Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs  I was at the cinema last night to see The Exorcist and it wasn't until the BBFC certificate appeared (saying "The Exorcist (Director's Cut)" that I knew which version I was going to see, but had assumed it was going to be the theatrical cut.
Anyway, as most of you know, it's a film I've seen well over 100 times, probably over 150, but only once before at the cinema: in 1998. Since then, I've bought it numerous times on Betamax, VHS, DVD, laserdisc and Blu-ray (and even Super 8) and studied it academically as it formed part of my MA dissertation when I studied International Film.
The Director's Cut, formerly known as The Version You've Never Seen, is my least favourite of the two versions but, because I hadn't seen that one at the cinema, I was anticipating it as much as if it has been the theatrical cut. Considering I can basically play the film from beginning to end in my head and know at least 90% of the screenplay, I was surprised to notice something I hadn't before (a moment when part of Tubular Bells is playing) and an object which, when I was writing my dissertation, I thought was one thing, was clearly something else and now requires me to completely reassess part of my dissertation!
One would realistically expect a horror film to lose impact after so many viewings, listening to commentary tracks, watching documentaries and reading books and essays about different interpretations and how it was made, yet it was still an incredibly powerful experience, not to the extent as it was 16 years ago when it changed not only how I perceived cinema, but my entire life, but was yet another affirmation that it is the greatest horror film ever made and one of the finest films of all time. |