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The Exorcist: 25th Anniversary Special Edition

The Exorcist: 25th Anniversary Special Edition

List Price: $24.98
Your Price: $22.48
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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: ...
Review: Nicely shot, has a really strong cast and some quality scenes. This is a very good production for it's time but the problem is that ... when you try using people's religious beliefs to scare. The surgery scenes are not scary and are pretty useless (people who like watching other living things get hurt might like the scene). Also, the storyline starts of effective but slowly it starts to fall apart and the movie starts to get pointless.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wear an extra pair of shorts
Review: Scream...not scary Blair Witch...a downright abomination. Too bad the best movie released at the big screen last year was almost thirty years old. No irritating clever teenagers, no one liners, and hot dang some real acting for a change. If this movie doesn't make your bones chilly you might as well go lie down in the grave and wait.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: VERY DISTURBING!
Review: Of all the horror movies that I've seen, this would have to be the most disturbing. It wasn't because of the special effects nor the idea of the little girl being enslaved by a demon, but because they seemed to go WELL beyond the limits.

Growing up, I'd only seen the TV version until recently. Watching the ... scene along with what was being said gave me chills! I had to cut it off. It disturbs me because of all the things that they dared to do in the film. If you are religious in the slightest and believe in God and Satan, you'll understand after watching this.

Some people laugh at this movie not realizing that this movie is almost 30 years old. If only they had a version WITHOUT the ... scene.... I can deal with everything else.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Most powerful movie ever made.
Review: I'm 29 yrs old and have seen just about every scary/shocking movie ever made. None of them, save the Exorcist ever truly disturbed me. This movie truly messed me up when I first saw it, and when I watch it at home by myself, I can literally feel my heart almost ripping through my chest. I am of the belief that this movie can alter one's outlook on life, and that it has the power to perhaps drive some people insane. Next to the events portrayed in this movie, all other human endeavors shrink to insignificance.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great horror film; great human drama
Review: The Exorcist 25th Anniversary Special Edition is chock-full of special features, and beautifully transferred in anamorphic 16:9. A real treat is the included BBC documentary The Fear of God: The Making of The Exorcist, which contains a wealth of information on the genesis of one of the truly great films of the 70's. Also included is most of the material that was put back into the film to make the inferior "version you've never seen". This edition of the DVD places those extra scenes where they belong - as standalone curios for the aficionado. There is, after all, good reason why they were cut in the first place: they slowed the narrative and they weren't that good.

As originally released, The Exorcist broke ground not only as a horror film (by seriously pushing the limits of just what you can show on screen), but also as a serious human drama about faith, sacrifice, and redemption. Unlike later and lesser imitators, The Exorcist does not indulge in shocking imagery and dialogue for its own sake; rather it simply takes the subject of demonic possession seriously - and presents it as honestly as possible.

The Exorcist also takes God seriously. It understands the nature of faith. For perhaps the first and only time in recent cinema, Catholic priests are not presented as troubled perverts hiding behind collars, but as dedicated servants of the Church; ordinary men who struggle with extraordinary responsibility. And like the rest of us, their faith is sometimes severely tested.

Jason Miller plays Father Damian Karras, a psychiatrist and a priest, who is the real main character of the film (not, as many suppose, the possessed girl). His struggle is familiar to anyone whose walk of faith has been interrupted by guilt, isolation, and doubt. He is a modern Jesuit - trained to believe that good science and good religion are not contradictory. He is the face of the "enlightened" church that has relegated demonic possession - therefore exorcism - to the musty closet of old superstitions, along with the six-day creation and the flat Earth. The lonely death of his mother strains Karras' belief in God and the Church to the breaking point. He even says to a colleague that he is unfit to serve; that he has lost his faith.

In his weakened state, movie star Chris McNeil (the superb Ellen Burstyn) asks Father Karras to help her daughter Reagan (Linda Blair) who, she believes, is possessed by an evil spirit. He is joined by an older priest who has met this particular demon before, the venerable Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow). By the time they face the demon in the film's final act, there is no doubt that this film believes in God, the devil, and everything in between.

Ultimately, director William Friedken's thesis - spoken by him on the DVD's commentary track - rings true: The Exorcist is a film about the power of faith, no matter your proclaimed religion, to overcome evil. In the end, Father Karras is redeemed, his faith restored, and Reagan is freed of the demon's horrible clutches.

More so even than Silence of the Lambs, The Exorcist towers as an example of the legitimacy of the horror genre as potentially great cinema, not merely a great thrill ride.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: very frightening film
Review: I just recently viewed this film and it was a truly frightening film.Not only because of the fact that it puts the idea in your head that this could really happen but also the images that pop up unexpectedly every now and then.There are a lot of vulgar sequences but that in no way takes away from this films great acting and overall well directing.This is a very good film that will keep you wondering if this could really happen.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Very Disturbing
Review: Revisiting this movie after a long, long while, I was struck by how well-acted it remains. The reason this "horror" film has stood the test of time is that we care - we feel pity for Linda Blair, we grieve with Ellen Burstyn, we can tell that Max von Sydow is far too old to still be fighting evil. This version's added footage explores the characters a little more, in particular the mother-daughter bond. The spinal tap footage is almost unbearable, far more so than any of the possession sequences, and why? Because it is happening to a little girl, and we see how much that hurts her mother. The only complaint that I have is that I wish the Devil had more dialogue - I would like to know why he chose this little girl and what exactly he is hoping to accomplish. The scariest movie ever made? That is open to debate. What is for certain is that this is a nice piece of filmmaking that manages to be fun and disturbing at the same time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My favorite horror movie.
Review: "The Exorcist" is my favorite scary movie, although I think it's more of a disturbing one. What's scary about this film is the story. Imagine having a child who was possessed and doing such things. The movie seems more real to me than most horror movies. It's the story, not the infamous shocks, that scares me. Now onto the performances. They are real, unforgettable, and thought-provoking. Ellen Burstyn, in particular as Linda Blair's mother. This, to me, is her best role in a movie ever. I've only seen the original film, last year at Christmas time when I rented it and then bought it. I haven't seen the re-released "Director's Cut" in theaters, but I perfer to see the original 1973 film. The documentary on the 25th anniversary of this movie is fascinating, as well as the terrifying theatrical trailers. This is a must for any serious fan of horror films.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best Movie EVER!
Review: I recently purchased this movie, and I have to say, it is better than it was in 1973. I don't find it very scary, but it is very suspenseful (to me at least). But I'm not trying to downgrade this movie. It truly stands as the scariest movie of all time, and is also the best movie of all time. This version, the version you've never seen before, includes over 12 minutes of never-before-seen footage, plus the REAL ending. Bravo to performances by Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller, Kitty Winn, and a cast of others. And a wonderfully demonic voice done by Mercedes McCambridge.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The sound is incredible
Review: Though there weren't many scenes added to this version of the movie it is fantastic because of the remastered sound. The Dolby 5.1 digital sound is so good you really hear chilling effects from all directions. I really enjoyed this new version.


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