I read the book when young and was sufficiently disturbed to decide that I do not ever need to see the horrors and sacrilege described depicted graphically onscreen. So still haven’t seen the movie and doubt I ever will.
I'll never see it again. Back in the early days of Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, we did a string of horror movies and I asked co-host Mike Takla if we should watch it again. He said, "Once was enough."
😅 I get where Mike was coming from. I’ve felt that way about a few movies too. I think 70s and 80s movies did often try to push limits and not always pleasantly.
I love how you took us on the journey of discovering The Exorcist as a young person with all the confusion that would naturally create! I also had very permissive parents although I'm not a fan of allowing kids to experience things too soon. I didn't mind the horror movies I watched, but I wish I had been older when I experienced movies like Fiddler on the Roof and The Color Purple. I think it would've had a greater impact if I could've followed what was happening in the story.
Thanks and thanks for reading! Well, at least we can always go back and see Topol sing and dance again! (Monday's essay is about me reading another too-soon book that became a bestseller ...)
This is great, Daniel. Two things struck me. I don't think "Dachau Auschwitz Buchenwald" creates the kind of elemental fear and disgust that it once did but still should. We should never forget. Also, thank God for permissive parents when it comes to art. I think that's wht I get so furious with censors and would-be censors. Zi remember screaming once at my Mom (for non-artistic reasons), "I am a child but I'm NOT a child."
Thank you! I agree about the three camps and permissive parents. Someone I know was shocked that I took my 10th-grade son to a revival house to see Raging Bull. My response was that this was a chance to see one of the great movies on a big screen. How can you pass this up? What's the "right" age? 40?
When the lights came up and I asked, "What did you think?" he said, "Holy cow. Great movie." Did he understand the movie as deeply at 15 as he will at 35? No--but he understood enough and the "objectionable" things weren't even a factor because he was (rightly) caught up in the art of it all. Thanks again for reading.
The article made me consciously realize that 'vomiting like the Exorcist' is a 1970s Thing. Of course I wouldn't say it to anyone under 50. But I did not articulate why.
That’s very true about the vomit. It’s also strange that so many movies since then regularly show people vomiting in them. And yes— I never want to see it again. I did it, and that was fine.
Next week’s post is about His Girl Friday—a big shift!
I read the book when I was a freshman in high school. My initial reaction: this is gross but not scary. As for the movie? I've never been able to get more than 20 minutes or so into it. Not because it's a bad movie. I just couldn't watch what was coming. Scares the living crap out of me. One day I just need to steel myself up, watch the thing, then be scarred for life. FYI, did you know William Peter Blatty was a guest on Groucho Marx's "You Bet Your Life"? Blatty used his winnings to help get by while he finished writing "The Exorcist." He took on the persona of an Arab Sheik for the show. Fun stuff!
Ha! Yes, I’ve heard that story about Groucho, which is hilarious. Thanks for the link!
I think the movie is a fascinating cultural phenomenon, but not one I want to revisit. It’s too much. As I noticed in the post, I think William Friedkin’s whole argument that it wasn’t a horror movie is silly, but I laugh with him, hoping he’s winking.
Before my sister and I turned ten our father took us to see both Jaws and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (late seventies). Literally the stuff of nightmares.
The ending of the Body Snatchers remake might be the best scare in movies. Now there's one I can watch over and over--but The Exorcist and I are quits. That one is just too raw.
Now if Donald Sutherland had played one of the priests ...
I think I was only six when I saw it (sister would've been nine) and I'm not sure a film with the message 'do not under under circumstances fall asleep' was a good choice.
Just read The Exorcist last year. I was surprised how well-written it was for a genre known for schlock, and how it managed to veer, without whiplash, between profanities and heartfelt religious fervor. As a kid or even a younger teenager I think I would have been too horrified by the obscenities, but you've made me think about parental guidance in selecting reading and viewing habits in a new light. Of the movies you mentioned seeing "underage," did you or do you regret seeing them at that age?
I was definitely shocked by the obscenity and kept thinking, "If my mother knew what I was reading ..." I don't regret seeing any of those movies when I was underage. I barely understood them--think about Godfather II and Cuba--but I at least knew these were Real Movies for Grownups and that was all the allure I needed.
I read the book when young and was sufficiently disturbed to decide that I do not ever need to see the horrors and sacrilege described depicted graphically onscreen. So still haven’t seen the movie and doubt I ever will.
I'll never see it again. Back in the early days of Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, we did a string of horror movies and I asked co-host Mike Takla if we should watch it again. He said, "Once was enough."
😅 I get where Mike was coming from. I’ve felt that way about a few movies too. I think 70s and 80s movies did often try to push limits and not always pleasantly.
I love how you took us on the journey of discovering The Exorcist as a young person with all the confusion that would naturally create! I also had very permissive parents although I'm not a fan of allowing kids to experience things too soon. I didn't mind the horror movies I watched, but I wish I had been older when I experienced movies like Fiddler on the Roof and The Color Purple. I think it would've had a greater impact if I could've followed what was happening in the story.
Thanks and thanks for reading! Well, at least we can always go back and see Topol sing and dance again! (Monday's essay is about me reading another too-soon book that became a bestseller ...)
The Gorn!! Really interesting article
This is great, Daniel. Two things struck me. I don't think "Dachau Auschwitz Buchenwald" creates the kind of elemental fear and disgust that it once did but still should. We should never forget. Also, thank God for permissive parents when it comes to art. I think that's wht I get so furious with censors and would-be censors. Zi remember screaming once at my Mom (for non-artistic reasons), "I am a child but I'm NOT a child."
Thank you! I agree about the three camps and permissive parents. Someone I know was shocked that I took my 10th-grade son to a revival house to see Raging Bull. My response was that this was a chance to see one of the great movies on a big screen. How can you pass this up? What's the "right" age? 40?
When the lights came up and I asked, "What did you think?" he said, "Holy cow. Great movie." Did he understand the movie as deeply at 15 as he will at 35? No--but he understood enough and the "objectionable" things weren't even a factor because he was (rightly) caught up in the art of it all. Thanks again for reading.
I especially enjoy the censorious parents of today who let their kids have mobile phones with easy access to the worst that humanity has to offer.
Absolutely. A phone is a far worse gateway to the devil than Regan's ouija board!
The article made me consciously realize that 'vomiting like the Exorcist' is a 1970s Thing. Of course I wouldn't say it to anyone under 50. But I did not articulate why.
I would never want to see it again.
That’s very true about the vomit. It’s also strange that so many movies since then regularly show people vomiting in them. And yes— I never want to see it again. I did it, and that was fine.
Next week’s post is about His Girl Friday—a big shift!
I read the book when I was a freshman in high school. My initial reaction: this is gross but not scary. As for the movie? I've never been able to get more than 20 minutes or so into it. Not because it's a bad movie. I just couldn't watch what was coming. Scares the living crap out of me. One day I just need to steel myself up, watch the thing, then be scarred for life. FYI, did you know William Peter Blatty was a guest on Groucho Marx's "You Bet Your Life"? Blatty used his winnings to help get by while he finished writing "The Exorcist." He took on the persona of an Arab Sheik for the show. Fun stuff!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQe_N7faq20
Ha! Yes, I’ve heard that story about Groucho, which is hilarious. Thanks for the link!
I think the movie is a fascinating cultural phenomenon, but not one I want to revisit. It’s too much. As I noticed in the post, I think William Friedkin’s whole argument that it wasn’t a horror movie is silly, but I laugh with him, hoping he’s winking.
Thanks for reading!
Before my sister and I turned ten our father took us to see both Jaws and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (late seventies). Literally the stuff of nightmares.
The ending of the Body Snatchers remake might be the best scare in movies. Now there's one I can watch over and over--but The Exorcist and I are quits. That one is just too raw.
Now if Donald Sutherland had played one of the priests ...
He'd have done a job, wouldn't he?
I think I was only six when I saw it (sister would've been nine) and I'm not sure a film with the message 'do not under under circumstances fall asleep' was a good choice.
Just read The Exorcist last year. I was surprised how well-written it was for a genre known for schlock, and how it managed to veer, without whiplash, between profanities and heartfelt religious fervor. As a kid or even a younger teenager I think I would have been too horrified by the obscenities, but you've made me think about parental guidance in selecting reading and viewing habits in a new light. Of the movies you mentioned seeing "underage," did you or do you regret seeing them at that age?
I was definitely shocked by the obscenity and kept thinking, "If my mother knew what I was reading ..." I don't regret seeing any of those movies when I was underage. I barely understood them--think about Godfather II and Cuba--but I at least knew these were Real Movies for Grownups and that was all the allure I needed.