Blu-ray Movie Reviews

A young and innocent girl, Regan (Linda Blair), undergoes a chilling metamorphosis as Satan invades her body. Her frantic mother (Ellen Burstyn) does her best to help, but the doctors and psychiatrists are perplexed by the child's physical and mental changes. Looking for any type of answer, she turns to a local church where poor Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller), who has his own doubts about his faith, calls on the services of Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) to perform an exorcism to expel Satan from the child.

I had reservations watching because I'm not a fan of scary movies and this is one of the scariest I've seen in my life. Blair does an outstanding job playing the possessed child and director William Friedkin definitely deserved his Oscar nomination.

Video Highlights

• VC-1/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
• Outstanding depth and detail
• Occasional black crush
• Print is in stunning condition

Audio Highlights

• DTS-HD MA 6.1 soundtrack
• Clear dialog but occasionally gets overwhelmed by atmospheric noises (blame Satan)
• Room-shaking bass
• Plethora of discrete effects
• Thin dynamics

Warner delivers another video masterpiece of a 37 year old film. In fact, when opening the package there's a note from Friedkin gushing about the restoration job the studio performed. The audio does its best to creep out the audience, but dynamics are inhibited by the original recording.

Bonus Materials

Disc 1

• Extended Director's Cut on a BD-50 disc
• 3-Part documentary on the movies production and legacy
• Commentary by director William Friedkin
• 3 featurettes

Disc 2

• Original Theatrical Cut
• 2 Commentaries
• Introduction by William Friedkin
• 1998 Documentary The Fear of God: The Making of The Exorcist
• 3 Interview galleries
• Original ending

It's been over 25 years since seeing this and even as an adult it scared the crap out of me. Fans will be pleased with the digi-book packaging and its interesting tidbits on the cast and production, but this movie certainly isn't for the faint at heart. Recommended.

Release Date: October 5, 2010
Studio: Warner

Movie: 9/10
Picture: 9/10
Sound: 8/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Panamax M5400PM power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics