KT: The Institutional Context of The Exorcist (Friedkin, 1973)

The Exorcist is a 1973 American supernatural horror films directed by William Friendkin. The films deals with the demonic possession of a 12 year old girl and her mothers attempts to win her child back through an exorcism conducted by two priests.


Production:

• Budget was $12 million
• Film was adapted from William Peter Blatty's novel in 1971 also called 'The Exorcist'
• The film earned 10 Academy Award nominations, winning two (Best Sound Mixing and Best Adapted Screenplay), and losing Best Picture to The Sting.
• First horror film to be nominated for Best Picture.
• The film has had a significant influence on popular culture.
• It was named the scariest film of all time by Entertainment Weekly
• It became one of the highest-grossing films of all time, grossing over $441 million worldwide
• Produced by William Peter Blatty
• Aspects of the novel were inspired by an exorcism performed on a young boy from Cottage City, Maryland, in 1949 by the Jesuit priest, Fr. William S. Bowdern, who formerly taught at both St. Louis University and St. Louis University High School. Hunkeler's Catholic family was convinced the child's aggressive behavior was attributable to demonic possession, and called upon the services of Father Walter Halloran to perform the rite of exorcism. Although Friedkin admits he is very reluctant to speak about the factual aspects of the film, he made the film with the intention of immortalizing the events that took place in Cottage City, Maryland in 1949, and despite the relatively minor changes that were made, the film depicts everything that could be verified by those involved. It was one of three exorcisms to be sanctioned by the Catholic Church in the U.S. at that time. In order to make the film, Friedkin was allowed access to the diaries of the priests involved, as well as the doctors and nurses; he also discussed the events with the boy's aunt in great detail. Friedkin doesn't believe that the "head-spinning" actually occurred, but this has been disputed. Friedkin is not a Christian of any denomination
• The Exorcist contained a number of special effects, engineered by makeup artist Dick Smith. In one scene from the film, Max von Sydow is actually wearing more makeup than the possessed girl (Linda Blair). This was because director Friedkin wanted some very detailed facial close-ups. When this film was made, von Sydow was 44, though he was made up to look 74.

Distribution:

• Distributed by Warner Bros.
• Release date was  16th March 1974 (UK)
• Opening Weekend Received $8,175,666   
• Box Office received $441,071,011   
• The Exorcist was released theatrically in the United States by Warner Bros. on December 26, 1973.
• The original film with restored film and digitally remastered audio, with a 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio
• A limited edition box set was released in 1998; it was limited to 50,000 copies, with available copies circulating around the Internet. There are two versions; a special edition VHS and a special edition DVD. The only difference between the two copies is the recording format