Many people (Entertainment Weekly, Maxim, Me) hold The Exorcist up as the scariest film ever made. So how can it be that the DVD gods have not brought us an epic edition of the 1973 classic? They have released the recut Exorcist that was released in theaters in 2000 as well as released a nearly featureless collection that includes all the unfortunate sequels. I think by the next Halloween I should be clutching a beautiful new Exorcist Special Edition DVD and I have some ideas of what I would like it to have. So come and dream with me as we craft a worthy DVD collector’s edition to honor this horror masterpiece.
Special Features:
Audio Commentary – I will put Audio commentary on every list I make. For this film I would hope they keep the already recorded commentary from William Friedkin (Director), but I would settle for a new one from William Peter Blatty, who wrote the book and the screenplay. However, he also wrote the sequels including the most recent ones.
The special effects should be highlighted with an emphasis on what was added or cleaned up with the 2000 re-release. And of course special attention to the spider stair walk which ruined many nights for me.
There should be a nice behind the scenes feature on how the film came to be. William Friedkin used some unorthodox methods to get the desired results, like slapping actors before their take without warning, and the film had its share of drama before the cameras even rolled. The post-production drama should include all the theaters that banned the film and the backlash it ignited.
I would like to see a feature on the “Subliminal Message Controversy” and how such a thing might be achieved. William Friedkin used some quick flashes throughout the movie of the white demon which we assume to be “Captain Howdy” or Pazuzu. It isn’t subliminal since we can see it, but I think a feature about the possibility of subliminal messages in a horror film could be fascinating.
Finally, a retrospective from some other horror writers and directors on its legacy and influence. It would be nice if Linda Blair or Max Von Sydow returned to join them as well.
I think this can be done with a reasonably priced 2 disc edition, however if they felt inclined to include the original cut of the film or the wildly altered TV cut on a third disc I would shell out the money for it.
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