The Exorcist (1973)

Novelist William Peter Blatty based his best-seller on the last known Catholic-sanctioned exorcism in the United States. Blatty transformed the little boy in the 1949 incident into a little girl named Regan, played by 14-year-old Linda Blair. Suddenly prone to fits and bizarre behavior, Regan proves quite a handful for her actress-mother, Chris MacNeil (played by Ellen Burstyn, although Blatty reportedly based the character on his next-door neighbor Shirley MacLaine). When Regan gets completely out of hand, Chris calls in young priest Father Karras (Jason Miller), who becomes convinced that the girl is possessed by the Devil and that they must call in an exorcist: namely, Father Merrin (Max von Sydow). His foe proves to be no run-of-the-mill demon, and both the priest and the girl suffer numerous horrors during their struggles. The Exorcist received a theatrical rerelease in 2000, in a special edition that added 11 minutes of footage trimmed from the film's original release and digitally enhanced Chris Newman's Oscar-winning sound work.

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Review By Lucia Bozzola

Numerous viewers allegedly vomited, fainted, or just walked out, but that only helped William Friedkin's film version of William Peter Blatty's best-seller become an early-'70s blockbuster and horror milestone. Flush from his Oscar for The French Connection (1971), wunderkind Friedkin decided on a "realistic," no-holds barred approach to Blatty's reportedly fact-based novel, pushing horror special effects into new dimensions of gruesomeness (and the film way over budget in a bizarrely trouble-plagued shoot). The Exorcist went on to break The Godfather's box-office record, as Watergate-weary audiences piled in to watch the furniture fly and Linda Blair's head spin. Critics were split over whether Friedkin had taken the Rosemary's Baby (1968) mode of subtly suggestive supernatural horror into the realm of gross reactionary exploitation or whether The Exorcist disturbingly tapped into repressed fears of the unknown (including female sexuality). Regardless, bolstered by ten Oscar nominations, The Exorcist helped set the standard for R-rated horror grisliness and raise the bar for blockbuster profits.