Hey all you denizens of demonic lore, and welcome to part two of my anaylsis of the film adaptation of William Peter Blatty's novel The Exorcist. In part one I discussed the difficulties that arose in depicting scenes from the novel in the big screen version . As far as the book is concerned it was impossible to put down. From the opening sequence to the shattering climax, it kept me enthralled ; all 403 pages of it!
Director William Friedkin stayed true to the books storyline as best as any filmaker could. Subplots involving Karl's drug addicted daughter and Father Karras's mother were barely mentioned. But these omissions had no ill effects on the final screenplay. In fact, the screenplay was so flawless, that it garnered Blatty an Oscar for "best screenplay adapted from another medium" in April of 1974. " The Exorcist" also won for best sound that year. Listen to it on a home theater system and you'll see why! But unfortunately I feel the cast of the film got a bum rap. All of them from Ellen Burstyn to Linda Blair , gave incredible performances, yet were snubbed at Oscar night. Many felt it was the sensational subject matter that did the actors in. But my theory is , that back then horror movies were overlooked by the academy, no matter how good they were. That would finally change in 1991 when " Silence of the Lambs" would sweep the golden statuettes big time. One bright note was that Ellen Burstyn , an incredibly gifted actress and my personal favorite would eventually win a well deserved Oscar two years later for " Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore".
"The Exorcist" took over two years to complete. This was due mainly for two reasons. One , the difficulties of the special effects, and more interestingly, because of the so called " strange events "that plagued the production sets. Fires, floods, untimely deaths and other inexplicable happenings. Could the Devil be behind it all ? Was the set haunted because the crew members were dabbling with something they should't have ? We may never know, but it only enhances the films appeal.
Well that wraps up another mummy...ahemmmm.. I mean another installment to all things sinister. Until next time, HAVE A BLOODY GOOD DAY!
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