Information
| Year: | 1973 |
| Rating: | 8.1(102766) |
| Listed in: | Drama, Horror |
| Directed by: | William Friedkin |
| Actors: | Max von Sydow Lee J. Cobb Jack MacGowran Jason Miller Ellen Burstyn Kitty Winn |
| "The movie you've been waiting for...without the wait." | |
Cast
| Directed by | |
|---|---|
| William Friedkin | |
| Actors | |
| Max von Sydow | as Father Merrin |
| Lee J. Cobb | as Lt. Kinderman |
| Jack MacGowran | as Burke Dennings |
| Jason Miller | as Father Karras |
| William O'Malley | as Father Dyer |
| Barton Heyman | as Dr. Klein |
| Peter Masterson | as Dr. Barringer - Clinic Director |
| Rudolf Schündler | as Karl |
| Robert Symonds | as Dr. Taney |
| Arthur Storch | as Psychiatrist |
| Thomas Bermingham | as Tom - President of University |
| Titos Vandis | as Karras' Uncle |
| Wallace Rooney | as Bishop Michael |
| Ron Faber | as Chuck - Assistant Director/Demonic Voice |
| Roy Cooper | as Jesuit Dean |
| Robert Gerringer | as Senator at Party |
| William Peter Blatty | as Producer |
| Dick Callinan | as Astronaut |
| Mason Curry | |
| John Mahon | as Language Lab Director |
| John Nicola | as Priest |
| Vincent Russell | as Subway Vagrant |
| Actresses | |
| Ellen Burstyn | as Chris MacNeil |
| Kitty Winn | as Sharon |
| Linda Blair | as Regan |
| Gina Petrushka | as Willi |
| Vasiliki Maliaros | as Karras' Mother |
| Donna Mitchell | as Mary Jo Perrin |
| Mercedes McCambridge | as Demon |
| Mary Boylan | as First Mental Patient |
| Eileen Dietz | as Pazuzu's Face |
| Joanne Dusseau | as Senator's Wife |
| Yvonne Jones | as Bellevue Nurse |
Movie info
| Languages: | English, Latin, Greek, French, German, Arabic |
| Filming dates: | 14 August 1972 - 20 July 1973 |
| Budget: | USD 10,497,444 |
| Gross: |
USA - 8,431,437 USD (24 September 2000) UK - 7,143,595 GBP (6 December 1998) Worldwide - 357,500,000 USD (January 2004) Japan - 5,700,000 USD (3 December 2000) Singapore - 564,034 SGD (September 1974) Spain - 9,795,445 EUR (26 September 2003) |
| Plot: | A movie actress taking up temporary residence in Washington D.C. has her troubles. The script for the movie she's filming seems inadequate. Her ex, who is also the father of her adolescent daughter, Regan, neglects to call the girl on her birthday. And the attic has rats. Meanwhile, Father Karras, a priest and a psychiatrist, is losing his faith; and he's dealing with a sick mother who needs medical care he hasn't the money to provide. Another priest, the old and ailing Father Merrin, has just returned from Iraq with forebodings of evil. These three persons meet when the sweet and cheerful Regan turns foul-mouthed and violent. But her sickness is beyond the reach of a medical doctor or a psychiatrist. What Regan needs is an exorcist. |
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Original Soundtracks
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"Kanon For Orchestra and Tape" Written by Krzysztof Penderecki Courtesy of Angel Records "Cello Concerto" Written by Krzysztof Penderecki Courtesy of Angel Records "String Quartet (1960)" Written by Krzysztof Penderecki Courtesy of Candide/Vox Productions, Inc. "Polymorphia" Written by Krzysztof Penderecki Performed by Orchestra of the Cracow Philharmonia Conducted by Henryk Czyz Courtesy of Philips Records "The Devils of Loudon" Written by Krzysztof Penderecki Performed by Hamburg State Opera Conducted by Marek Janowski Courtesy of Philips Records "Fantasia for Strings" Written by Hans Werner Henze Courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon "(Tutti) Threnody I: Night of the Electric Insects" Written by George Crumb Courtesy of Composers Recordings, Inc. "Fliessend, Äusserst Zart (from Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 10)" Written by Anton Webern Courtesy of Angel Records "Beginnings (from The Wind Harp)" Written by Harry Bee (uncredited) Courtesy of United Artists Records "Tubular Bells" Written by Mike Oldfield Courtesy of Virgin Records "Study No. 1" Written by David Borden "Study No. 2" Written by David Borden "Ramblin' Man" (uncredited) Written by Dickey Betts Performed by The Allman Brothers Band |
Goofs
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Continuity: The cigarette that Chris stomps out in the park is back in her hand a moment later. FAIR: Near the end of the picture, Father Karras's stole seems to disappear in Regan's room, but that's because he puts a blue pullover on top of it because it's cold in there. Revealing mistakes: SPOILER: Rubber mats are visible on the steps for the famous fall down the staircase scene. Continuity: When father Karras is in the dorm sitting on the bed smoking a cigarette, the priest takes the cigarette from Karras and lays him down on the bed. When father Karras sits up and grabs the priest's arm, the cigarette is still in Karras's right hand. In the next shot, the cigarette is back with the other priest. Continuity: Father Karras's lighter changes hands just as he is about to light a cigarette in his apartment. FAIR: SPOILER: The infamous stairs that Father Karras plummets down are indeed adjacent to the house, though the facade of a second story was added for the film. Continuity: After the initial session of exorcism, Father Damien Karras unties Regan's wrist from the bed and ties them together. When Father Merrin returns to resume the session Regan's wrists are again tied to the bed. Continuity: When Karras is drunk in his bed, his friend takes his cigarette from him. A few shots later, when Karras is lying down, the cigarette is in his hand again. SYNC: When Regan insults Karras's mother, the lines don't match her mouth movements. Continuity: In the basement with the Ouija board, Regan is playing with a table tennis paddle and ball. She puts the ball under the paddle and rests it on the table when her mother brings the Ouija board. Clearly the ball is under the paddle as evidenced by the angle of the paddle. In the very next shot, the paddle is flat on the table and the ball has disappeared. In the next shot, the ball reappears as demonstrated by the angle of the paddle. Continuity: In the 2000 re-release, when Father Merrin asks Chris McNeil what Regan's middle name is, she is wearing a fur coat. When the priests enter Regan's room and Father Karras closes the door in her face, Mrs. McNeil is no longer wearing the coat. Continuity: When Chris goes to investigate the noises in the attic, she takes a long candle up the stairs with her. When she actually gets into the attic, it is several inches shorter. BOOM: Once, in the Iraq sequence, the shadow of a microphone is visible on Father Merrin's hat. Revealing mistakes: During the exorcism, Reagan is lying on the bed with her head to one side while green vomit is pouring from her mouth onto the bed. The tube that pumps this "vomit" is visible on the back of her cheek, just under her ear. Continuity: When Father Karras visits his mother at her house, he removes his collar and places it edge-wise on the shelf. In the next shot, the collar is lying down at a different angle. Continuity: After Regan vomits on Fr. Merrin's purple stole we see Fr. Karras washing it off in the bathroom sink. In the next shot when the exorcism resumes and Fr. Merrin is wearing the stole, it is completely dry. Continuity: When Merrin and Karres enter Regans room to start the exorcism, Merrin opens a small black case and produces a crucifix which he kisses then puts on the bedside table. After the priests take a break from the exorcism, Merrin re-enters the room and takes the crucifix out of the case again. Continuity: During the exorcism scene, the pillows underneath Regan's head disappear and then reappear. Continuity: Regan has her hands in the air as light streams in front of her. Later, her hands are tied to the bed again. Revealing mistakes: When Regan turns her head, she exposes the edge of the mask that covers the flattened tubes used to pump the "vomit" to her mouth. Continuity: SPOILER: The final scene when the family is driving off in the black Mercedes, the badge naming the type of Mercedes changes from Sxxx to a longer German word. Continuity: When the clock stops, the pendulum stops on the left side of the clock-casing. When the camera cuts back to the clock the pendulum hangs to the right Continuity: At the beginning of the exorcism, Regan's blanket is yellow. Towards the end, when Father Karras is checking her heart, the blanket is blue. Revealing mistakes: During the exorcism scene, the plasma bottle and stand are tipped over, and the nearly-full bottle smashes on the floor. No liquid comes out. CHAR: William Peter Blatty closely modeled the exorcism scene on the actual rite of exorcism in the Church's "Rituale Romanum". Father Merrin can be seen opening a copy of the Rituale in the scene in question. However, the priests depart from the Rituale in two important details. First, there should have been four people (apart from Regan) in the room during the exorcism: the exorcist himself; an assistant priest to take over in case the exorcist died midway through; a member of the victim's family of the same sex as the victim, to help restrain her; and a doctor, to (among other things) administer any medication that was needed. Due to the "2 Priest rule", Fr Merrin should have delayed the second round of the exorcism and phoned the bishop to get a replacement for Fr Karras, instead of trying to tackle it on his own. Crew: In the birds-eye view of the scene where Damien is running around the track before meeting the detective, there is a fly on the camera lens. Revealing mistakes: Wires holding Regan can be clearly seen during the exorcist levitation scenes. PLOT: Chris MacNeil's physically powerful servant Karl gets into an ugly public brawl with Burke Dennings at the cocktail party, and Karl loudly threatens Dennings with "I'll kill you !! I'll kill you !!" as onlookers pull them apart. However, when shortly afterwards Burke Dennings is found murdered on the ground below a window in the home Karl where is employed, Karl is never a suspect in the police investigation. When Chris MacNeil asks Lt. Kinderman if he'd like to talk to Karl, he says "No, never mind. It's not important. Never mind." In reality Karl would have been the prime suspect. |
Quotes
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Demon: What an excellent day for an exorcism. Father Damien Karras: You would like that? Demon: Intensely. Father Damien Karras: But wouldn't that drive you out of Regan? Demon: It would bring us together. Father Damien Karras: You and Regan? Demon: You and us. Demon: I'm not Regan. Father Damien Karras: Well, then let's introduce ourselves. I'm Damien Karras. Demon: And I'm the Devil. Now kindly undo these straps. Father Damien Karras: If you're the Devil, why not make the straps disappear? Demon: That's much too vulgar a display of power, Karras. Demon: Your mother's in here, Karras. Would you like to leave a message? I'll see that she gets it. Demon: Your mother sucks cocks in Hell, Karras, you faithless slime. Father Merrin: Especially important is the warning to avoid conversations with the demon. We may ask what is relevant but anything beyond that is dangerous. He is a liar. The demon is a liar. He will lie to confuse us. But he will also mix lies with the truth to attack us. The attack is psychological, Damien, and powerful. So don't listen to him. Remember that - do not listen. Regan MacNeil: But ya like him. Chris MacNeil: Of course I like him. I like pizzas too, but I'm not gonna marry one. Father Damien Karras: It's my mother, Tom. She's alone. I never should have left her. At least in New York, I'd be near, I'd be closer. Tom, President of University: Could see about a transfer, Damien. Father Damien Karras: I need re-assignment, Tom. I want out of this job. It's wrong. It's no good. Tom, President of University: You're the best we've got. Father Damien Karras: Am I really? It's more than psychiatry, and you know that Tom. Some of their problems come down to faith, their vocation and meaning of their lives, and I can't cut it anymore. I need out. I'm unfit. I think I've lost my faith, Tom. Sharon Spencer: I should have known better. I'm sorry. Chris MacNeil: Yeah, I guess you should have. Sharon Spencer: How were the tests? Chris MacNeil: We have to start looking for a shrink. Dr. Taney: Pathological states can induce abnormal strength. Accelerated motor performance. Now, for example, say a 90 pound woman sees her child pinned under the wheel of a truck. Runs out and lifts the wheels a half a foot up off the ground - you've heard the story - same thing here. Same principle, I mean. Chris MacNeil: So what's wrong with her? Dr. Klein: We still think the temporal lobe. Chris MacNeil: Oh what are you talking about, for Chrissakes? Did you see her or not? She's acting like she's fucking out of her mind, psychotic, like a... split personality or... Dr. Taney: There haven't been more than a hundred authentic cases of so-called split personality, Mrs. MacNeil. Now I know the temptation is to leap to psychiatry. But any reasonable psychiatrist would exhaust the somatic possibilities first. Chris MacNeil: So, what's next? Dr. Taney: A pneumoencephalogram, I would think. Pin down that lesion. It will involve another spinal. Chris MacNeil: Oh, Christ. Dr. Taney: What we missed in the EEG and the arteriograms could conceivably turn up there. At least, it would eliminate certain other possibilities. [after fighting with Karl] Burke Dennings: So, what's for dessert? Psychiatrist: Is there someone inside you? Regan MacNeil: Sometimes. Psychiatrist: Who is it? Regan MacNeil: I don't know. Psychiatrist: Is it Captain Howdy? Regan MacNeil: I don't know. Psychiatrist: If I ask him to tell me, will you let him answer? Regan MacNeil: No. Psychiatrist: Why not? Regan MacNeil: I'm afraid. Dr. Barringer, Clinic Director: There is one outside chance for a cure. I think of it as shock treatment - as I said, it's a very outside chance... Have you ever heard of exorcism? Well, it's a stylized ritual in which the rabbi or the priest try to drive out the so-called invading spirit. It's been pretty much discarded these days except by the Catholics who keep it in the closet as a sort of an embarrassment, but uh, it has worked. In fact, although not for the reasons they think, of course. It's purely a force of suggestion. The victim's belief in possession is what helped cause it, so in that same way, a belief in the power of exorcism can make it disappear. Chris MacNeil: You're telling me that I should take my daughter to a witch doctor? Is that it? Dr. Barringer, Clinic Director: It looks like a type of disorder that you rarely ever see any more, except in primitive cultures. We call it a somnambuliform possession. Quite frankly, we don't know much about it except that it starts with some conflict or guilt that eventually leads to the patient's delusion that his body's been invaded by an alien intelligence, a spirit if you will. Chris MacNeil: Look, I'm telling you again and you'd better believe it: I'm not about to put her in a goddamn asylum! And I don't care what you call it! I'm not putting her away! Dr. Barringer, Clinic Director: I'm sorry. Chris MacNeil: You're sorry. Christ, eighty-eight doctors and all you can tell me with all of your bullshit is... Dr. Barringer, Clinic Director: There is one outside chance of a cure. I think of it as shock treatment. As I say, there is an outside chance... Chris MacNeil: Will you just name it, for God's sake? What is it? Male Doctor: Do you have any religious beliefs? Chris MacNeil: No. Female Doctor: What about your daughter? Chris MacNeil: No, why? Dr. Barringer, Clinic Director: Have you ever heard of exorcism? It's a stylized ritual in which rabbis or priests try to drive out the so-called invading spirit. It's pretty much discarded these days, except by the Catholics who keep it in the closet as a sort of embarrassment. It has worked, in fact, although not for the reason they think, of course. It was purely the force of suggestion. The victim's belief in possession helped cause it. And just in the same way, this belief in the power of exorcism can make it disappear. Father Dyer: Listen, if you ever go up there again will you take me along? Astronaut: What for? Father Dyer: First missionary on Mars. Father Damien Karras: [praying over Merrin's body] Ego te absolvo in nomine Patris, et Filiii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen. Chris MacNeil: [as the Ouija planchette pulls away] You really don't want me to play, huh? Regan MacNeil: No, I do. Captain Howdy said no. Chris MacNeil: Captain who? Regan MacNeil: Captain Howdy. Chris MacNeil: Who's Captain Howdy? Regan MacNeil: You know, I make the questions and he does the answers. Chris MacNeil: Oh, Captain Howdy... Burke Dennings: [to Karl] Cunting Hun! Bloody damn butchering Nazi pig! [Regan, possessed, is masturbating with a crucifix] Demon: Let Jesus fuck you, let Jesus fuck you. Let him fuck you. Father Merrin: I cast you out! Unclean spirit! Demon: Shove it up your ass, you faggot! Father Merrin: In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ! It is he who commands you! It is he who flung you from the gates of Heaven to the depths of Hell! Demon: Fuck him! Father Merrin: Be gone... Demon: Fuck him, Karras! Fuck him! Father Merrin: ...from this creature of God! Be gone! In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! Chris MacNeil: You show me Regan's double, same face, same voice, everything. And I'd know it wasn't Regan. I'd know in my gut. Now, I want you to tell me that you know for a fact that there's nothing wrong with my daughter, except in her mind. You tell me for a fact that an exorcism wouldn't do any good. You tell me that! Father Damien Karras: I think it might be helpful if I gave you some background on the different personalities Regan has manifested. So far, I'd say there seem to be three. She's convinced... Father Merrin: There is only one. Father Damien Karras: Take me. Come into me. God damn you. Take me. Take me. Lt. Kinderman: If certain British doctors never asked "What is this fungus?" we wouldn't today have penicillin, correct? Burke Dennings: Shall we summon the writer? He's in Paris. Chris MacNeil: Hiding? Burke Dennings: Fucking. Father Dyer: My idea of Heaven is a solid white nightclub with me as a headliner for all eternity, and they *love* me. Dr. Klein: Do you keep any drugs in your house? Chris MacNeil: No, of course not, nothing like that. Dr. Klein: Are you sure? Chris MacNeil: Well, of course I'm sure. I'd tell you. Christ, I don't even smoke grass. Father Damien Karras: There isn't a day in my life when I haven't felt like a fraud. I mean priests, doctors, I've talked to them all. I don't know anyone who hasn't felt that. Chris MacNeil: Would you like some bourbon in that, father? Father Merrin: Well, my doctor says I shouldn't but thank God my will is weak. [repeated lines] Father Merrin, Father Damien Karras: The Power of Christ compels you! Demon: Lick me, lick me! Demon: Do you know what she did, your cunting daughter? Demon: Keep away. The sow is mine. Demon: Stick your cock up her ass, you motherfucking worthless cocksucker. Father Damien Karras: There are no experts. You probably know as much about possession than most priests. Look, your daughter doesn't say she's a demon. She says she's the devil himself. And if you've seen as many psychotics as I have, you'd know it's like saying you're Napoleon Bonaparte. [to a prominent senator at Chris' party] Burke Dennings: There seems to be an alien pubic hair in my gin. Never seen it before in my life! Have you? Lt. Kinderman: You know who you look like? John Garfield. Exactly, John Garfield, "Body and Soul." Do people ever tell you that, Father? Father Damien Karras: Do people tell you that you look like Paul Newman? Lt. Kinderman: Always. Father Damien Karras: Why her? Why this girl? Father Merrin: I think the point is to make us despair. To see ourselves as... animal and ugly. To make us reject the possibility that God could love us. Burke Dennings: Tell me, was it public relations you did for the Gestapo or community relations? Karl: I'm Swiss! Burke Dennings: Oh, of course. And you never went bowling with Goebbels before either, I suppose? Nazi bastard. Father Damien Karras: Where is Regan? Demon: In here. With us. Demon: You killed your mother! You left her alone to die! Bastard! Father Damien Karras: Shut up! Karras' Mother: [to Karras] Why you do this to me, Dimmy? Chris MacNeil: Operator, you've given me the number four times. What did you do, take an illiteracy test to get that job for Christ sake? Regan MacNeil: Mother? What's wrong with me? Chris MacNeil: It's just like the doctor said. It's nerves, and that's all. You just take your pills and you'll be fine, really. Okay? [2000 version] Chris MacNeil: Well, give me an example. Like what specifically did she say? Dr. Klein: Specifically, Mrs. MacNeil, she advised me to "keep my fingers away from her goddamned cunt." Demon: Mirabile dictu, don't you agree? Father Damien Karras: You speak Latin? Demon: Ego te absolvo. Father Damien Karras: Quod nomen mihi est? Demon: Bon Jour. Father Damien Karras: Quod nomen mihi est? Demon: La plume de ma tante. Chris MacNeil: Oh no, that was no spasm. I got on the bed. The whole bed was thumping and rising off the floor and shaking. The whole thing, with me on it! Dr. Klein: Mrs. MacNeil, the problem with your daughter is not her bed; it's her brain. Demon: Give us time... Let the girl die... I am no one... I am no one... Fear the priest... Fear the priest... Merrin... Merrin. [2000 version] Lt. Kinderman: You go to films, Father Dyer? You like them? Father Dyer: Oh, sure. Lt. Kinderman: I get passes. In fact I've got a pass for the Crest tomorrow night. You'd like to go? Father Dyer: What's playing? Lt. Kinderman: "Wuthering Heights". Father Dyer: Who's in it? Lt. Kinderman: Heathcliff, Jackie Gleason, and in the role of Catherine Earnshaw, Lucille Ball. You're happy? Father Dyer: I've seen it. Lt. Kinderman: Another one. Father Merrin: [looking at St. Joseph medal] Evil against evil. Subway Vagrant: Father, could you help an old altar boy? I'm Cat'lick. [2000 version] Father Merrin: [on his way to begin the exorcism] What is your daughter's middle name, Mrs. MacNeil? Chris MacNeil: Teresa. Father Merrin: What a lovely name. Chris MacNeil: What are you doing here? Regan MacNeil: My bed was shaking. I can't get to sleep. Chris MacNeil: We've got rats in the attic. You better get some traps. Karl: Rats? Chris MacNeil: Mm-hmm. 'Fraid so. Karl: But the attic is clean. Chris MacNeil: All right, then we've got clean rats. Regan MacNeil: Captain Howdy, do you think my mom's pretty? Captain Howdy? Captain Howdy, that isn't very nice! Chris MacNeil: Well, maybe he's sleeping. Regan MacNeil: You're going to die up there. [last lines - 2000 version] Father Dyer: You know, you look a bit like Bogart. Lt. Kinderman: You noticed. [last lines - original version] Chris MacNeil: Father Dyer? I thought you'd like to keep this. [first lines] Boy: [in Iraqi language] They've found something... small pieces. |
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