When 22-year-old drug dealer Chris has his stash stolen by his mother, he has to come up with six thousand dollars quick or he’s dead. Desperate, he turns to “Killer Joe” when he finds out that his mother’s life insurance policy is worth $50,000. Although Joe usually demands cash up front, he finds himself willing to bend the rules in exchange for Chris’ attractive younger sister, Dottie, who will serve as sexual collateral until the money comes in… if it ever does.

The film opens at the Venice Film Festival soon.

“Washington – The US Library of Congress clearly has a sense of humour, on Tuesday including The Pink Panther and Airplane! on a list of 25 iconic movies from the last century that were added to its National Film Registry.  Also inducted this year were: The Empire Strikes Back, the second in George Lucas’ hugely popular Star Wars trilogy; The Exorcist, one of the most successful horror movies ever made; and All The President’s Men, a film about the two journalists who uncovered the Watergate scandal that brought down US president Richard Nixon.

The Library of Congress, the Washington-based guardian of US cultural heritage, names 25 movies to its national registry each year that are considered ‘culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.’ The 2010 list brings to 550 the number of movies in the registry.”

The Film:

The Scariest Film of All Time. What a badge that is to wear so openly and proudly yet, despite close to 30 years after its release, William Friedkin’s The Exorcist - in any cut – is the scariest film of all time, and it deserves to be. Famously, Friedkin notes that he didn’t go out to make a horror film, but a dramatic battle of Faith, so in essence, it’s a propaganda piece of religion. But you can’t tell that to the hordes of people in 1973 that screamed, fainted, and cursed the film. I expect with this new Warner Bros. Blu-ray, the film’s first HD release, people will repeat the past.

Before the Catholic or for the sake of arguing, the Christian religion got tainted in recent years with financial deals, music chair rotating of pedophile priests, and denouncing the homosexual community, the good of the Christian faith is aptly showcased here in almost ancient form in our eyes of today. If it’s a battle of Faith, then the film works in these religious underpinnings. By nature, the believe in God and His words are a leap of faith – so to speak – since He is unseen and we just need to expect His existence, yet that’s the duality nature of Faith. Do we believe in what is unseen, or in terms of this film, of what we see?

You know that old saying: the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world He didn’t exist. For Christians brave enough to sit through the film’s two hours, they’re left with one simple line of thought that the Devil does exist and He was captured by William Friedkin’s camera. But for non-religious types, The Exorcist is still scary because it allows us to get to know the characters before something tragic happens to the cherub face of Regan. It’s an attack of the innocent, a child, that haunts us long after viewing the film. Whether you praise Jesus or just believe in being a good person, seeing a young 12 year old girl cuss worse than a sailor and do crude things that most girls her age wouldn’t have a clue to do or know how to do, is the damning and terrifying aspect of the film.

For all of the pea soup projectile vomiting and subliminal devil images we all remember, I have always been fond of the film’s pacing when leading up to these iconic scenes. Often, we’re giving plenty of exposition between characters that will in subtle terms, affect events later in the film. Regardless of your own personal and moral convictions, you must accept the film on its religious terms it works under, so it’s absolutely key that Father Karras is a conflict man of faith, yet it’s love and faith that offers salvation through him that saves the characters in the end. It’s tragic, yet hopeful, but it’s always haunting in the predicament and choices they must make to save Regan.

Because we’re so deeply connected to the characters – the questioning of Faith in Father Karras, the plight of a mother, the Fall from Grace of an innocent girl, it allows the more chaotic and fantastical scenes work with believablity. Debate if the Devil exists, but perfection does and it is called The Exorcist. Often copied, never duplicated and it will never be remade - because Pazuzu won’t allow it.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: Warner Bros. is the King of catalog releases, and luckily, that continues here. Both cuts – the original 1973 theatrical and the 2000 Version You’ve Never Seen looks stellar in HD. There’s a natural level of grain through some scenes and some general softness, yet that’s the natural of the film stock. Overall, it’s the most detailed and pristine print I’ve ever seen of the film.

Crank your sound systems up. The DTS track showcases the film’s brilliant sound design, as never before. Even Friedkin in the extras notes how even he has heard sound cues he forgot about! The dialogue is clean and clear; the bass is deep and surprisingly so; and the rear speakers allows for the music, sound cues, and ambiance to scare you.

(Disc 1): This houses the touted Extended Director’s Cut.

Commentary: William Friedkin goes solo here. It’s superb, unlike the other track on Disc 2, as he is loose and comfortable about the new 2000 cut of the film. He talks about the changes, the whys and hows, and debates their inclusion sometimes, all to a must listen. It’s just a fascinating two hours.

All extras are in HD.

Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist: This all-new documentary shows off some really rare on-set footage that captures the film’s more memorable sequences and offers in-depth interviews to coincide with the footage. It’s pretty cool seeing such rare footage of Friedkin’s fatherly love to Linda Blair, using the playful attitude to get her to film the masturbation sequence.

The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now: This is another all-new piece looking at the locations then and now. While it might seem boring on paper, it’s key to understand how ballsy it was to shoot in Iraq for example even back then.

Faces of Evil: The Different Versions of the Exorcist: Attention fans: see this! This is yet another all-new documentary that talks about the film’s 1973 release, the 2000 cut and the new footage put back in, but also – and this is the reason to watch – it features a few new scenes that they couldn’t find the original negative for to insert in the 2000 cut. There’s a creepy sequence featuring Regan acting like a dog, wagging her tongue at her mom’s friend, freaking her out enough to bolt out of the house, that should put a smile to fans’ faces.

(Disc 2): This houses the original theatrical cut.

All of these extras are in SD and have been ported over from prior DVD editions.

Director’s Introduction: Friedkin offers a quick but touching intro to the best horror film of all-time.

Commentaries: The first track is Friedkin going solo in a dry, yet informative chat. The second is far more interesting with William Peter Blatty going solo as he discusses the origin of his book, the religious nature of the plot, and other themes from the book.

The Fear of God: Produced for TV in 1998, this is a long 77-minute look at the film that is still worth watching. It might be a little dated, but it’s a treasure trove of good info, especially for those who don’t like commentaries.

Some brief Filmmaker Interviews, Still Gallery, Trailers and TV Spots, and an Alternate Ending round out Disc 2′s extras.

Also, the set has a 48-page booklet that is filled with nice glossy photos, actor info, and a personal message from William Friedkin.

Conclusion: Superb film. Superb Blu-ray. A must own.

The Film: Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The Blu-ray: Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

On The Exorcist Blu-ray: “I currently have control over every single frame of film when converting it to Blu-ray. If I want a scene bluer, I get that scene bluer. Originally, there was some fluctuation with the prints. If you made a thousand, or a few thousand prints, there is no control over any of that. But now I can make a master using the digital process. That gives me total control over how I want the film to look in this new process. The films now look like they did when I was first looking through the viewfinder. Every time you run a 35mm print, it picks up scratches. It picks up dirt. Sometimes it breaks, and you have to re-splice it. You lose frames. This doesn’t happen with digital, or God knows, Blu-ray.”

On converting The Exorcist to 3D: “No. Never. Providing I’m still alive. Warner Brothers is obligated to come to me. And they do. The point is, it’s a totally different medium. I don’t like 3D. I don’t believe there is any film that I have seen and loved that would have been improved by a scintilla in 3D. To me, it’s just a gimmick.”

An IMAX Exorcist? “We talked about going to IMAX with it. Nothing is certain yet. They’ve tried to exploit The Exorcist in all sorts of media. I think that’s great. Because I love the new media.”

On an Exorcist remake: “It is what it is. Billy Wilder said it best. You should never really remake a picture. If a picture was great, it will stand. And you can’t top it. If it was a piece of shit, why would you want to do it again? I’m pretty sure that with the way things are going, and the lack of imagination that exists amongst the major studios these days, they are going to eventually remake everything.”

Friedkin is never at a loss for words. I’m personally just happy WB is consulting him on this Fall’s Blu-ray release, which should be stellar. Please read more of the interview here at The Movieweb.com as he talks more about such things as the sequels and more into 3D film making.

Source: Blu-ray

“Yes and no. I would love to have been able to include the subplot involving Karl and his daughter Elvira which I did in my first draft, but that script ran to 172 pages, much, much too long. But I might have it my way in the near future, inasmuch as I’ve written an Exorcist miniseries script that not only faithfully includes all the main elements of the novel, but also some rather spooky new material and scenes, as well as a totally new (and perhaps much more satisfying) ending. I’ve also updated it. Billy Friedkin has agreed to direct.“

Source: BloodyDisgusting