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Exorcist III, The

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    Ian Jane
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  • Exorcist III, The



    Released by: Shout! Factory
    Released on: October 25th 2016.
    Director: William Peter Blatty
    Cast: George C. Scott, Brad Dourif, Jason Miller, Ed Flanders
    Year: 1990
    Purchase From Amazon

    The Movie:

    Written and directed by William Peter Blatty and based on his novel Legion, this third film in The Exorcist franchise is, next to the original feature, widely (and rightly) considered to be the best. While the film was somewhat famously taken out of Blatty's hands by the studio and recut with footage shot separately, that doesn't change the fact that it is still a very effective horror picture.

    When the film begins, Lieutenant Kinderman (George C. Scott taking over for Lee J. Cobb) meets with Father Dyer (Ed Flanders replacing William O'Malley) to honor the fifteenth anniversary of Father Karras (Jason Miller) by taking in a theatrical screening of It's A Wonderful Life. This is a bit of a reprieve for him but once it's over he has to get back to work - there's a rash of killings going on in Washington D.C., and they all appear to be the work of a singular ritualistic murderer, even though the fingerprints don't match. Something about this case seems familiar to Kinderman: the match the modus operandi of James "The Gemini" Venamun, a man who was put to death the same night Karras fell down the stairs after exorcising Regan MacNeil.

    Soon enough, the killer claims Dyer as his latest victim. Kinderman starts to tie all of this together and eventually tracks down the culprit, a man dubbed The Gemini Killer (Brad Dourif). He would seem to be possessed by Karras who isn't dead at all as everyone believed but who has spent the last decade plus locked away in an insane asylum.

    A very different film than the original The Exorcist, this third picture is as much a dark detective thriller with a supernatural bent as it is an exorcism-themed horror story. There are some great twists and turns here and some genuinely unsettling imagery, a great example being a scene where a Roman Catholic church is vandalized in such a way as to pervert the iconography inside to reflect a black mass. There are set pieces in this film that are borderline surrealist in how they've been put together and the picture is very strong with its visuals and its sound design. The story moves at a good pace and keeps you intrigued right from the start, and there's a lot of seriously intense suspense inherent in the movie, particularly the last half hour or so.

    What really helps to sell all of this, however, is the acting. Every one of the principals involved here does top notch work. George C. Scott takes the character made famous by Lee J. Cobb (who passed away shortly after The Exorcist was made) and makes him his own. He strikes the right balance between crotchety aging man and determined, hardboiled detective but also shows moments of kindness and caring in his relationship with Dyer. Ed Flanders is also strong here, playing the character much the same way that O'Malley did in the original without completely aping him. The real heavyweights in this one, however, are Miller and Dourif. As 'Karras' Miller is in really fine form here. His character is clearly demented, but is he actually possessed? The story and his performance keep us guessing. Dourif's work in this picture is some of his best, he plays psychopaths better than almost anyone else in the business but here he takes things to the next level. His Gemini Killer is a genuinely frightening character and Dourif really gives it his all.

    Video/Audio/Extras:

    The Exorcist III arrives on Blu-ray from Shout Factory's Scream Factory line in an AVC encoded 1080p high definition presentation framed at 1.85.1 widescreen taken from a new 2k scan of the interpositive. Detail is quite strong, this is very nicely shot and lit film and that really comes through in HD more than it could have on DVD. Colors look really nice here but never oversaturated or too pumped up. There are no obvious problems with noise reduction and the image is quite clean showing virtually no print damage. Black levels are nice and deep and the picture is free of any compression artifacts. This is a rock solid transfer, the movie looks damn good here.

    English language DTS-HD options are provided in 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo options with subtitles available in English only. As you'd probably guess, the 5.1 mix spreads out the score and the effects more than the stereo track does, but so too does it occasionally play around with dialogue placement a bit. It sounds quite good, while the original stereo track also gets a nice boost in both quality and clarity. Both tracks are free of hiss and distortion and benefit from properly balanced levels.

    In addition to the theatrical cut of the film, the first disc in this set is a vintage behind the scenes featurette that clocks in at seven minutes. Here you'll find some interesting footage shot on set during the production of the film as well as some talking heads bits and bobs and some clips from the feature itself. In the vintage interviews section we get some input from writer/director William Peter Blatty, George C. Scott, Jason Miller, Ed Flanders, Grand L. Bush, executive producer James G. Robinson, production designer Leslie Dilley, Larry King and C. Everett Koop - all of which is cut alongside yet more behind the scenes footage.

    Also look out for six minutes of deleted and alternate takes as well as a few bloopers and a quick deleted prologue that runs three minutes. Rounding out the extras on the disc are some theatrical trailers for the feature, a handful of TV spots for the film, and three separate photo galleries along with animated menus and chapter selection.

    The second disc contains the original director's cut as Legion, running one hundred and five minutes in length. It was well documented at the time of the movie's release that Blatty was unhappy with the fact that the studio basically took the movie out of his hands, reshot sections, cut other sections out and basically just made it their own - so getting the chance to see this version, Blatty's intended cut (or at least as close as we can get, some of the footage he shot is just plain gone), is definitely a win for fans. Unfortunately the only elements left for this version are Blatty's personal VHS copy, so what we have here is most of the footage looking great (as it uses the restored version of the theatrical cut found on disc one) with the inserts from Blatty's cut looking considerably less great (as they are sourced from the tape). That said, this is definitely an important inclusion here and if the quality is less than perfect, so be it. This is a vastly different film. Not only is there no exorcism scene or any footage with Karras included, but it has a lot more with Dourif's character in it and a very different ending. Is it a better film than the theatrical cut? Not necessarily, but it's always great to get the chance to see alternate versions like this one even if they're not always as minty fresh looking as some hardcore videophiles might want them to be.

    Also included on the second disc is a selection of all new extras starting with an audio interview with writer/director William Peter Blatty that plays over the director's cut of the film, like a commentary track. This isn't a scene specific chat, however, it's more of an overview of Blatty's experiences working on the picture from how he came to direct the film to what went into writing the script to his thoughts on various aspects of the movie in its finished form. This is a pretty fascinating talk with moderator Mike Felsher doing a great job of keeping Blatty involved and on track. Those with an appreciation for Blatty's work and an affinity for this picture in particular would be crazy not to take the time to listen to this, it's very informative.

    From there, we get a series of newly shot featurettes starting with A “Wonderfull” Time which is made up of interviews with producer Carter DeHaven, actors Clifford David and Tracy Thorne and production assistant Kara Reidy. This twenty-five minute featurette sheds light on what it was like on set, what went into some of the intricacies of getting this movie made. Signs Of The Gemini is an interview with Brad Dourif that runs eighteen minutes. He shares his thoughts on the movie and his character and tells some interesting stories from the set. Dourif is always an interesting guy to listen to and this interview is a lot of fun. The Devil In The Details is an interview with production designer Leslie Dilley, assistant designer Daren Dochterman and illustrator Simon Murton that clocks in at eighteen minutes. There's talk here about how some of the specific scene were put together, the look of the film the sets and locations and some of the design work that went into the all of this. Music For A Padded Cell is an eighteen minute interview with composer Barry DeVorzon who talks about what he tried to bring to the movie with his score and his thoughts on the picture itself. Also worth checking out is the half hour long piece called -All This Bleeding which provides a very in-depth examination of what was involved with all of the re-shoots and makeup effects required to finish the film. Interviewed here are production manager Ronald Colby, editor Todd Ramsay, effects artists William Forsche, Mike Smithson, Brian Wade and actor/body double Charles Powell. Between Blatty's talk over the film and all of the featurettes included on this disc, pretty much no stone is left unturned - Shout Factory has done a remarkable job of documenting this film's unusual history from both sides of the aisle.

    Both discs fits inside a standard sized Blu-ray keepcase that in turn fits inside a cardboard slipcover.

    The Final Word:

    The Exorcist III remains an excellent follow up to the original film - it's smart, it's scary and it's remarkably involving, taking the concepts in some unexpected but wholly effective directions. Shout! Factory has done a seriously fantastic job bringing this one to Blu-ray, presenting it in excellent shape, with the highly sought after director's cut and a host of other extra features. Highly recommended!

    Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!






























    • Matt H.
      #1
      Matt H.
      Senior Member
      Matt H. commented
      Editing a comment
      I thought the audio interview with Blatty was hard to get through; it starts out OK, but he becomes more elusive and weird as it goes on and by the hour mark he basically sounds like Abel Ferrara on the DRILLER KILLER commentary - incoherent. I felt bad for Felsher - this must've been like pulling teeth!
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