The Exorcist: 25th Anniversary Special Edition DVD Review

Written by SMN

DVD released by Warner Home Video

Directed by William Friedkin

Written by William Peter Blatty

1973, Region 1 (NTSC), 132 minutes, Rated R

DVD released on December 26th, 2000

Starring:
Ellen Burstyn as Chris MacNeil
Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil
Jason Miller as Father Damien Karras
Max von Sydow as Father Lankester Merrin
Lee J. Cobb as Lieutenant William Kinderman

Movie:

The Exorcist is about a girl that gets possessed by the devil. Short and simple.

When Chris Macneil's daughter starts acting "strange", she tries every possible medication to try and cure her. She visits doctors, psychiatrists, you name it she visits. Only to later find out, from her own daughter, that she's been possessed.

Chris doesn't believe this sort of thing happens, but she still visits the local priest to try and find out more information for her daughter's sake. Father Karras checks the girl and doesn't at first believe she's possessed. He was touched by what the girl said, and is not until multiple visits later that he truly believes she's been possessed.

After Father Karras believes she's been possessed he asks the church if he can perform an exorcism. The church agrees, but only if Father Merrin, someone with experience on exorcisms, is present. The two then visit the girl and try to perform the exorcism, in one of the most unnerving endings you'll ever see.

Video and Audio:

The picture looks great on the 25th Anniversary DVD. Everything is sharp and clean. There is barely any mistake on the print at all, except just a tad bit of grain in some scenes like when we are first introduced to Georgetown.

I've always liked the way Warner treats DVD's and this is no exception. The Exorcist has problably never looked better.

The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. Warner remixed the DVD to make it sound 5.1, like many other newer releases, and it gets the job done. The Version You've Never Seen sounds better, though. Sorta wish they both would have gotten the same treatment, but no biggie.

Special Features:

This is one great DVD in terms of EXTRAS alone. It has everything you could ever want if you're an Exorcist fan. The supplements include: BBC Documentary The Fear of God: The Making of The Exorcist, Theatrical trailers, TV spots, Storyboards and Production Sketches, Audio Commentary by the Director, and a second Audio Commentary by the Screenwriter + Special sound effects tests.

This DVD is Dual Sided with all the Special Features on Side B, with the exception of the Audio Commentaries of course.

Grades:
Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Features:
Overall:

Conclusion:

Some regard The Exorcist as the scariest movie of all time. After watching this DVD I believe you'll be among them.

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