Overview: The Exorcist tells the now-famous story of a girl’s demonic possession, and a gripping fight between good and evil. Linda Blair, in a breakout role, plays Regan, a young girl who starts to exhibit strange, arcane behavior. Her mother (Burstyn) calls upon a priest, Father Karras (Miller), to investigate.

But Karras, who has a spiritual crisis of his own, is suddenly confronted with the unimaginable evil of Regan’s possession. Father Lankester Merrin (Von Sydow), an archeologist-priest, is called to help, and a horrific battle for her soul begins.

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: As part of the year-long centennial celebration for the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros. Studio, the iconic supernatural film The Exorcist from Academy Award-winning director William Friedkin (The French Connection) will be available for purchase on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital for the first time this September.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of its 1973 release, on September 19 The Exorcist will be available to purchase on Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc from online and in-store at major retailers and available for purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu and more.

The Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs include both the 1973 theatrical version of the film and the 2000 Extended Director’s Cut of the film which features eleven additional minutes of footage not seen in theaters.

Warner Bros. Entertainment is expanding their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray catalog offerings this month with the release of the highly-anticipated The Exorcist in the expansive 4K Ultra HD video format this September 19th, 2023.

For my money, this The Exorcist [4K UHD+BR+Digital] combo pack sharpness takes a fairly large step forward from others in their 4K Ultra HD catalog and even comes with HDR (High Dynamic Range) for the complete 4K Ultra HD experience, of course.

So, what we have is The Exorcist presented to us as a two-disc combo pack with a sheet for a Digital HD Copy. Other stand out points you should know are: Codec: HEVC / H.265, Resolution: Native 4K (2160p), HDR: HDR10, Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 and Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1.

Featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10 for brighter, deeper, and way more lifelike colors, as with most all 4K UHDs, everything that we watch features these qualities - but somehow, this film gloriously shines within them all.

Noticeably crisp with the overall clarity receiving an obvious boost here on this release, what is more is that it is enjoyably noticeable. For as well as some new nuances to the somewhat drab palette courtesy of Dolby Vision, we also get to witness sudden bright pops of color, which makes the eyes draw in, for sure.

Some of those moments now being, well, let’s call the first one Regan’s Bed Shaking Scene! An early scene in The Exorcist demonstrates just how bad things have gotten for Regan. While it’s not as creepy as some other scenes, it sets the tone for the film, hinting worse tragedies will soon happen. Before the demon Pazuzu fully takes over Regan, leaving her with a grotesque face, Chris tries to leave the house but hears loud banging and screams coming from Regan’s room. When she opens the door, Regan’s bed is violently shaking with her on it.

Another we shall call Regan’s Spider Walk Down The Stairs! The iconic spider walk scene actually wasn’t in the original film, and most The Exorcist fans remember it from the DVD release that featured it. In the scene, Chris has just found out that Burke is dead, but before she has time to process the information, Regan comes running down the stairs in a spider position with blood dripping out of her mouth. While the scene seems better left out because it distracts from Burke’s death, including it makes The Exorcist even more startling!

As for the audio, well we get the choice of: English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit), English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono, French: Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1.

Overall, this is a very strong 4K HDR Blu-ray presentation, and, for the most part, the audio track remains fairly similar to its DTS-HD counterpart; with much of the action occupying the surrounds with outstanding directionality and placement where effects flawlessly pan between the sides and rears.

As for the story to hand, well, released in 1973, to both box office and critical acclaim, The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin, based on the novel by William Peter Blatty, remains the quintessential horror film of good versus evil. From the opening scenes of an excavation in Northern Iraq, we are introduced to Father Merrin, and his showdown with a demon-god, which will foreshadow events in the latter part of the film.

Jump to the scenery of Georgetown, USA, where we are introduced to Chris MacNeil, an actress, caring for her daughter Regan. Over a period of time, Ms. MacNeil is convinced her daughter is possessed by some unknown entity, and enlists the help of science to help her. When the scientists fail to help her child, Ms. MacNeil is forced to seek the aid of Father Damien Karras, a local priest, who upon hearing of her daughter’s plight, explains to her that before an exorcism can be performed on an individual, it must first be approved by the Vatican.

Upon arrival at the MacNeil residence, and the greeting with the demon-child, Father Karras is convinced that Regan is possessed. The Vatican approves the rite, and both Father Karras, along with the aforementioned Father Merrin, are both assigned with the task of exorcist.

The performances in the film are top notch. Ellen Burstyn (who should have won an Academy Award), Linda Blair (aided by the voice acting of veteran actress Mercedes McCambridge), Jason Miller, Lee J. Cobb and Max Von Sydow are all great in their roles. The special effects make-up, courtesy of Dick Smith, is both groundbreaking and shocking.

The most memorable music in the the film is the opening sequence of Mike Oldfield’s overdub opus Tubular Bells, which was not specifically produced for the film, but supplies a creepy, ominous air. All this and more puts this movie, without a shadow of a doubt, in my top ten horror films of all time.

The film spawned several inferior Italian knock-offs including Beyond The Door, Antichrist, Return Of The Exorcist, as well as the shot-by-shot Turkish remake, Seytan. There was even a blaxploitation take on The Exorcist called Abby, starring William Marshall of Blacula fame. Oh, and as for the 1977 John Boorman sequel The Heretic, well, just don’t bother. It’s tediously lame, laughable at times, and does not even come close to the original.

The Exorcist will be available on Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc for $33.99 SRP and includes an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc with the theatrical version of the feature film in 4K with HDR, an Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc with the Extended Director’s Cut of the film in 4K with HDR, and a Digital download of both versions of the film. Fans can also own The Exorcist in 4K Ultra HD via purchase from select digital retailers beginning on September 19th, 2023.

The Exorcist Ultra HD Blu-ray disc (theatrical version) contains the following previously released special features:
1. Introduction by William Friedkin
2. Commentary by William Friedkin
3. Commentary by William Peter Blatty with Special Sound Effects

The Exorcist Digital release (theatrical version) the following previously released special features:
1. Commentary by William Friedkin
2. Commentary by William Peter Blatty with Special Sound Effects Tests
3. Introduction by William Friedkin
4. The Fear of God: 25 Years of the Exorcist
5. Original Ending
6. William Peter Blatty Interviews
1. The Original Cut
2. Stairway to Heaven
3. The Final Reckoning
7. Sketches & Storyboards
8. TV Spots
1. Beyond Comprehension
2. You Too Can See the Exorcist
3. Between Science & Superstition
4. The Movie You’ve Been Waiting For
5. Nobody Expected It
6. Life Had Been Good
9. Trailers
1. Nobody Expected It
2. Beyond Comprehension
3. Flash Image

The Exorcist Extended Director’s Cut Ultra HD Blu-ray disc contains the following previously released special features:
4. Commentary by William Friedkin

The Exorcist Extended Director’s Cut Digital release contains the following previously released special features:
1. Commentary by William Friedkin
2. Beyond Comprehension: William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist
3. Talk of the Devil
4. Raising Hell: Filming The Exorcist
5. The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now
6. Faces of Evil: The Different Versions of The Exorcist
7. Radio Spots
1. The Devil Himself
2. Our Deepest Fears
8. TV Spots
1. Most Electrifying
2. Scariest Ever
3. Returns
4. Never Seen
9. Trailers
1. The Version You’ve Never Seen
2. Our Deepest Fears

The Exorcist | 4K Ultra HD Official Trailer | Warner Bros. Entertainment