Celebrating the 50th anniversary of its 1973 release, on September 19 The Exorcist will be available to purchase on Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc from online and in-store at major retailers and available for purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu and more.
The Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs include both the 1973 theatrical version of the film and the 2000 Extended Director’s Cut of the film, which features eleven additional minutes of footage not seen in theaters.
Directed by Friedkin from a screenplay by Academy Award winner William Peter Blatty, the film is based on Blatty’s 1971 novel of the same name. The Exorcist stars Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore), Academy Award nominee Max von Sydow (Pelle the Conqueror, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close), Academy Award nominee Lee J. Cobb (On the Waterfront, The Brothers Karamazov), Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowan, Academy Award nominee Jason Miller, and Academy Award nominee Linda Blair.
Widely regarded as a supernatural masterpiece, the film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, as well as acting nominations for Burstyn, Miller and Blair. The film won two Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Blatty.
In 2010, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
The Exorcist tells the now-famous story of a girl’s demonic possession and a gripping fight between good and evil. Linda Blair, in a breakout role, plays Regan, a young girl who starts to exhibit strange, arcane behavior. Her mother (Burstyn) calls upon a priest, Father Karras (Miller), to investigate. But Karras, who has a spiritual crisis of his own, is suddenly confronted with the unimaginable evil of Regan’s possession. Father Lankester Merrin (Von Sydow), an archeologist-priest, is called to help, and a horrific battle for her soul begins.
The Exorcist Ultra HD Blu-ray disc (theatrical version) contains the following previously released special features:
- Introduction by William Friedkin
- Commentary by William Friedkin
- Commentary by William Peter Blatty with Special Sound Effects
The Exorcist Digital release (theatrical version) the following previously released special features:
- Commentary by William Friedkin
- Commentary by William Peter Blatty with Special Sound Effects Tests
- Introduction by William Friedkin
- “The Fear of God: 25 Years of the Exorcist”
- Original Ending
- William Peter Blatty Interviews
- “The Original Cut”
- “Stairway to Heaven”
- “The Final Reckoning”
- “Sketches & Storyboards”
- TV Spots
- “Beyond Comprehension”
- “You Too Can See the Exorcist”
- “Between Science & Superstition”
- “The Movie You’ve Been Waiting For”
- “Nobody Expected It”
- “Life Had Been Good”
- Trailers
- “Nobody Expected It”
- “Beyond Comprehension”
- “Flash Image”
The Exorcist Extended Director’s Cut Ultra HD Blu-ray disc contains the following previously released special features:
- Commentary by William Friedkin
The Exorcist Extended Director’s Cut Digital release contains the following previously released special features:
- Commentary by William Friedkin
- “Beyond Comprehension: William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist”
- “Talk of the Devil”
- “Raising Hell: Filming The Exorcist”
- “The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now”
- “Faces of Evil: The Different Versions of The Exorcist”
- Radio Spots
- “The Devil Himself”
- “Our Deepest Fears”
- TV Spots
- “Most Electrifying”
- “Scariest Ever”
- “Returns”
- “Never Seen”
- Trailers
- “The Version You’ve Never Seen”
- “Our Deepest Fears”
SOURCE: WBHE