This has been a frustrating week. I’ve had to perform something of an exorcism on The Blu-ray Blog over the last couple of days, as some jerk (or jerks, as the case may be) had taken over the RSS feed, replacing Blu-ray titles and details with pharma-spam. It’s only fitting then that we return, now playing a little announcement catch-up, by giving you the rundown of Warner‘s upcoming 2-Disc Blu-ray release of William Friedkin‘s The Exorcist!

Included in the set are both versions of the famous 1973 film. Friedkin says, “After my final cut of the original The Exorcist, I took out 12 more minutes before we actually released it in theatres. Years later, Bill Blatty asked if I’d consider reviewing some of that rejected footage (which he always felt should have remained) with an eye towards putting it into a new version. Bill gave me the best piece of material I’ve ever received and because of that and because the film had such a major reputation over some 25 years, I agreed to revisit all these scenes. When I saw them, I came to realize that Bill was, in fact, right. With technical advances, scenes that didn’t work then could now be fixed with CGI and there were others that I thought strengthened the spiritual aspect of the film. Warner agreed and released a whole new theatrical print in 2000 which we called The Exorcist: The Version You’ve Never Seen. And I now agree with Blatty that this is the best and most complete version.”

And apparently both edits will look and sound pretty decent on Blu, at least according to WHV Executive VP & General Manager, Theatrical Catalog, Jeff Baker, “Generally speaking, sourcing relevant and provocative film assets for older films (30 years and older), is difficult, and more often than not, proves to be unsuccessful. The never before seen behind the camera treasure trove of material that consumers will see in The Exorcist Blu-ray release is one of the great finds in modern day home entertainment history. Laurent Bouzereau, an acclaimed documentarian, has blended this archival rare footage with updated present day interviews to create a masterpiece that will be treasured and studied for decades to come.”

Now, there’s always the chance that Friedkin has butchered the films for their Blu-ray presentation, as he did The French Connection release a couple of years back. Let’s pray that it won’t be the case but rest assured the Bouzereau docs and bonus features alone will make this set worth owning, whatever the state of the films.

Special Features:

Disc 1 – Extended Director’s Cut (2000)

• Commentary by William Friedkin
• NEW BD Exclusive: 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 BD Exclusive: The Exorcist Locations: GeorgetownThen and Now — Featuring a tour of the iconic locations where the film was shot.
• NEW BD 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.
• Trailers, TV Spots & Radio Spots from the film’s 2000 release
• Trailers
  • The Version You’ve Never Seen
  • Our Deepest Fears
• TV Spots
  • Most Electrifying
  • Scariest Ever
  • Returns
• Radio Spots
  • The Devil Himself
  • Our Deepest Fears

Disc 2 – Theatrical Cut (1973)

• Introduction by William Friedkin
• Commentary by William Friedkin
• Commentary by 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
  • Nobody Expected It
  • Beyond Comprehension
  • Flash Image
• TV Spots
  • Beyond Comprehension
  • You Too Can See The Exorcist
  • Between Science & Superstition
  • The Movie You’ve Been Waiting For

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