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dellamortedellamandy's review against another edition
5.0
RIP Friedkin. There’s no one else who could have directed this film. if you love The Exorcist by Blatty and you love the film, this is a must read.
baxtervallens's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
kastorgas's review against another edition
3.0
Mark Kermode es un declarado admirador de "El exorcista". Son pocos los críticos de cine que entienden bien el terror y que lo hacen dialogar con la tradición cinematográfica, y en particular, como es el caso de Kermode, lo hacen de manera entusiasta y profunda. Este librito transmite esa obsesión con la película principalmente a través de un manejo enciclopédico de los hechos de la filmación. Kermode es un excelente compañero de ruta para quien quiera verla: nos informa de los detalles técnicos de la filmación, las diferencias artísticas entre WP Blatty (el autor del libro) y W Friedkin (el director de la película) y las diferencias entre el corte original (1973) y la "nueva versión" (2000, "The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen"). Los dos primeros capítulos (de un total de cinco) me resultaron particularmente informativos al presentar el "hecho real" en que Blatty habría basado su novela y una muy aguda lectura del primer acto (hasta el sueño de Karras), donde Kermode menciona el choque generacional entre la cultura juvenil y el ethos social más tradicional que la percibe como amenazante (con tintes de pedofobia, para usar la expresión de él). Su lectura del prólogo en Irak es un ejemplo de hermenéutica cinematográfica: cuidadosa, atenta al detalle, imaginativa, estimulante. Sin embargo, quedé un poco decepcionado con el resto del libro, en particular por la tendencia a rehuir el análisis y refugiarse en un desfile de hechos y anécdotas. El propio Kermode, en otros medios, ha expresado el profundo impacto que la película le provoca, en particular al reivindicar el terror como una experiencia corporal, una suerte de rehabilitación de los sentidos, así como también, en el caso de "El exorcista", el problema espiritual/teológico/filosófico que acecha detrás, a saber el problema del mal (que es precisamente lo que emerge en la conversación en la escalera entre Merrin y Karras, una escena recuperada en el nuevo corte). Estas tres cuestiones -digamos: la experiencia subjetiva del propio Kermode, la posición del género terror en el canon, y el problema filosófico del mal- podrían haber sido presentadas con mayor expansión. El volumen (edición 2020, con la cubierta de Regan como cruz invertida) está hermosamente editado, con muchos fotogramas, y un apéndice que transcribe un diálogo entre Blatty y Friedkin.
craigwallwork's review
4.0
The hyperbole surrounding The Exorcist since it’s initial theatrical release is almost as legendary as the movie itself. Once dubbed the scariest movie ever made (is it still?), Blatty’s story of a young girl possessed has endured the passage of time not because of its controversy but because of its layers. While Horror aficionados will revel in the guttural language, subliminal imaginary and not so subtle displays of possession using a crucifix, those with a greater appreciation of narrative structure, of endearing prose and existential rhetoric, will enthusiastically grasp the subtext of adolescence rebellion, a family unit breaking apart, and of course, the existence of God with gusto. And, in the hands of the former, this book may have glossed over these more weighty issues. Instead, Mark Kermode’s love, nay, obsessed for this possession, makes for a good read.
Easily consumable within one sitting, the book takes you from the true life story of a boy’s possession that inspired the book, to an interesting, if not tense, conversation between Friedkin and Blatty in the late 1990s where they engage in a verbal tennis match of you were wrong and I was right. Though I found myself less interested in Kermode’s précis of the movie, he shoehorns enough behind the scenes info to keep you from skim reading. Having watched and read a lot of interviews with Blatty, and owning not only copies of the book, as well as various versions of the movie, and the far superior sequel Exorcist 3 directed by Blatty than that abomination The Heretic, there wasn’t too much I learnt from reading this. Nonetheless, if only to relive the story again by someone so passionate and committed to the book and movie that they helped find missing dialogue that went to restore the Kinderman/Dyer ending, I have no qualms for the hour or so I spent in its pages. To this end, if you’re just mildly curious to understand more about the movie and the differing opinions between Blatty and Friedkin, then your time and money would not be wasted here.
Easily consumable within one sitting, the book takes you from the true life story of a boy’s possession that inspired the book, to an interesting, if not tense, conversation between Friedkin and Blatty in the late 1990s where they engage in a verbal tennis match of you were wrong and I was right. Though I found myself less interested in Kermode’s précis of the movie, he shoehorns enough behind the scenes info to keep you from skim reading. Having watched and read a lot of interviews with Blatty, and owning not only copies of the book, as well as various versions of the movie, and the far superior sequel Exorcist 3 directed by Blatty than that abomination The Heretic, there wasn’t too much I learnt from reading this. Nonetheless, if only to relive the story again by someone so passionate and committed to the book and movie that they helped find missing dialogue that went to restore the Kinderman/Dyer ending, I have no qualms for the hour or so I spent in its pages. To this end, if you’re just mildly curious to understand more about the movie and the differing opinions between Blatty and Friedkin, then your time and money would not be wasted here.
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