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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

directed by William Friedkin
USA 1973

Controversial and popular from the moment it opened, The Exorcist marks its historic Blu-ray premiere in a 2-Disc Edition featuring Stunning Hi-Def Presentations of the Original 1973 Theatrical Version and the 2000 Extended Director's Cut. The frightening and realistic tale of an innocent girl inhabited by a terrifying entity, her mother's frantic resolve to save her and two priests--one doubt-ridden, the other a rock of faith--joined in battling ultimate evil always leaves viewers breathless. This greatest supernatural thriller of all time astonishes and unsettles like no other movie.

***

The year 1973 began and ended with cries of pain. It began with Ingmar Bergman's "Cries and Whispers," and it closed with William Friedkin's "The Exorcist." Both films are about the weather of the human soul, and no two films could be more different. Yet each in its own way forces us to look inside, to experience horror, to confront the reality of human suffering. The Bergman film is a humanist classic. The Friedkin film is an exploitation of the most fearsome resources of the cinema. That does not make it evil, but it does not make it noble, either.

The difference, maybe, is between great art and great craftsmanship. Bergman's exploration of the lines of love and conflict within the family of a woman dying of cancer was a film that asked important questions about faith and death, and was not afraid to admit there might not be any answers. Friedkin's film is about a twelve-year-old girl who either is suffering from a severe neurological disorder or perhaps has been possessed by an evil spirit. Friedkin has the answers; the problem is that we doubt he believes them.

Excerpt from Roger Ebert's review located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: Dec. 26, 1973

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Comparison:

Warner (25th Ann.) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Warner (Alt. Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Warner (Extended Director's Cut & Original Theatrical) - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Enrique B Chamorro for all the DVD Screen Caps!

(Warner (25th Ann.) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Warner (Alt. Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC MIDDLE vs. Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers

 

Distribution

Warner

Region 1 - NTSC

Warner
Region 1 - NTSC
Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime 2:03:48 2:12:00 2:01:55.975 2:12:21.141
Video

1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 4.55 mb/s
NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s

1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 6.10 mb/s
NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s

1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 34,197,765,962 bytes

Feature: 27,453,923,328 bytes

Video Bitrate: 22.14 Mbps

Codec: VC-1 Video

1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 44,322,894,152 bytes

Feature: 34,117,355,520 bytes

Video Bitrate: 22.00 Mbps

Codec: VC-1 Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

 

Warner (25th Ann.)

 

Bitrate:

 

Warner (Alt. Cut)

 

Bitrate:

 

Theatrical Blu-ray

 

Bitrate:

 

Director's Cut Blu-ray

 

Audio English 5.1, French 2.0

English 6.1EX & 2.0

Theatrical: DTS-HD Master Audio English 3880 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3880 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps /
24-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround

Dolby Digital Audio French 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio German 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Italian 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
* Dolby Digital Audio Japanese 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB

***

DC: DTS-HD Master Audio English 3876 kbps 5.1-ES / 48 kHz / 3876 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1-ES / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio German 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Italian 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB
* Dolby Digital Audio Japanese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital EX Audio Russian 640 kbps 5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Hungarian 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Polish 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB

Subtitles English, French English, French Director's Cut: English, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek , Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, none

NOTE: There are fewer subtitle options for the Theatrical edition

Features Release Information:
Studio: Warner

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1

Edition Details:
• VOB file dates: 10/28/98
• Film clips on main menu
• Comm. track by dir. William Friedkin
• Comm. track by writer William Peter Blatty's and vocal work by Mercedes McCambridge
• Extensive Cast & Crew text screens
• Awards (2 text screens)
• Exorcist: The True Story (12 text screens)
• The Fear of God: 25 years of the Exorcist Doc. 77 min.
• 3 Exorcist trailers, 1 Exorcist II trailer
• 6 TV spots
• Sketches & storyboards 2:05
• Alt ending 1:47
• 3 interview clips with Friedkin & Blatty
• Trailers for Beetlejuice, Devil's Advocate, Fallen, Int. with a Vampire
• Special intro. by director precedes the movie

DVD Release Date: 12/01/98
Snapper

Chapters 47

Release Information:
Studio: Warner

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1

Edition Details:
• VOB file dates: 11/08/00
• Static menu
• New comm. track by dir. William Friedkin
• Cast & Crew text screen (1 screen)
• 2 trailers for the new version
• 4 TV spots & 2 Radio spots
• Behind the screams (5 text screens)
• Blatty & Friedkin: Vision & Differences (7 text screens)
• Most famous scene (2 text screens)
• Fast Facts (2 text screens)
• Awards (2 text screens)

• No insert

DVD Release Date: 12/26/00
Snapper

Chapters 48

Release Information:
Studio: Warner

 

Theatrical Director's Cut

1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 34,197,765,962 bytes

Feature: 27,453,923,328 bytes

Video Bitrate: 22.14 Mbps

Codec: VC-1 Video

1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 44,322,894,152 bytes

Feature: 34,117,355,520 bytes

Video Bitrate: 22.00 Mbps

Codec: VC-1 Video

 

Edition Details:
Disc 1: Extended Director's Cut (2000 version)
• New 3-part documentary on the movie's production and legacy – for the first time, relive the actual on-set filming of classic scenes via never-before-seen set footage: Raising Hell: Filming The Exorcist (30:03), The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now (8:30) and Faces of Evil: The Different Versions of The Exorcist (9:52)

• Trailers, TV Spots and Radio Spots
• Commentary by director William Friedkin
 

Disc 2: Original theatrical cut (1973 version)
• 
2 commentaries: 1) director William Friedkin, 2) producer/screenwriter William Peter Blatty, plus sound effects tests
• 
Introduction by William Friedkin (2:16)
• 
Feature-length 1998 documentary The Fear of God: The Making of The Exorcist (1:17:08)

• 3 Trailers (3:54) and 4 TV Spots (3:10)
• 
Interview gallery covering the topics: the original cut, the final reckoning and stairway to heaven (9:02)
• Original ending (1:42) and more

 

40-page digibook with color photos, essay and a personal message leaflet from Friedkin

Blu-ray Release Date: October 5th, 2010
Digibook
Blu-ray case

Chapters 48

 

Comments

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - October 2010: Firstly - you get two dual-layered Blu-rays here - one with the 73' theatrical and the other with the 2000 Director's Cut (minus, at least, one effect).

No film drains me like The Exorcist. I feel emotionally exhausted after my two Blu-ray presentations. 

The 1.78 image on the Blu-ray is pretty good (by the way, to make things simpler, the visual quality of both Blu-ray versions are very close - both VC-1 encode - very similar bitrate - same color timing).

The video improves in the expected areas - more grain, brighter, a little tighter and far less artifacts. We presume the colors are reporting more faithfully - the Blu-rays are brighter and, at times, very blue (especially in Regan's bedroom scenes where it looks almost filtered). The Blu-ray was stated by Friedkin as ''color-timed by the cinematographer Owen Roizman and myself and represents the very best print ever made of 'The Exorcist". Hopefully, the captures can judge some of the subtle differences. Detail advances - you can see the splashing Holy water across her body in the very last capture - it even has some depth. The only thing of some note that we can report is that at least one of the 2000' version added effects are missing as far as I can tell. When Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) enters Regan's room - there was a brief hokey demon/gargoyle-face effect (see below) that doesn't appear to have made it to the Director's Cut Blu-ray when it was definitely on the DVD. ? I didn't notice any other missing 'additions' that were in the 2000 release.

Audio makes some major strides forward with both versions going lossless. Effects are rife with Chris Newman's Oscar-winning sound work, Steve Boeddeker's score plus all the Penderecki pieces and culminating with Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells". It sounded dynamic with some deep bass aggression pulsating under the surface - pretty crisp and clean overall. There are many DUBs and subtitle options (more on the DC for some reason) and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.

Extras give us everything of value from the first 2 DVDs including the commentaries and 1 1/4 hour 1998 documentary The Fear of God: The Making of The Exorcist. What is new is a 3-part documentary on the movie's production and legacy with actual on-set footage of memorable scenes. These include Raising Hell: Filming The Exorcist (30:03), The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now (8:30) and Faces of Evil: The Different Versions of The Exorcist (9:52). Plus we get the Friedkin intro and a slip of paper with his 'personal message statement' inside the impressive 40-page digi-book with color photos, essays etc.!

Fabulous package for fans of the film (or should we say films). After seeing it so many times I think I still lean to the theatrical but it's great to have both versions. Speaking of which - with seamless branching technology actually working well on Blu-ray I wonder if both could have been put on one disc? Regardless, value here is unrivaled for what is being offered. You get 2 versions of, debatably, the scariest film ever made - looking and sounding top shelf, with hours of supplements including three commentaries. Circumstance demands we give this our strongest thumbs up!

***

ON THE DVDs: A situation much like Apocalypse Now / Redux, essential two different stories with a common background. The alternate Exorcist attempts to tell the tale with a different emphasis, a different perspective. In an effort to make certain points clear, the images have been retooled to make the intent perfectly, painfully clear. Unfortunately the result is much like using a paint spray-gun to touch up a few strokes on an oil painting. Part of the original fear effectively comes from the viewer's mind saying this can't be happening, perhaps it is just a sick little girl until the end of the movie when the horror becomes undeniably real.

A few scenes have been added, some scenes have been digitally modified and one has even been deleted (Regan laughing with the guests at a party). Only a portion of the "famous" spider walk scene has been inserted in the middle of the film. The old documentary provides a longer cut and an example of some of the additional footage not used is captured below (Regan with a snake's tongue). Many of the digital effects are split second events, so seeing them here in still form shows just how obtrusive they can be. The sound has also been baked to try and make a few extra "bumps in the night" happen. It's a shame because the new version has better picture detail on the scenes that remained the same.

The benefit though does not out weight the costs. A new run time and different scenes renders the old commentary tracks out of sync and effectively has to be dropped, a major loss. One of the best audio supplements I have ever listened to is after Blatty's commentary track runs out of steam half way along the original version. The audio track continues on with clips of Linda Blair's voice reading her lines matched up with corresponding line given by Mercedes McCambridge. Try listening to just that track in a dark room. The few new text screens on the alternate DVD version fall woefully short of the documentary that has been dropped.

Perhaps the best use from the alternate version is an example of how to edit and construct a story like the original version that allows the viewers a chance to think and reach a conclusion before one is forced into their lap. Get the new version as a supplement, an example of the fine acting that none the less, should not supplant the original version.

 - Enrique B Chamorro





DVD Menus

(
Warner (25th Ann.) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Warner (Alt. Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)
 

 

Warner (theatrical LEFT vs. Director's Cut RIGHT) - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 


 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Screen Captures

 

1) Warner (25th Ann.) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Warner (Theatrical) - Region FREE - Blu-ray SECOND

3) Warner (Alt. Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - THIRD

4) Warner (Director's Cut) - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Warner (25th Ann.) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Warner (Theatrical) - Region FREE - Blu-ray SECOND

3) Warner (Alt. Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - THIRD

4) Warner (Director's Cut) - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Warner (25th Ann.) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Warner (Theatrical) - Region FREE - Blu-ray SECOND

3) Warner (Alt. Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - THIRD

4) Warner (Director's Cut) - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

NOTE: Digital effect added - but not on Blu-ray!


NOTE: New scene added

 

 

1)  Warner (Alt. Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Warner (Director's Cut) - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

NOTE: Segment not used!

 

SCENE NOT IN USED IN EITHER VERSION

 


1) Warner (25th Ann.) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Warner (Theatrical) - Region FREE - Blu-ray SECOND

3) Warner (Alt. Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - THIRD

4) Warner (Director's Cut) - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Warner (25th Ann.) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Warner (Theatrical) - Region FREE - Blu-ray SECOND

3) Warner (Alt. Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - THIRD

4) Warner (Director's Cut) - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Warner (25th Ann.) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Warner (Theatrical) - Region FREE - Blu-ray SECOND

3) Warner (Alt. Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - THIRD

4) Warner (Director's Cut) - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

NOTE: New scene added / different take used (note the bird at the bottom of the street sign)

 

 

1)  Warner (Alt. Cut) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Warner (Director's Cut) - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

More Blu-ray Captures

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Extras:

Blu-ray

 

DVD Box Covers

 

Distribution

Warner

Region 1 - NTSC

Warner
Region 1 - NTSC
Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 





 

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