doesn’t live up to the hype to younger audiences.
The exorcist is more than just a horror film. It’s a well acted drama and thriller that just happened to have a possessed girl in it. Which elevates it to beyond horror. Because it’s executed in a way that feels so real. About a mother that is helpless to save her own child.
Very fond memories of this movie. One of My earliest memories is my parents sneaking me in to see it when I was 4 by pretending I was asleep. Good thing I did fall asleep through it tho all i remember was the “boring” beginning part of it and waking up at home lol thank God I can’t imagine seein that on the big screen as a kid.
Rosemary’s Baby blows The Exorcist out of the water. Rosemary’s Baby builds up the tension and basically only hints at the imagery we’re supposed to imagine, while The Exorcist is a never ending succession of peaks and valleys and cheap gore that goes nowhere, ‘a religious porn film’ as one critic put it at the time of its initial run.
I agree about “The Exorcist” being a superb recruiting tool. It must’ve drove people towards Christianity in great numbers. I always said its equivalent would be people in the year 1520 seeing Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights” Hell panel. Also, I have ALWAYS wanted to see a Tarantino horror. “Death Proof” is horror-esque, but I want to see him dip into the supernatural realm. Funny he mentioned “The Sentinel” as it’s still as quirky and terrifying as the day it was released.
The greatest horror ever made and I doubt it will ever be beaten. The realism, the tone, the dread... It stands alone above all the rest. The 2nd greatest horror ever made doesn't even come close.
At my theatre there was a warning in front saying that you’ll watch The Exorcist on your own risk. BTW a horror film using Tubular Bells as a soundtrack is already special - and how it was used - what a scene. Here it is: th-cam.com/video/2GCcj0KZSfE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=J4hseY8hWvsZt3Tc
If Tarantino made the exorcist, we would get six closeups of Chris Mcneill's feet, funny jokes, and the priest calling Regan the n word sixty-six times.
@@GCKelloch The book goes so much further into the depths of the characters. After years of seeing the movie numerous times, I read the book... the book seemed to me to be less of a horror novel and more about the characters struggles. How they all coalesced around Regan to help her, and Father Karras' struggle with his faith. Really well written.
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*Not just the greatest horror film of all time but one of the greatest films of all time*
It's a little slow to get going but I like the atmosphere of dread it creates.
@@blacknapalm2131 This film is my pick for the greatest movie ever made with horror elements. The best horror film of all time.
Scared my mother to death she could not sleep at night!
the opening Iraq scenes are the best is film history.
One of the two greatest, the other one being Nosferatu from 1922
A Masterpiece......way ahead of it's time.
No it wasn't. It was made in the early seventies when directors were allowed to run free, to an extent. But it is a masterpiece
It was a product of the time
@@garrybaldy327it's ok
@@garrybaldy327 True 70's were the best of times for cinema classics("Jaws", "Chinatown", "Rocky" and "Network" to name a few!)
I think it was exactly at the right time. Had it come out in the 80s it likely wouldn't have been as raw, and had it come out post 80s it would have gotten ruined by CGI. It literally was at the perfect time for great practical effects, and and older world feel, the grimyness and bland colors of the 70s films, mixed with great practical effects. It was literally the perfect time. Movies were still slower paced which lends itself to a movie like this where it is grounded in reality and doesn't go to far into phantasy, or go overboard and take you out of it to th epoint where you think this couldn't happen. It pushes that line but doesn't go over it like every single demon posession ghost movie after.
The Exorcist(1973) is a masterpiece
Just ask Mark Kermode
It's no good as Leonard part 6
No doubt, i am starting to believe that we live in this home we call earth or gaia...whatever the nam is, here among and between common people and great people. I dont want to sound fascist or some other way. BUT, the same way... that we have unforgetable movies, Greaters Movies. The problem present us (viewers, directors, common people...) when we have a terrible movie and we have good or A Very Good Momento! ¿ok? Well that is something that we must tolerate. Thanks.
The Exorcist III (1990) is a great sequel
💪💪nice
Snuck down to the spare room in the middle of the night to watch this when I was a child. One of the worst decisions of my life. I couldn't sleep for weeks.
Dude. I had that exact experience when I was a kid.
Salem's Lot had the same effect on me
I felt the same after my Mom took me to see Nightmare on Elm Street.
@1bcordell that one and The Shining. After the lady in the bathtub scene, I refused to take a bath for at least a month.
Yup... did the EXACT same thing - regretted it for years!
'The Exorcist' succeeds most from the fact that it is first and foremost a well made dramatic film. It takes its characters seriously and invests you in their situation. It builds its horror in layers rather than hitting you all at once with jump scares. And then it just goes balls-out wild with its (at the time) innovative special effects. And then gives you an emotional ending! It's a hell of a good character driven, well-acted film, plain and simple.
Exactly! What a lot of the sequels, reboots, etc, always fail to do to it's incorporating those human elements in the film. They focus more on the shock factor and cheap scares, rather than creating characters that feel real. What I love so much about the original is the relationship of the mother and daughter, and her complete desperation of trying to save her, as well as father Karras struggle to regain his faith, while at the same time dealing with the guilt of losing his mother. It's all perfectly written and acted. It deserves all the praise that it has been given.
@@Danjoker. That's the highlight of a lot of the 70's movies - the emphasis on character first to drive the story from there. 'The Godfather' works for that reason. 'Annie Hall'. Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver' gives you a look into a twisted mind in depth before becoming a shoot out. You're more invested then.
Ikr. What a lovely day for an Exorcism.
Perfect film perfect horror film , taps in to the subconscious results of waning religious belief in the latter part of the 20th century, only part of it that made me shout then laugh was believing there’s rats in the loft when it sounds like a 900lb grizzly moving a wardrobe around😂
All the relationships in the film feel genuine. Especially the younger priest, with the guilt about his mother (I also like the fact that he tells the mother to get psychiatric help first). Also you really feel like her and Linda blair are mother and daughter.
The Exorcist is arguably the greatest horror movie ever made.
I think that you using the word arguably is being overly submissive it is easily the best horror and amongst the greatest movies of all time regardless of genre which is seldom seen.
@@ianparsonage5597 maybe, it’s definitely my favorite horror movie of all time. It still holds up incredibly well for being made 51 years ago.
The Shining makes it disputable
Arguably?
@@dustinboucher8102yes. As in they’re not making an opinion into a fact.
Jason Miller was a playwright who had never acted before - his performance was extraordinary.
Absolutely inspired casting. Risky and bold but perfect in this case. Sometimes the most natural reactions come from the most natural human beings.
@@EnjoySackLunchthe subway scene and him waving at his mom and she cant see him and shes acting weird? As ive gotten older that scene is absolutely terrifying, and ive had that dream
He worked on stage prior to this. He did summer stock
Today I learned that he married Jackie Gleason's daughter. That would be an intimidating first meet and greet with the parents.
@@kevinwhelan9607 another bull crap performance, they guy was terrible . How you seem Hot to Trot with Bobcat G? He's a a better choice and you KNOW IT, IF YOU REALLY STUDY
50 years later, this movie still scares the shit out of me.
I know people who say it isn't scary or it's too dated. If you watch it in a theater full of people you will have a different experience than watching it at home with the lights on and multiple distractions....people talking, checking phones, etc. Nothing is scary under those circumstances. The movie gets off to the races immediately. That opening sequence is just everything. Ellen Burstyn walks home from work with the famous theme in the background. Trick or treaters race by with their costumes blowing in the wind. Then that iconic shot of the nuns with their robes blowing around. It's just so good. By the time they start using the Ouija board and talking about Captain Howdy I'm already terrified.
That must mean you haventr seen a single other horror movie in the last 51 years. Because its incredibly boring by modern standards.
@@thomasstudstrup5028 yeah, and you probably think The Nun is scary
@@thomasstudstrup5028no, actually you're dead wrong.
Watched it recently on 4k, and I generally agree, though I will say some of the end bits are extremely cringe. When the two priests are doing the blood of christ compels you bit? I couldn't help but laugh. Outside of that, still extremely unnerving and scary movie.
I saw this when I was around 14, maybe 15. When it was released, and I have seen thousands of different horror movies in the last 50 years, but no other movie scared me like this one did.
I remember going to the cinema to watch it with my two sisters and I was the same age (I got in) they went to the pub after it and I had to walk home alone and I remember walking all the way home in the middle of the road on a windy night... I was terrified 😂😂😂
I remember seeing this as a teenager when it first came out. There were literally people in the audience throwing up, crying, and screaming in absolute terror.
That’s insane!!
People were a weird combination of very tough but also soft and fragile back then. We have been toughened by seeing so much gore and horror in the news and on film.
@@90whateverOn the flip side we all have safe spaces now. 😂
@@90whateverthe hard generation of the WW2 days…..not so hard
Not toughened so much as desensitized.
70s films just hit different, especially 70s horror, The Exorcist and The Omen are perfect imo, modern horror just doesnt come close. As a grown man The Exorcist is the only horror movie that still makes me uncomfortable and I have seen all flavours of horror
What about The Amityville Horror?
@@Elsupermayan8870 once again 70s horror is peak horror
The 1970s were by far the greatest decade ever for movies. I was in my teens back then and it seemed like every week a masterpiece was released, it was unreal and back then we had movie THEATERS, giant ass movie screens and balconys in the theater, sound systems that would feel in your gut. In terms of horror the Exorcist will never be beat, and for suspense Alien will never be beat. I saw that with my mother and when the alien popped out of the guys stomach my mom got so shocked she kicked the metal support of the seat in front of her and broke her foot
The Omen
@@tonybozzelli287 - Oh wow, I saw that in the theater as well and with my dad who got totally freaked out. That scene where his head gets cut off by the glass, I couldn't believe they put that in a movie not it's like nothing today. But remember the photographs with the white streak throuogh the people? Wow that gave me such a chill down my spine. The best horror movies will always be the ones that are most believable
Quentin is so right! Back in 1973,seeing it in theaters was the only way. No internet,memes. We didn't have all the info we do today,and that added to the fear. ALL practical effects! Great video,thanks.
I watched this movie at least five times in my life. Every time I watched it, it takes me one whole week to get it out of my head. This movie is a masterpiece.
Agreed. William Friedkin was a genius. The critics (and a**hole American filmgoers) threw him under the bus after "Sorcerer." But that was a brilliant movie, too.
@@DrZootie I liked Sorcerer.. It was a great movie. I liked Roy Scheider too..
I still get flashes lol
I’ve seen this movie a hundred times and I feel the same sense of dread every time. To me it’s not just a horror movie. I put it in the same category as the godfather as far as great movies go.
"Beetlejuice, BeeTLElejuice, BEATLEJUICE! "
"Hey...how are ya?"
@@mattmccluskey4242.......and it keeps getting funnier!!!!!!
And how long have you suffered from severe and extreme memory loss?
I remember the first time I saw this movie I was SO scared that I literally thought I’d never be happy again. I felt like there was no hope anymore lol. What a powerful movie it is!
It is hard to explain to younger people (I am in my late fifties) how terrifying the movie was. It was the first horror film that I saw that felt almost like a documentary. It was shocking.
I can’t even begin to imagine how scary it must have been. I watched it in the early 2000s and I think I’ve never been so scared in my life. I had to distract myself with video games or dvds. In the 70s I think I would have been traumatized 😂
I actually went to the theater and saw the re-release. The audience was filled with kids and they were laughing during scenes. I was thinking WTF???, this isn't a comedy you dumb*ss kids! They just didn't get it!
Friedkin's background was in docs, so that is what you were vibing for sure. The film is shot so flat and matter of fact, that is what makes it so unnrerving.
should’ve won best picture
The Oscars doesn't mean shit tbh. There are no awards that mean anything except to agents
@@mosskey
How dare you?!?
I earned my participation champion award, for trying my hardest.
By a mile!
Eh. What's a price compared to the love and reverence it has garnered from its audiences? Especially considering the mediocre and formulaic movies that receives academy awards and similar prizes all the time. The Exorcist brought the very art to new levels, that's a whole other level
Absolutely!!!!
Friedkin was a genius. Saw The Exorcist on video when I was 15. Only movie ever gave me nightmares.
If Tarantino still shows this on Saturday nights in October at his movie theater, I would definitely make it part of a trip to LA
William Peter blatty was also a genius
Didn't give me nightmares, but haven't watched it since i was 17 and I'm a horror snob
@@dericwilson7410 I had a dream kind of like the one the priest had in the movie
@@tobingallawa3322ive had the subway scene dream too
One of the film's most poignant moments occurs when Chris asks Karras if her daughter will die, and he simply replies, "No." Karras isn’t offering polite reassurance or telling her what she wants to hear-he truly means it. The film is not merely about exorcism or possession but about the emotional and spiritual battles we all face.
Great note
Definitely! Hes angry, it became personal, the silent subway scene with his mom is so terrifying, that scene gives me goosebumps
What a great comment 👍
Insightful observation. Ironically, Chris didn't ask if the priests would die.
That’s why it transgresses its genre. Yes it’s a horror film. But it’s about god and faith and the meaning of our lives. Like, there’s never been a horror movie as deep as it, and it’s also why it makes it the most frightening.
I am 41 years old and this movie still scares the shit out of me. I saw it for the first time in 2000 when it was back in theaters and they add the deleted scenes back in and when she came downstairs doing the spider walk scared me so much that I couldn’t get that part out of my head for weeks after I saw it.
43 here & completely agree. I loved it, but I can’t bring myself to watch it again because I know I won’t be able to sleep again.
No matter how many times I watch this masterpiece of film I am always impressed by the entire experience Friedkin delivers. From location to music score to cast and cinematography the whole film is a perfect example of how to make a convincing psychological, thriller/horror.
The pace, tone, colours, or lack of, the coldness, everything fits.
The Exorcist is up there with the greatest movies of our time and rightly so and no matter how many times other directors have tried to encapsulate the essence of this film (The Exorcist 3 comes closest) they just can't get it.
My only regret is that I never got to see it on the big screen but at least I watch it every year around Halloween on DVD.
It's a true classic in every sense of the word.
Anyone who's able to catch The Exorcist on the big screen absolutely owes it to themselves to do so. It's an experience you won't ever forget.
Unless you're six years old. Well it's true about not forgetting it.
I saw it some years ago as a rerelease in a theater. It was intense. The audience was quiet for the whole movie.
@@BLRANCH0300 that’s how it should be
I have been to the rerelease, when it came out. I had to go alone, because my wife wouldn't watch it. Cinema was packed and I got seat 13 in row 13, which was the last decent place not in front of the screen.😈
@@Njbear7453 it was wild. Everyone just sat there slightly uncomfortable at the psychological elements of the movie.
The 8.1 IMDB score is a crime, like, wtf..Absolutely at least a 9.1 !
It's a solid 9
A superb film and deeply moving. William Peter Blatty, William Friedkin, Jason Miller RIP❤❤❤
the moment that always got under my skin was when karras is first brought to see regan. Karl is outside of her bedroom door and as they approach he gives the news "it doesn't want straps". He called regan "it" to her mother. This speaks about the evolution that went on in the house, at that point they were calling her daughter "it" without flinching.
Even Chris McNeil said: "And I'm telling you that that Thing upstairs isn't my Daughter!!"
Well, to be precise, he was talking about the demon possessing her, not the child per se.
@@feathermorren4456 I need to add this also..
One of the creepiest scenes was when Det. Kinderman was sitting outside in his car looking up at Reagan's window and you see her shillouette floating past the window.. Knowing that the scene right before, she was strapped down to the bed 😵💫!
@@TheFremenBluethat’s what he means. How they completely ignore her humanity when she fully becomes possessed. They know deep down it isn’t a mental health issue which he struggles with the entire film
Everyone is a catholic when they watch The Exorcist.
Hell yeah
LOL true
Heaven forbid! 🤣
Oh how very true!
you're odd man out.
The Exorcist 3 was GREAT
Jeffrey Dahmer loved it. Used to replay it over and over.
It was a total surprise how good that movie was.
Seriously. It's a masterpiece. You gotta watch it twice, though.
@@starshiplazyboy475are you trolling? People say they love that movie. Prince of Darkness is another movie I cant get into.
People say they are good but they just seem crappy.
George C. Scott makes that movie so damn good lol
Kael’s criticism is rich, because this is - actually - based on true events: an exorcism successfully carried out by a Catholic priest. One of that priest’s close confidants was a hard nosed, no-nonsense Jesuit who happened to also be my high school instructor 10 years ago. A level headed man, I’ll never forget him tearing up, explaining the true story to me when I visited him at his nursing home about a year ago. That exorcism happened.
Superb film, one of the very best films of the 1970s. It isn't just a horror film, it's an excellent example of cinema storytelling
I was born in ‘74.
So some time after that, I was maybe 5-7 years of age, and it was released for TV and EVERYONE was talking about it.
Not knowing what we were asking . . . we requested and begged our (evil) step mother to watch it.
She must’ve known how horrible it was. It blew the doors off cinemas.
I remember her saying “alright . . . but if you stay up to watch it, you have to watch the whole thing.” Knowing that we would have nightmare nightmares.
The movie started and it got scary, so much so that we were crying and trying not to open our eyes.
I could hear here say “now you guys wanted to watch it so don’t do that!”
We had to sit there and watch it but I tried my best to cover my eyes and ignore the horrific sounds and conversations.
We were scared of our step mother. She was mean and manipulating and would makes us feel like we were nuisances and not worthy of love among other abusive tactics.
To this day, I don’t know what I was more afraid of… The movie or her… But the movie ended and we were able to process it as entertainment.
To this day I dislike her and while I’m still afraid of this movie… I can appreciate its artistic and successful execution of the most terrifying movie in existence.
I think what makes the Exorcist so scary that it still holds up today, is that William Friedkin didn't want to direct it as a horror film, like Halloween or Friday The 13th and Nightmare On Elm Street, he wanted it to be a serious film like a drama that dealt with a story of a possessed young girl.
None of those films had even came out yet.
@@Brians-d5w
So...?
It is actually based on a true story about a young boy who became possessed in Baltimore, MD which is where I saw it. Then they moved him to a facility in St. Louis, MO. I'm in Indiana but I was in Baltimore helping my sister who had dislocated her shoulder swimming in the ocean. Supposedly, the true story took place just 2 miles from where they lived at the time. The movie scared me to death, I saw it in 1976 and I'll never forget it!
But the central focus of the story is the priest.
@@ImYourOverlord I'm not sure about that, the central focus is the possessed girl but you can have your opinion. They did interview the actual priest who performed the exorcism. Research it and look it up, it's very interesting. I'm sure you can find it on TH-cam.
The exorcist also works as a movie about a mother whose child is suffering from a mental/physical illness that doctors are giving up on and the mom is left hanging on a prayer. Worst nightmare of a parent.
The premise of making a rational mental health clinician "who happened to be a Priest" was in my opinion absolute genius.
Yeah lots of Jesuits are like that. Doctors and scientists,
People were already pumped up and freaked out before the movie even started.You had to be alive then to witness firsthand all the hype this movie received.
This movie changed my life.
The atmosphere theoughtout thos film makes it what it is, the dark constant understone that never goes away from start to finish. A masterpiece.
Seeing the movie today… and seeing it as a teenager in 73, I realize that this movie is an incredible classic. Truly a masterpiece!
“The Exorcist” (1973) and “The Shining” (1980) are the two best horror movies of all time.
The decade from 1973 to 1982 was a bounty for horror movies:
- The Exorcist (1973)
- The Wicker Man (1973)
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
- Jaws (1975)
- Carrie (1976)
- The Omen (1976)
- Suspiria (1977)
- Halloween (1978)
- Dawn of the Dead (1978)
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
- Alien (1979)
- The Shining (1980)
- An American Werewolf in London (1981)
- The Thing (1982)
I'd add up The Amityville Horror (1979). The best haunted house movie ever made.
Those are good, scary movies. I read The Shining before I saw the movie. It was much scarier in my imagination. Robert Guillaume played Dick Halloran in my head, Robert Ulrich was Jack Torrance, in my imagination. Neither of the movies compared to reading the book.
I’d add Black Christmas (1974) to that.
I'd add The Omen II to that list. Critically, it is not on the same level as The Omen but it has some very potent scenes, like the skating scene and the fatricide scene. Or when the snobby schoolteacher challenges Damien to a history quiz and Damien pwns him, knowing every event in detail as the teacher went farther back in history. To me that scene is as potent as anything in horror.
Don't forget Deliverance
A real masterpiece, i cannot watch anymore.👍🏻
As a youth it left me very frightened. As a parent it left me totally shaken.
Shows how powerful The Exorcist has on people even when an adult.
This is played every October, at the crest theater in Sacramento! Definitely one of my favorite horror movies! But also one of my favorites 🎥 films, period😮!
I was 12 in ( 1980 ) and alone in the house. Uncensored version on Montreal TV.
"Do you know what she did.....?"
When my parents got home, I was sitting up in bed, and I had turned on every light in the house.
Last movie that ever truly scared me.
The darkest, heaviest, evilist film of ALL TIME...
🤣😂😅🤣😂 It's so shit!
@@TheGrumpyGuide Can you tip off something scarier plz?
I don't know which "adult" in my life when I was a 5-7 year old kid made me watch this movie; but it literally traumatized me for decades! Decades!!! The image of Reagan full-on possessed haunted me well into my 30's (ok 40's :/). Every time I went to bed I feared turning on the lights because her image would enter my mind. I still shy away from even looking at that image of her to this day. Watch it at night alone? NO WAY!!!
@@katiepaine
The scene that never left my mind was the split second shots of "Captain Howdy" and the appearance of the demon right behind Regan.
I saw this movie in around 77 I believe. I do remember my mom and dad seeing the first release. Now my dad was one tough s.o.b. ! Nothing scared this guy. But when they came home, he had a look on his face I never saw before and never saw since. He told me years later, after I came out of the military, that for the longest time, he couldn't get her face out of his head. My point is, this movie 🎥 leaves a mark that never goes away. I am a true horror movie fan . But, with the exception of one or two movies this movie is still FANTASTIC! Even now.
Probably the only movie that really scared me. In 1978 it was playing at our local theater at the midnight movie. A couple of my friends and I went to see it on a Thursday night. About 5 minutes in, one of my friends got up and walked out. Friday Night another of my friends wanted to go see it. So I told him I'd go with him. My friend who had walked out, also decided to go back and try again. About 10 minutes in, he walked out again. Saturday Night, same thing happened. A third friend wanted to go. So he and I and my friend who walked out went to see it. I was like, Robert, are you sure you want to go? You're kinda just wasting money. He said, "No, no, I want to get through it. I think I can get through it this time". He lasted about 15 or 20 minutes before he just couldn't take any more and he walked out. I talked to him later and he told me that when he was a kid, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang scared him. I laughed so hard. I was like, if Chitty Chitty Bang Bang scared you, you have no business going to The Exorcist.
huh? nothing really scary occurs until past 30 min its just the priest digging and character introduction.
Hey, your friend was probably freaked out at the Child Catcher in Chitty, he scared me as well.
@@mst3kpimp I think the first time he walked out was when Regan peed on the floor and says "You're gonna die up there".
@@richardlarson9459 that doesnt happen till well after 30min mark.
@@mst3kpimp It was 46 years ago. I don't remember exactly what was going on. Maybe it was when the priest was at the archaeology site and saw the vision, I don't know. Why is it so important to you?
I always recommend that people read the novel. I always thought Karras was better developed. The movie has a brilliant style in itself, but the book delivered the humanity of Karras. When he is dying, there's a description of his eyes, which the movie doesn't do justice to. It's not that Catholicism wins, it's that the faith of one man standing for what is right matters. It's a heroic story just like a Batman tale, but such a more intimate setting of people who have lost or are losing, but find the honest courage to get back up for what is right.
Does he win though? I always thought the flash of his mother’s face at the curtains before he jumps shows he was deceived and that all along the target wasn’t Regan, it was Karras and the old guy.
@@jameslangley2196 Maybe he didn't win. When he returns in Legion, you do find out how much he was made to suffer. But at times the heroic value can still be a tragic value. Because whatever the cost to him was, he did accept it to release the child from her suffering. And though I agree that Karras and Merrin were targets, I think the girl was also a target. Did he win, perhaps not, but did he give it up for the sake of the child, I believe so. Anyway, that was my take, thank you for the thought.
His mother appearing at the curtains is to give him strength to change back to himself momentarily to do what he must do, she appeared to help him.
The director and screenwriter, and maybe the actors, have to decide how material is translated - what to alter or leave out entirely. Because maybe it isn't best when depicted in a totally different medium. I prefer to look at it like this: you have two versions now, perhaps both good in their own ways 😃
I agree
Every time I watch this movie I appreciate the parts that aren’t scary more and more, Friedkin really is a genius.
The whole thing about The Exorcist is how fucking good a movie it actually is. I rewatched it not long ago, and it was, like, wow. Real. Movie.
Masterpiece… way ahead of its time + yet absolutely part of it.
Ex 3 is brilliant as well. Thanks!
People sleep on the detective thriller that’s also in this movie. Often replicated never duplicated still holds up till this day
Dec. 26th 1973 through winter 74. Chicago. Opening night was cold and blustery amid the lighted downtown christmas reds and blues. The lines went around the corner. One for tickets for the next show after the next show.. One for tickets for people about to go in. I partly holding my mom's hand while craning above shoulders looking as the line inched forward. The marquee poster of the shadowed priest under the lamp post melted into view. A lady in front of us lost her nerve and wanted to leave. Her family physically restrained her. Her grip tightened around the rosary she held. Just before we reached the lobby, Up the street were twirling red white lights looming larger toward the theater. It was an ambulance. No siren. Then two more behind it. They parked and sat. Suddenly, the lobby door flung open to a waving hand from a guy in a red vest, an usher probably. Two paramedics rolled in something like a wheelchair and out came someone strapped in with a bag over the face. Then another... and another. I squeezed my mother's hand. I was not ready to see this film. The theater owner later made an arrangement with the alderman to have an ambulance parked around the corner from the theater on a regular basis for the next few months. I bought the book, read it, saw it again in a packed theater. Never saw so many people in one place get sick at the same time over the same thing. They ran up the isle to throw up in the rest room only to let go in the lobby. Then back they went. Out came a bucket on wheels rolled in by an usher in gloves with a sqawking hip clip radio. Amazing.
This film is a masterpiece. Great Screenplay, cinematography, acting, theme, sound design...I can go on and on.
How good is this film? Everytime I watch it I turn on all the lights in my house.
Those yellow contacts were amazing.
I was about 17 at the time I saw it & I left the theatre absolutely terrified 😮 😱
How the Exorcist ruined my life,
One of it's promotional posters fell on my windshield while I was driving and I hit a pedestrian
Seriously?
@@grababookfromthelibrary8374
Hell, I fell down them stairs, just trying to get a picture there.
😭😭 bahahahhahaa
I’m so sorry.
God works in mysterious ways. The devil is more direct.
My older brothers waited until my parents went out, then they tied me to a chair, put me in front of the television, and made me watch this film, they thought I’d be shaking, and screaming, but the joke was on them, I loved it, it scared the hell out of me, but I really enjoyed it, I was eleven years old.
Just watched it again last week. I didn't get spooked as I did when I was young. I was just so moved by Ellen Burstyn's performance.
I saw this movie in a packed theater on its original released in 1973. It was an astonishing experience. People reacted viscerally and vocally to the movie. I was completely keyed up for hours afterwards.
I was 17 when I seen it at a drive-in theatre in '74. It was very disturbing and I loved it.
ever since EVERYONE tried to top it, and no one EVER came close no matter CGI's no matter what they do, NOTHING will ever come close to the "EXORCIST"
and we horror crazes we keep searching for the same high but nothing ever came close and dont think ever will
Saw the original, and it disturbed me. I've never been able to watch it since.
Wow. I feel vindicated slightly because I think people often don’t really notice the kiss on the cheek and Linda Blair’s amazing “Why did I just do that?” moment right after. It’s one of the best moments of the film IMO, and QT evidently is very fond of it as well.
I recently bought this film to see again and add to my library, it's amazing how it has lost NONE of it bite . Amazing film
They say the biblical/religious influence in QT's life was his GrandMother,Heaven Bless Her,Now & Forever,it make's his work so much more rich & real:)
Max von Sydow was 43 during filming, make up and acting is insane.
I was a sophomore @ Duquesne and saw "The Exorcist" w 2 friends a couple of weeks after it opened. It was a full house and the movie was incredible+ got big audience responses. One friend, a big dude, blocking back on Champion, intermural Football team,
jumped out of his 4th floor room crashing on 1st floor roof. Was taken to a pysche hospital. He was a bit freaked out after the movie but we had no idea the huge effect it had on him. He did come back to school a couple years later + graduated.
I feared this film. I eventually went to see it at a multiplex on Saturday October 31st 1998 just after its ban was lifted in the UK. My feelings after watching The Exorcist... uplifted. Good won at a cost for this girl, and they gave their lives to do it. She was saved because of the father and priest faith in a mercifull god.
Now that's an interesting reaction.
It was never banned at the cinema, only on video
Thefe was NOTHING uplifting about that thing..... Good lost. Evil triumphs over good. It made god look weak and evil look crazy strong.. I walked away from it feeling depressed I do not fear the devil tho.
@@coreyhall1150 I have to agree. The demon wanted Father Merrin - they were old adversaries. The girl was just a tool to lure in Father Merrin so it could kill him. The demon also got an additional bonus win by taking Father Carras's life. But as the girl is the central character in the movie, we feel good because she is saved - but at the cost of 2 men of God.... The movie is amazing - one of my top 5 movies of all time. The fact it was made in the early seventies, and still holds up today, is testament to the writer and the film makers of the time....
@@ShaneHall-n3r I think this movie is cursed honestly. They used a real demons name in it. In the later versions they edited the name to just "Im the devil" that movie is scary to me cause it is so real...... I mean demons DO take over ppl.
What makes it scary is that stuff really happens.
Messing with the oijia board left her open to possession
The book is scarier than the movie. The demon reads the priests mind to mess with him....etc. The movie is a phenom. The book is on par with that too.
If one takes evil seriously one has to take The Exorcist seriously as well.
I agree
I also take good seriously too. And good prevails
Only a fool doesn't take evil seriously.
I dont know why my parents let me watch this movie when I was 8 back in the day. It terrifies me still.
Tarantino talking about movies ? What a pleasure
I had the same experience in the movie theater around 2000 but with a screening of the old version. Everybody had seen it, maybe many times, many of us were not allowed to see it or watch it on tv as kids, and everybody reacted like it was the first time.
Karras is one of the greatest protagonists in movie history (and literary history)
The tests they run in the hospital is the real horror in the film!
Gotta say I hate the scene where she gets the needle in the throat and the blood comes out!
@@Pazuzu82Also frightening that the scene has a (suspected) serial killer in it Paul Bateson
@@Johnnyhotrockets Suspected SERIAL killer but ACTUAL killer nonetheless.
@@SquabbleBoxHQ true but the main suspect in the bag murders, if so one of the worst humans ever and even creepier
@@Johnnyhotrockets I honestly don't think he committed those crimes, it is very shaky, but just knowing the man took the life of someone certainly makes that scene even worse.
For me horror movies are usually comedies except Exorcist and Halloween 1978. I don’t know what it is but those two movies actually make me turn my head and look around the living room. No other horror movie does this. Not even The Shining.
I think Rosemary's Baby is an underrated horror movie. It's scary because the world portrayed in the movie actually exists to a degree most people wouldn't believe.
My dad told us kids in the early 90s that the Exorcist was INSANE! Folks were puking in the ailes, having heart attacks in the theaters, etc. I watched it in 1997 - 1998 and though it was obviously scary or shocking, it almost fell flat considering the amount of warning and build we had listened to for years. All and all a really good horror movie & way ahead of its time.
You have to keep in mind that it was in 1973. . . When They wrote and directed a movie of a 12 year old girl (Ahem)ing herself with a crucifix saying “let Jesus (AHEM) you!” Then took her mother’s head and shoved it (there) and said “L1ck me!”
This was next level horror and to this day if that came out people would strike against its content. It’s only that it came out then that it was a different time and allowed. (Although many did protest)
Almost no movie can live up to the hype at this degree… But every horror movie always something to this movie.
You seen some version of these things in other movies.
They always use little girls and women now and this sort of started all that.
It was gross, disturbing and other worldly . . . and deserves all the praise and hype for what it accomplished.
You just have to have been born during the era
Just Star Wars was a game changer then too. . . now with sci-fi movies, it’s all been seen and done, there’s no magic. It’s just story.
That’s why it Doesn’t live up to the hype to younger audiences.
Still to me the scariest movie ever made. Nothing has even come close to being this scary.
The exorcist is more than just a horror film. It’s a well acted drama and thriller that just happened to have a possessed girl in it. Which elevates it to beyond horror. Because it’s executed in a way that feels so real. About a mother that is helpless to save her own child.
Very fond memories of this movie. One of My earliest memories is my parents sneaking me in to see it when I was 4 by pretending I was asleep. Good thing I did fall asleep through it tho all i remember was the “boring” beginning part of it and waking up at home lol thank God I can’t imagine seein that on the big screen as a kid.
I saw the film in Reno Nevada. I had to drive home on dark desert roads.
Was the cool wind in your hair ?....warm smell of colitas ....rising up in the air? Was there a shimmering light up ahead in the distance?
Rosemary’s Baby blows The Exorcist out of the water. Rosemary’s Baby builds up the tension and basically only hints at the imagery we’re supposed to imagine, while The Exorcist is a never ending succession of peaks and valleys and cheap gore that goes nowhere, ‘a religious porn film’ as one critic put it at the time of its initial run.
I agree about “The Exorcist” being a superb recruiting tool. It must’ve drove people towards Christianity in great numbers. I always said its equivalent would be people in the year 1520 seeing Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights” Hell panel.
Also, I have ALWAYS wanted to see a Tarantino horror. “Death Proof” is horror-esque, but I want to see him dip into the supernatural realm. Funny he mentioned “The Sentinel” as it’s still as quirky and terrifying as the day it was released.
He did from dusk till dawn
@@smokeyowa7612 true, but I should’ve specified “directed”. He only wrote “From Dusk Till Dawn”.
Just letting you know man incase you hadn't seen it, its great
It had extraordinary effect on people, as Jaws did two years later.
I grew up watching the heavily edited for network TV version. I hadn't seen the actual version until I was much older.
I’d love to see Quentin do a horror film paced at Tarantino speed
Death Proof is awesome!
The greatest horror ever made and I doubt it will ever be beaten. The realism, the tone, the dread... It stands alone above all the rest. The 2nd greatest horror ever made doesn't even come close.
Andy Warhols flesh for Frankenstein is great ! Very camp and Warhols blood for Dracula is great too !!!
They are both comedies.
Definitely! I had a good laugh last time I saw them !!!
At my theatre there was a warning in front saying that you’ll watch The Exorcist on your own risk. BTW a horror film using Tubular Bells as a soundtrack is already special - and how it was used - what a scene. Here it is: th-cam.com/video/2GCcj0KZSfE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=J4hseY8hWvsZt3Tc
If Tarantino made the exorcist, we would get six closeups of Chris Mcneill's feet, funny jokes, and the priest calling Regan the n word sixty-six times.
Six hundred and sixty six times*
Tarantino knows more about movies than anyone. He says he is only going to make one more movie, I would love to see a Tarantino Horror film.
If you haven't read the book, you really should. Much, much deeper than the movie.
Not sure I wanna put myself through that.
The book must've gotten into my subconscious because my parents told me I was screaming in my sleep every night.
@@GCKelloch The book goes so much further into the depths of the characters. After years of seeing the movie numerous times, I read the book... the book seemed to me to be less of a horror novel and more about the characters struggles. How they all coalesced around Regan to help her, and Father Karras' struggle with his faith. Really well written.
My dad read the book and slept with the lights on for 2 weeks lmao
I watched it with friends when I was 15 and it scared the absolute crap out of us.
It's about a priest's FAITH not their religion.thats why it starts in the middle east, it's not a about an ideology but someone's faith
My favourite movie of all time 😊 three diverse characters trying to save someone from a horrible situation
This movie always reaffirms my faith. Love it.
The prologue in Iraq was artistically perfect. I consider the prologue as distinct from the horror part.