The Exorcist: Difference between revisions

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Based on a novel by William Peter Blatty, [[Very Loosely Based on a True Story|and inspired by]] what was supposedly ([http://www.examiner.com/history-in-baltimore/the-not-so-real-life-story-that-inspired-the-exorcist it's been disputed]) [[The Tasteless But True Story|an actual documented exorcism]] from 1949, '''''The Exorcist''''' is the terrifying, shocking tale of an originally rather cute 12-year-old girl named Regan and the efforts of her mother, a famous ex-actress, her mom's secretary Sharon, and a pair of priests to save the poor girl's soul from the ravages of a powerful, malign entity called Pazuzu.

Initially manifesting as strange behavior in little Regan and her Ouija-board trysts with an [[Imaginary Friend|invisible companion]] calling itself Captain Howdy, the being's infiltration is at first dismissed as Regan acting out frustrations after her mother's divorce. As the demon takes hold of Regan, however, she undergoes drastic changes in appearance and behavior, manifesting physical symptoms and incredible strength that cannot be explained by medical science. After Regan starts gliding around the house on all fours ''face up'', licking Sharon's ankles, her mother decides that it is time to consult a higher authority...

 

 

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== General ==

* [[Brown Note]]: [http://theexorcist.warnerbros.com/cmp/silencebottom.html Many sound effects were put in (sometimes deep in the mix) to make it more unsettling] - for instance, pigs being herded for slaughter and [[Everything's Worse with Bees|angry bees]].

* [[CAT Trap]]: As one transcript puts it, "a huge machine, two pieces on either side of Regan's head and a piece above."

* [[Christianity Is Catholic]]: Justified. Any reference to the original Lutheran clergy that Regan's mom consulted was left out, perhaps because Lutherans have no exorcism tradition.

* [[Cluster F-Bomb]]: And how.

* [[Potty Failure]]: During the after party, when Father Dyer entertains the remaining guests with his piano playing; Reagan comes down stairs. When Dyer first notices her he gets everyone's attention. She looks at the astronaut Dyer spoke to before, telling him he's gonna die in space. Which shocks the Astronaut and the guests. As things couldn't get more awkard, Regan proceeds to urinate over the carpet where she stands, while the guests look on in shock. Chris ushers her out of the room and apologizes to the astronaut on her behalf.

* [[Recut]]: An extended director's cut of the original film, marketed as "The Version You've Never Seen" and containing several minutes of additional material (including a scene of Blair's character "spider-walking" down a staircase which Friedkin had [[Deleted Scene|deleted]] from the original cut due to technical problems, and which bore no resemblance to the spider walk in the book), was released to theaters in 2000.

* [[Split Personality]]: As the possession starts to take hold and Regan's behavior gets more bizarre, Chris thinks her daughter might have a split personality. Later, the possessed Regan says the line "Do you know what she did, your cunting daughter?" with the voice of {{spoiler|the dead Burke Dennings.}}

* [[Stealth Sequel]]: [[Word of God]] states that ''The Ninth Configuration'' is the true sequel to ''The Exorcist''. According to [[That Other Wiki]], the astronaut in ''The Exorcist'' is Captain Cutshaw in ''The Ninth Configuration''. In the book series, several unused pieces of dialogue from ''The Exorcist'' were used in ''The Ninth Configuration'' instead.

 

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{{Golden Globe Award Best Motion Picture Drama}}

{{AFI's 100 Years 100 Heroes and Villains}}

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[[Category:The 100 Scariest Movie Moments]]

[[Category:Films of the 2000s]]

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[[Category:National Film Registry]]

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