UHD Review A Few Words About A few words about...™ - The Exorcist III -- in 4k UHD (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

As far as I can tell - and I could be wrong - there have been 6 variants of William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist, with one to come that's currently filming.

If one is collecting the productions based upon the book or its characters, they seems to go this way:

The Exorcist - 1973 - William Friedkin - WB 4k (coming)- also The Anthology - first three films - WB

Exorcist II: The Heretic - 1977 - John Boorman - Shout Factory - Blu-ray

The Exorcist III & The Exorcist III: Legion -1991 - William Peter Beatty - Shout 4k - 28 March 2023

Exorcist: The Beginning - 2004 - Renny Harlin - Sony (mod) / WB (Blu-ray)

Dominion - 2005 - Paul Schrader - Sony (mod)

The Exorcist (TV) - 2016-17 - Various - Fox - DVD

The Exorcist - 2023 - David Gordon Green

From what I can tell, Scream Factory's new 4k is the first time for Exorcist III in the format, and Scream has done it right with a 3-disc set.

Disc One is the Theatrical Cut in 4k from the OCN.

Disc Two is the Theatrical Cut in Blu-ray from a new 4k scan.

Disc Three is the Director's Cut in Blu-ray.

I've made note of the fact previously, that Shout and Scream have moved into the rarified air once held solely by Criterion, but now shared with them, along with Arrow.

And by this, I refer to special features galore. This is Not one of the "Collector's Editions" that give you the film scanned from an original film element along with a trailer.

While Disc 1 is the 4k with no space taken up by extras, Disc 2 includes a great deal of vintage material - interviews, bloopers, deleted prologue, trailers, and more.

Disc 3 has an audio interview with writer / director Blatty, along with a five-part documentary.

For Exorcist collectors this will be an essential release.

The good great news is the the new 4k scan looks like a 35mm print. Grain structured appears to be untouched. Color and density is fine, along with black levels. Bottom line, this is a gorgeous new release, supplanting everything that has come before, and unlikely to be bettered.

Image – 5 (Dolby Vision)

Audio – 5 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Plays nicely with projectors - Yes

Makes use of and works well in 4k - 4

Upgrade from Blu-ray - Yes

Recommended

RAH


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See on Amazon

 

[Nick*Z]

I never warmed to any of these, except, of course, the first movie. Or perhaps ‘warmed’ is the wrong word when referencing a movie about demonic possession.

 

[JoshZ]

Disc One is the Director's Cut in 4k from the OCN.

Disc Two is the Theatrical Cut in Blu-ray from a new 4k scan.

Disc Three is the Director's Cut in Blu-ray.

Unless I'm mistaken (and Shout have completely incorrect info on their web site), disc 1 is the THEATRICAL Cut in 4K.

The Director's Cut is a copy of the disc from 2016, which was mastered from a mix of footage scanned from film (everything shared in common with the theatrical cut) and a significant amount of footage transferred from awful-looking VHS dupes of the production dailies.

The Exorcist III [Collector's Edition]

Experience William Peter Blatty's original vision of his novel Legion with this director's cut of The Exorcist III. For more than fifteen years, Police Lieutenant Kinderman (George C. Scott) has been haunted by the death of his friend Father Damien Karras. Now, on the 15th anniversary of the...

shoutfactory.com

DISC ONE: 4K UHD (THEATRICAL CUT)

• NEW 2022 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
• In Dolby Vision (HDR 10 compatible)
• Audio: NEW 2023 Restoration Of The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 And 5.1 Tracks

DISC TWO: BLU-RAY (THEATRICAL CUT)

• NEW 2022 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
• NEW 2023 Restoration Of The Stereo And 5.1 Track
• Audio: NEW 2023 Restoration Of The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 And 5.1 Tracks
• Deleted Scene/Alternate Takes/Bloopers
• Deleted Prologue
• Vintage Interviews (Featuring Behind-The-Scenes Footage) With Writer/Director William Peter Blatty, George C. Scott, Jason Miller, Ed Flanders, And More…
• Vintage Featurette
• Theatrical Trailers
• TV Spots
• Radio Spots
• Photo Galleries

DISC THREE: BLU-RAY (DIRECTOR’S CUT)

• William Peter Blatty’s Director’s Cut – LEGION, Assembled From The Interpositive And Select Scenes From The VHS Dallies, Approved By William Peter Blatty
• Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
• Audio Interview With Writer/Director William Peter Blatty
• Death, Be Not Proud: The Making Of THE EXORCIST III – Feature-Length, Five-Chapter Documentary On The Making Of The Film Featuring Interviews With Actor Brad Dourif, Production Designer Lesley Dilley, Composer Barry De Vorzon, Producer Carter Dehaven, And More…

 

[Clinton McClure]

In high school, I auditioned for a school play, using George C. Scott’s “carp” speech as my monologue. I didn’t get the part, but I had an A+ in Drama class for the rest of the year.

 

[Robert Harris]

Unless I'm mistaken (and Shout have completely incorrect info on their web site), disc 1 is the THEATRICAL Cut in 4K.

The Director's Cut is a copy of the disc from 2016, which was mastered from a mix of footage scanned from film (everything shared in common with the theatrical cut) and a significant amount of footage transferred from awful-looking VHS dupes of the production dailies.

The Exorcist III [Collector's Edition]

Experience William Peter Blatty's original vision of his novel Legion with this director's cut of The Exorcist III. For more than fifteen years, Police Lieutenant Kinderman (George C. Scott) has been haunted by the death of his friend Father Damien Karras. Now, on the 15th anniversary of the...

shoutfactory.com

DISC ONE: 4K UHD (THEATRICAL CUT)

• NEW 2022 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
• In Dolby Vision (HDR 10 compatible)
• Audio: NEW 2023 Restoration Of The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 And 5.1 Tracks

DISC TWO: BLU-RAY (THEATRICAL CUT)

• NEW 2022 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
• NEW 2023 Restoration Of The Stereo And 5.1 Track
• Audio: NEW 2023 Restoration Of The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 And 5.1 Tracks
• Deleted Scene/Alternate Takes/Bloopers
• Deleted Prologue
• Vintage Interviews (Featuring Behind-The-Scenes Footage) With Writer/Director William Peter Blatty, George C. Scott, Jason Miller, Ed Flanders, And More…
• Vintage Featurette
• Theatrical Trailers
• TV Spots
• Radio Spots
• Photo Galleries

DISC THREE: BLU-RAY (DIRECTOR’S CUT)

• William Peter Blatty’s Director’s Cut – LEGION, Assembled From The Interpositive And Select Scenes From The VHS Dallies, Approved By William Peter Blatty
• Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
• Audio Interview With Writer/Director William Peter Blatty
• Death, Be Not Proud: The Making Of THE EXORCIST III – Feature-Length, Five-Chapter Documentary On The Making Of The Film Featuring Interviews With Actor Brad Dourif, Production Designer Lesley Dilley, Composer Barry De Vorzon, Producer Carter Dehaven, And More…

Quite correct. Brain and fingers out of sync,

 

[Richard Kaufman]

A superb film with Scott in fine fettle. One of the few instances where the theatrical cut is better than what the director had in mind. Jason Miller gives this film a palpable relationship with the original. And, of course, there's that jump scare ...

 

[Wayne Klein]

Always liked the 3rd film which shoild have stuck with its original title and cut. Still, even changed it’s quite good.

 

[Felix Martinez]

Oh please let there also be the uncompressed Dolby stereo surround mix of the laserdisc…

 

[John Hermes]

A superb film with Scott in fine fettle. One of the few instances where the theatrical cut is better than what the director had in mind. Jason Miller gives this film a palpable relationship with the original. And, of course, there's that jump scare ...

One of the most frightening scenes ever...I am still haunted by it.

 

[JoshZ]

A superb film with Scott in fine fettle. One of the few instances where the theatrical cut is better than what the director had in mind. Jason Miller gives this film a palpable relationship with the original. And, of course, there's that jump scare ...

Brad Dourif gets more opportunity to show off his acting chops in the Director's Cut, whereas his part was significantly reduced in the theatrical version, but yes, bringing back Jason Miller really added something to the film.

The exorcism climax that the studio insisted Blatty add is a little cheesy, but they were right that the movie needed something there. Blatty's ending is pretty limp.

The opening of the Director's Cut is also a confusing mess, but I'm not sure if that really represents what Blatty wanted, or if it was the best he could do when cobbling together the footage that survives.

In all, the Director's Cut is an interesting curiosity, but it definitely shouldn't be anyone's default version of the movie to watch.

 

[cineMANIAC]

I preordered a copy with some reservation, was hoping the DC was in better shape somehow this time. Not sure I needed the TC on UHD but now I have it just in case. I really need to watch some of the extras. Sometimes one gains a higher appreciation for films like this by watching the BTS stuff.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

The 1973 Exorcist is out in 4K by WB listed above? Where? I’ll buy it yesterday.

 

[TravisR]

The 1973 Exorcist is out in 4K by WB listed above? Where? I’ll buy it yesterday.

It's coming this year for its 50th anniversary. If I had to guess, I'd say that it'll be out in September or October for Halloween time.

 

[Wayne Klein]

They just need to leave the IP alone at this stage. We have a five star classic for the first film, a 3 star classic for the third and a decent prequel (albeit unfinished to my mind) by Paul Schrader. The more they revisit the material, the worse the result.

I really like Scott in this film. I do miss Lee J. Cobb but Scott more than makes up for It though. Nice to see Jason Miller in the film. Dourif is great but Miller beings plenty of creep to the role as well.

 

[JoshZ]

They just need to leave the IP alone at this stage. We have a five star classic for the first film, a 3 star classic for the third and a decent prequel (albeit unfinished to my mind) by Paul Schrader. The more they revisit the material, the worse the result.

The Schrader film is my least favorite in this series. I honestly even prefer the Renny Harlin version over it.

The TV spinoff from a few years ago was actually surprisingly decent.

 

[Wayne Klein]

The Schrader film is my least favorite in this series. I honestly even prefer the Renny Harlin version over it.

The TV spinoff from a few years ago was actually surprisingly decent.

Disliked Harlan’s myself. It felt even more like a hodge podge and by the numbers horror Film. To each their own. As flawed as Schrader’s film is (like Exorcist II They relit a director to make a film set in that universe who didn’t want to play in that sandbox), I enjoy it. The ending sucks as does the CGI.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

It's coming this year for its 50th anniversary. If I had to guess, I'd say that it'll be out in September or October for Halloween time.

Fantastic good to know. I had checked on Amazon and many a time they will have a listing even though it may be many months for the release to actually happen. I hadn’t seen that elsewhere either. So WB made the announcement officially?

 

[TravisR]

Fantastic good to know. I had checked on Amazon and many a time they will have a listing even though it may be many months for the release to actually happen. I hadn’t seen that elsewhere either. So WB made the announcement officially?

No official announcement but if it's not coming for six months, it would be too early for an announcement.

A few months ago, The Digital Bits said

We’ve broken news previously here at The Bits about forthcoming Warner Bros. 4K titles for 2023, including Training Day (expected in January, likely 1/17/23), David Fincher’s Se7en (late Q1 or Q2), Superman II (which includes both the Theatrical Version and the Richard Donner Cut), Superman III, and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (all three Q2, likely in April), and William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (Q3 2023—which will include both the Theatrical and Director’s Extended Versions). Well, now we have confirmation of another title: John Huston’s The Maltese Falcon (1941). Look for that later in the year.

Our exclusive 4K Ultra HD catalog update for early 2023 is here with news of Avatar, Abyss, Dragonslayer, Swamp Thing, African Queen, Maltese Falcon & much more!

All right, we’ve got a bunch of ground to cover today, and the subject for today’s My Two Cents post is what we’re hearing from our industry and retail sources about forthcoming 4K Ultra HD catalog titles expected in the new year. But first, we have a pair of new reviews for you this...

thedigitalbits.com

 

[Sultanofcinema]

I saw The Exorcist opening day right after my final High School exams. I still have my "I Saw The Exorcist" black button with purple lettering for the title. For 6 months, I slept with the lights on. I love the film, do not own it, but ended up seeing it first run many times. I felt the most terrifying scenes in the film were not the obvious ones. For instance, when Lee J Cobb is sitting outside the home at night watching the house, Jason Miler leaves and we last see Regan strapped down to the bed. As Cobb looks up at the room with the shades down and the light on, a figure floats past the window inside. This made my skin crawl. I saw the second film only for Morricone's score and the third has its moments.

 

[JoshZ]

Disliked Harlan’s myself. It felt even more like a hodge podge and by the numbers horror Film. To each their own. As flawed as Schrader’s film is (like Exorcist II They relit a director to make a film set in that universe who didn’t want to play in that sandbox), I enjoy it. The ending sucks as does the CGI.

Oh, I'm not saying I liked the Renny Harlin film. It's pretty bad. I just disliked the Schrader even more.

At least the Harlin film knows that it's schlock and doesn't pretend otherwise. Schrader's is a bunch of tedious, pretentious nonsense.