For many students, Ivies Weekend represents a pleasant departure from stress and work in exchange for a few carefree days of parties, bands, and other fun activities. To add to the spirit of Ivies, the Film Society will be showing the semester's horror film (and no, Lolita doesn't count; that's romance): The Exorcist (1973), which is hailed by many critics and fans as one of the scariest films ever made.
This film tells the story of Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn), an actress living in Washington D.C. who is struggling to raise her daughter, Regan (Linda Blair), all by herself. Chris notices strange and haunting changes in her daughter's behavior and physical character. Eventually she is unable to recognize her own daughter and believes she is possessed by some sort of demon. She calls on a young priest, Father Karras (Jason Miller), to help her, but he is not strong enough to exorcise the demon due to his recent doubt in faith and personal concerns over the illness of his mother. An elderly priest, Father Merrin (Max von Sydow), with much experience in exorcisms, is called in to battle the demon (one of his old rivals).
The film is brilliantly directed by William Friedkin, who also directed the Oscar-winning French Connection (1971) and the more recent Rules of Engagement (2000). The film is based on the book by William Peter Blatty who also won an Oscar for best adapted screenplay for the film. This film put actress Ellen Burstyn on the map, and she later went on to win the Oscar for her performance in Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974). Burstyn, Blair, and Miller were all nominated for their strong performances in The Exorcist.
A newly restored version of The Exorcist came out in 2000, with 11 minutes of added scenes and new digitally enhanced improvements on Chris Newman's Oscar-winning sound work. Even for 1973, The Exorcist was seen as a very graphic film, making it both viscerally scary as well as psychologically haunting. The degree to which you respond to the film will most certainly depend on your squeamishness. It seems as if times have changed, since the new scenes were added in 2000 to accommodate for a modern culture apparently more desensitized to gore and other elements of sensational horror. But it is important to remember that while the film does test one's ability to handle visceral images of Regan's transformation, the actual horror lies much more within the film's emotional battles and mixed ideologies.
The Film Society will be playing the newly restored version this weekend on Friday and Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. in Smith Auditorium of Sills Hall. We welcome all to come join us and wish everyone a happy and safe Ivies!