11/10/10 HMV Exclusive Exorcist Blu-ray Screening
Last night I attended an exclusive screening of the brand new Exorcist Blu-Ray by Warner Video, with a Q&A with critic Mark Kermode & documentary maker Nick Jones. The event, held at Somerset House exclusively for members of HMV’s Pure scheme, was a great opportunity to see just how spectacular classic films can look when remastered for the Blu-ray format.
The Exorcist is now 37 years old, although you really wouldn’t know it watching this newly remastered version. From the opening scenes in Iraq, through to the chilling climax, this is a spectacular looking transfer of the film many still refer to as what the box art calls ‘The Scariest Film Ever Made’.
I hadn’t seen the film for a great while, and it always surprises me as to the power it still holds to shock all these years later. For example, the infamous crucifix sequence had many in the audience gasping and looking away, whilst the subliminal shots of the demon Pazuzu which appear fleetingly throughout the film are still chilling. Even in this day and age of The Human Centipede and Antichrist, producers would probably balk at the idea of a 12-year-old girl yelling ‘Fuck Me’ whilst flashing herself to a group of doctors.
It also can’t be understated, that The Exorcist is probably one of the most well made Horror films ever made. I don’t mean that in the sense of being the scariest, but in terms of the way it’s shot and constructed, it has a depth unseen in most horror films. The superb cinematography and sound design, along with the writing of the characters and their personal arcs make this a horror film which is interested in far more than cheap scares, resulting in multiple Oscar nominations at the time.
The Q&A with Mark Kermode was as fascinating as this newly remastered version of the film, exploring the differences between the different versions, as well as his experiences creating the definitive documentary The Fear of God. He talked in detail about his experiences with Friedkin and Warner in discovering the supposedly nonexistent footage of the Spider-Walk sequence, as well as the hokum of the curse surrounding the film. Father Karras’ dream sequence was analyzed as an example of why the film is such a masterpiece, along with a discussion of the films powerful subliminal imagery.
Kermode also answered some questions on his opinion of the Exorcist II, which he described as utter trash involving priests flying on locusts, and his attempts to spur a recut release of Exorcist III. Kermode also revealed his preferred version of the film to be the recut ‘Version You’ve Never Seen’, which restores some of the missing theological content from Blatty’s novel, a version which splits audiences, and the one which was then screened.
The intimate event was a good show by Warner, and the first real incentive that there’s been to collect HMV Pure points. I cannot recommend the Blu-ray highly enough for fans, purely on the basis of the superb picture and audio quality. I also hope that Warner and HMV team up on further events of this calibre, which give Pure card owners incentive to save their points.
Oh, and here’s hoping the Blu-Ray features this rare teaser trailer for the film. The teaser was allegedly pulled by cinemas and Warner themselves for being too intense and frightening for audiences of the time…. Hmmm, considering it’s enough to give you sleepless nights to this day, it’s probably true.
