The series A posteriori le cinéma is intended to be an opportunity to celebrate the 7the art by revisiting flagship titles that celebrate important anniversaries.
There are films which, passing down to posterity, see legend prevail over reality. Released in December 1973, 50 years ago, The Exorcist (The Exorcist) constitutes an exception. In that almost everything that has been written about William Friedkin’s masterpiece is true, from the endless lines in front of the cinemas to the serial fainting.On the occasion of the publication on October 6 of the late sequel The Exorcist: Believer (The Exorcist. The believer), return to a real phenomenon.
Imitated but never equaled, The Exorcist tells the nightmare of an actress who, having exhausted all medical remedies, agrees to have her 12-year-old daughter exorcised. Vomit jets, levitation and a masturbation session with a crucifix are among the highlights.
The author of the novel and screenplay, William Peter Blatty, merged two sources of inspiration. The first was an article from Washington Post of 1949 devoted to the exorcism of a teenager, pseudonym Roland Doe, by the Jesuit priest William S. Bowdern. In a letter to Blatty, Bowdern concluded:
“I can assure you of one thing: the case I was involved in was genuine. I had no doubts then, and I have no more doubts now. »
The second source of inspiration was… Blatty’s neighbor at the time, Shirley MacLaine, divorced star and mother of a pre-teen daughter: birth of Chris MacNeil and his daughter Regan.
Blatty told IGN in 2000: “Shirley was my first choice for the role because I modeled the mother character on her. […] Shirley was the first to read [le roman]. »
However, MacLaine did not get the role, having played in 1972 in the little-known but excellent The Possession of Joel Delaney (Murderous possession), in a similar register. Ellen Burstyn got the role by default after Warner Bros unsuccessfully courted Jane Fonda, Anne Bancroft and Audrey Hepburn. Burstyn was a finalist for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Dreyer’s influence
The studio sent the novel to William Friedkin while filming the crime drama The French Connection (The French sector, Oscar for best film and best direction). The filmmaker was captivated from the prologue set in Iraq, where Father Lankester Merrin carries out excavations and senses the arrival of evil.
Friedkin insisted on the inclusion of this passage initially absent from Blatty’s script. The director thus establishes unease from the outset; the impression that something insidious is looming on the horizon. His staging is diabolically brilliant.
Coming from the documentary, the director opted for harsh realism in the first part: see the description of daily life within the MacNeil household, the visual and audio details during Regan’s medical examinations…
The absence of stars also contributes to the ambient authenticity. Jason Miller, aka Father Karras, was a New York playwright and actor spotted by Friedkin. Disturbingly, he admitted to the filmmaker that he had once studied to become a Jesuit before a spiritual crisis like the one his character experienced made him give up.
As for the exorcist priest of the title, the studio wanted Marlon Brando, but Friedkin preferred to age Ingmar Bergman’s favorite actor, Max von Sydow.
All this artistic naturalism upstream makes the fantastic downstream terribly plausible. Interviewed in 2019 by the Catholic publication L’Osservatore RomanoFriedkin declares on this subject:
“The wittiest film I have seen is Order, by Carl Theodor Dreyer. It shows a literal resurrection, so believable. I saw this film years before I realized The Exorcist and I knew, thanks to this film, that I could show a literal exorcism […] Dreyer approached the theme of the miracle in a very direct way, showing the exact resurrection of the main character, without ignoring it, without beating around the bush. This is how I wanted to approach the theme of exorcism […] I wanted to present the supernatural dimension in the same direct way, with the same intensity. »
Avoid censorship
Speaking of intensity, Friedkin knew he was about to unleash unprecedented horrific images on the screens. For good reason: Dick Smith’s special effects remain striking, including his animatronic mannequin created for the famous scenes where Regan’s head rotates 180, then 360 degrees (as a test, Smith’s assistants walked around with this fake Regan, terrifying onlookers).
In order to avoid the X rating, which prohibited access to minors and limited access to the rooms, Friedkin controlled the visual flow to the millisecond, using four editors simultaneously.
“On set, production is a collaboration between the performers and the team. In editing, however, I tend to become a dictator,” notes Friedkin in his autobiography The Friedkin Connection: A Memoir.
Without wishing to contradict it, there are plenty of testimonies of a despotic attitude during filming. For example, during the scene where Chris is thrown against a wall, Friedkin made Burstyn do it again, despite the actress’s protests, with even more force. Burstyn suffers a significant back injury.
On the other hand, Friedkin was only kind to young Linda Blair, who plays Regan, and who was 13 years old during filming. HAS Deadlinehe relates in 2015:
“Her mother brought her when I was looking for 16-year-old girls who could look younger. I couldn’t find anyone who could withstand the psychological pressure of a role like that. Linda had no acting experience […] She was the only one I met who I didn’t think would be perturbed by the experience. I made it a game for her […] His mother and father were separated at the time. Her mother was on set every day and appears in a short scene […] I loved this child as if she were my own and I treated her that way. »
Moreover, Blair was occasionally replaced by an understudy. As for the guttural voice that emanates from her during the possession, it is that of Mercedes McCambridge (Johnny Guitar), who recorded the offensive lines while drinking whiskey and smoking cigarettes. The actress successfully sued the studio to have her contribution included in the credits.
Little Faith Studio
In 1973, Warner Bros. had no faith in this film. In American Cinema of the 1970sLester D. Friedman recalls:
“Lines across the country stretched to several blocks as eager audiences weathered the harsh winter in hopes of seeing the film. In New York, scalpers charged prices of up to $50 per ticket and bailiffs were offered bribes. »
The studio therefore multiplied the copies and the nation rushed to see what was now called “the scariest film of all time”. The reaction was physical, Friedman continues:
“It was not uncommon for ambulances to be called and paramedics asked to attend to fainting or hysterical spectators. Vomiting was common. In San Francisco, a spectator rushed to the screen, while in Boston, spectators threw prayer beads. An increase in psychological disorders, including traumatic neuroses and psychoses, has been attributed to exposure to the film. »
Not to mention the hitherto obscure room Tubullar Bellsby Mike Oldfield, who became an improbable earworm…
How many filmmakers can boast of having reached audiences on such a visceral level? In the documentary Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcistthe director confides:
“I feel, to this day, that forces beyond me brought things to this film, like offerings. » Divine inspiration, perhaps?
The film The Exorcist is available on VOD on most platforms and will be presented in October at the Parc cinema.