Perhaps one of the most notorious horror films ever made, William Friedkin’s The Exorcist will have its Blu-ray debut in October in both the US and the UK. Warner Brothers have put together a very tempting package for the release which will feature both the theatrical cut and the ‘director’s cut’, which was previously released as ‘The Exorcist: The Version You’ve Never Seen’.
The Blu-ray is released in the US on the 5th of October and the UK on the 25th and the only difference between the two Blu-rays appears to be the packaging, the American release comes in a ‘digibook’ rather than a plastic case (although I have been unable to verify the definite specifications for the UK release).
Below you can see the feast of extras on offer in this release (including Blu-ray exclusives) and below that there are screenshots and trailers to get you even more excited.
Disc 1: – Extended Director’s Cut (2000) plus Special Features
- Commentary by William Friedkin
- Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist – set footage produced and photographed by Owen Roizman, camera and makeup tests, and interviews with director William Friedkin, actress Linda Blair, author/screenwriter/producer William Peter Blatty and Owen Roizman (new; Blu-ray exclusive)
- The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now – Featuring a tour of the iconic locations where the film was shot (new; Blu-ray exclusive)
- Faces of Evil: The Different Versions of The Exorcist – with director William Friedkin and author/screenwriter/producer William Peter Blatty discussing the different versions of the film and featuring outtakes from the film (new; Blu-ray exclusive)
- Trailers, TV spots & radio spots from the film’s 2000 release
Disc 2 – Theatrical Cut (1973) plus Special Features
- Introduction by William Friedkin
- Commentaries:
- William Friedkin
- William Peter Blatty with Special Sound Effects Tests
- The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist [1998 BBC documentary]
- Additional interviews with William Friedkin and William Peter Blatty:
- The Original Cut
- Stairway to Heaven
- The Final Reckoning
- Original ending
- Sketches & storyboards
- Trailers & TV spots from the 1973 version
Thanks to this Exorcist fansite we have comparison screenshots that compare screen grabs from the Blu-Ray trailer to the 1997 DVD and the 2000 DVD. Click on the image to make it bigger.
Check out the green band and red band trailers for the Blu-ray below. I’d recommend skipping to the red band (the second one) as I’m sure that if you want to watch a trailer for The Exorcist you can probably handle the red band.
Trailers and specs sourced from IGN and Blu-ray.com
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