This episode covers the supposed curse that befell all of the Exorcist productions and includes interviews with star Linda Blair and other less important people. Notably missing from these rounds of commentary is director William Friedkin and writer William Peter Blatty.
The feature starts with the problems plaguing The Exorcist like the long hours, poor work conditions, and 11 grueling months in different countries. What was significant about this film (other than it was a horror film that won Oscars) was that people claimed it was real and caused a commotion. There is actual footage from the release of the film showing people fainting, vomiting, and cursing the film. The insanity surrounding the film lead people to arrive in droves to theaters and cause the studios opening it on more screens. This signaled the change of an era and set the "wide release" pattern for Hollywood. It was the first film to be shown in hundreds on theaters.
Exorcist II: The Heretic was a nightmare in a different sense. Director Friedkin said he would rather jump off a building than shoot this sequel. Writer Blatty sold the option to the script and was quickly picked up by director John Boorman (Deliverance) and stars Blair again. This was a critical and box office failure.
Soon after Blatty wrote another novel called "Legion". The CEO of Morgan Creek, James Robinson, agreed to give Blatty a chance at directing his own feature. This was based on the book Legion and the studio later forced him to add in an exorcism scene, so that they can make this into Exorcist III.
Soon after this, Robinson bought the rights to all the sequels and prequels, which leads us to Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist. John Frankenheimer was set to direct, but stepped down just before his death. Paul Schrader took the helm as director, but Robinson decided to shelve the movie because it did not fit in with this "valuable franchise". Renny Harlin was brought on board and gave us the poorly rated Exorcist: The Beginning.
Bottom Line: A nice overview of the Exorcist series. There are a few documentaries and shows discussing similar things, so pick up The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen, for newer footage on your favorite original film.
Rating: 6/10
Molly Celaschi www.HorrorYearbook.com MySpace.com/HorrorYearbook
The feature starts with the problems plaguing The Exorcist like the long hours, poor work conditions, and 11 grueling months in different countries. What was significant about this film (other than it was a horror film that won Oscars) was that people claimed it was real and caused a commotion. There is actual footage from the release of the film showing people fainting, vomiting, and cursing the film. The insanity surrounding the film lead people to arrive in droves to theaters and cause the studios opening it on more screens. This signaled the change of an era and set the "wide release" pattern for Hollywood. It was the first film to be shown in hundreds on theaters.
Exorcist II: The Heretic was a nightmare in a different sense. Director Friedkin said he would rather jump off a building than shoot this sequel. Writer Blatty sold the option to the script and was quickly picked up by director John Boorman (Deliverance) and stars Blair again. This was a critical and box office failure.
Soon after Blatty wrote another novel called "Legion". The CEO of Morgan Creek, James Robinson, agreed to give Blatty a chance at directing his own feature. This was based on the book Legion and the studio later forced him to add in an exorcism scene, so that they can make this into Exorcist III.
Soon after this, Robinson bought the rights to all the sequels and prequels, which leads us to Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist. John Frankenheimer was set to direct, but stepped down just before his death. Paul Schrader took the helm as director, but Robinson decided to shelve the movie because it did not fit in with this "valuable franchise". Renny Harlin was brought on board and gave us the poorly rated Exorcist: The Beginning.
Bottom Line: A nice overview of the Exorcist series. There are a few documentaries and shows discussing similar things, so pick up The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen, for newer footage on your favorite original film.
Rating: 6/10
Molly Celaschi www.HorrorYearbook.com MySpace.com/HorrorYearbook
