UHD Review The Exorcist UHD Review (1 Viewer)

[Todd Erwin]

Warner marks the studio’s 100th and the movie’s 50th anniversaries with the UHD release of The Exorcist.



The Exorcist (1973)



Released: 26 Dec 1973
Rated: R
Runtime: 122 min




Director: William Friedkin
Genre: Horror



Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair
Writer(s): William Peter Blatty



Plot: When a 12 year old girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter.



IMDB rating: 8.1
MetaScore: 81





Disc Information



Studio: Warner Brothers
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution: 2160p HEVC w/HDR



Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: Dolby Atmos, English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD, English 2.0 DTS-HDMA, Spanish 5.1 DD, French 5.1...

Continue reading...

 

[Dave H]

Great review and points.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I’d own this in a heartbeat but my wife won’t allow it in the house.

 

[Todd Erwin]

I’d own this in a heartbeat but my wife won’t allow it in the house.

I’m in the same boat, so shhhh!!

 

[JohnRice]

I’m in the same boat, so shhhh!!

You’re welcome to send it to me.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Thank you for your review as I’m in total agreement with just about everything said in your review.

 

[cda1143]

Superb review Todd. Thanks so much. And yes some excellent points

Great review and points.

Such excellent points that I’m going to take the liberty of quoting some in the other thread - where they are very on-point to the discussion. I hope you don’t mind.

 

[Todd Erwin]

Superb review Todd. Thanks so much. And yes some excellent points

Such excellent points that I’m going to take the liberty of quoting some in the other thread - where they are very on-point to the discussion. I hope you don’t mind.

When quoting a review on another thread, it is common courtesy to link back to that review.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

When one writes a reply on this fairly new dark blue home page it rarely shows up. Why did HTF tinker with something that was well left alone? Anyways nice review but some respect or knowledge on how films looked in a certain period is obviously lacking. This does not look like the way it did in the ‘70’s That cover and this new transfer as far as I can seen looks like this is a Nightmare on Elm Street release from the late 80’s. My copy arrives next month from the UK and I’m glad for the definition increase but those colors look dreadful.

 

[Robert Saccone]

I have the disc and the review is spot on. It looks great. The grain does seem to vary a bit from scene to scene throughout the film but it's really a minor issue. The screen captures I've seen don't due justice to what's on the disc. The colors look natural and not all at blown out on my setup. One thing I made note of is that in the extras Friedkin talks about how both the image and sound had clarity and detail that wasn't seen back when the film was originally released. Spielberg basically said that same thing about Jaws when it was restored for disc. Both were talking about the blu-rays at the time. The UHDs of both these films just improve them that much more and give us something that we couldn't have back during the original release. I would have loved the original artwork for both The Exorcist and Jaws to have been used on the disc covers but in the end it is what's on the disc that is most important and so that didn't stop me from getting them.

 

[TravisR]

I'm scared to even admit this but I like the cover. Sure, it's terrible compared to the original poster and the poster should be used here but just as an image, I like it.

 

[Kyle_D]

The screen captures I've seen don't due justice to what's on the disc.

That's a big issue I'm seeing in the discourse surrounding this release. Too many people who have not actually watched it are decrying it based, in part, on some flawed iphone screen captures that, multiple owners of the disc have now warned, are not representative or accurate.

I watched the entirety of the theatrical cut tonight. Yes, the colors are bolder than past releases. Flesh tones are a little too sanguine for my tastes, and the grading/resolution bump finally reveals some of the seams in Dick Smith's outstanding make-up work. Still, the 4K master was apparently supervised by the director and the cinematographer before they passed, and despite my quibbles, it is absolutely the most effective, best looking presentation of the movie I've ever seen. Unlike some other controversial catalog releases, this does not appear to be a case where the UHD deviates from an approved reference in ways that are demonstrably contrary to the documented intent of the filmmakers.

No defense from me on the cover art or logo substitution, though. Both are truly unfortunate.

 

[Malcolm R]

Would there be some legal reason for the logo change? Seems unlikely that they'd change it "just for kicks".

Does that small change allow them to take out a new or renewed copyright?

 

[Lord Dalek]

Would there be some legal reason for the logo change? Seems unlikely that they'd change it "just for kicks".

Does that small change allow them to take out a new or renewed copyright?

There was a legal reason when the blu-ray was done back in 2010 as the worm was actually owned by Warner Music Group at the time. Now? who knows.

 

[Mark B]

Would there be some legal reason for the logo change? Seems unlikely that they'd change it "just for kicks".

Does that small change allow them to take out a new or renewed copyright?

Warner Bros has been replacing logos for home video releases since the 1980s. This is nothing new from them.

 

[Todd Erwin]

It is likely that since the 4K remaster was being completed on both versions that the Warner logo from the 2000 Extended Cut was used on both. It is NOT a new logo, since it says “Warner Bros. A Time-Warner Company.” If it was a new logo, it would say “Warner Discovery” instead.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

There was a legal reason when the blu-ray was done back in 2010 as the worm was actually owned by Warner Music Group at the time. Now? who knows.

The worm is only licenced by WMG. There have been relatively recent films (The Nice Guys) that have used the worm logo. The question is whether the OCN was confirmed with the shield instead.

 

[moviebuff75]

What is going on with the mono track at 14:04. The crowd's screams keep going down in volume. Something is wrong here.

 

[PMF]

Thanks for this incisively great review, Todd.