The Exorcist

A Phoenix pick

Upon its release in 1973, The Exorcist altered America's cinematic landscape, igniting a Hollywood obsession with the supernatural that has yet to abate. Lauded by critics, denounced by Billy Graham, embraced by the Catholic church, it set box-office records and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards (winning two, for sound and screen adaptation). Women fainted, men vomited in the aisles, and protests were staged nightly. Shot on location in Iraq and Georgetown, the film offered unassuming cinematography, innovative use of effects, and non-actors like playwright Jason Miller (in his Oscar-nominated debut as Father Damien Karras). Screen legends like Max von Sydow (the elderly exorcist of the title) and Lee J. Cobb (a crusty detective) have nothing on the astonishing pre-teen Linda Blair as Regan McNeil, a young girl whose psychotic behavior baffles doctors and drives her mother (Ellen Burstyn in a gut-wrenching performance) to seek the help of priests, who decide that Regan is possessed by a demon.

The director's cut, a collaboration between director William Friedkin and producer/writer William Peter Blatty, features a completely revamped digital sound design and 11 minutes of previously excised footage. One shocking scene, known for years among fans as "The Spider Walk," is well worth the 27-year wait. This extraordinarily moving and terrifying film has lost none of its power -- it makes the ersatz splatterfests that pass for horror movies these days look like ghoulish cartoons. Screens Friday, September 15 at the Cheri at 8 p.m. and Saturday, September 16 at the Copley Place at 11:30 a.m. and 2 and 4:30 p.m. Director William Peter Blatty and star Linda Blair will appear at Friday's screening.

-- Peg Aloi

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Film Festival Feature Films

| A Fight to the Finish: Stories of Polio | A Man is Mostly Water | A Trial in Prague | Blessed Art Thou | Charming Billy | Enemies of Laughter | Enlightenment Guaranteed | The Exorcist | Harry, He's Here to Help | Into the Arms of Strangers | Just Looking | Ratcatcher | Seven Girlfriends | Two Family House | The Yards | You Can Count On Me |

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