There have been so many attempts over the years to milk that story, but I think most people saw through it. The original remains head and shoulders (and the rest of the body) above them.
What Blatty created through his book and then Friedkin through the film are true originals, and a powerful and authentic story and performance that cannot be reproduced. No matter how many crass imitations Holywood makes, Father Merrin's line from the original story applies here as well: "There is only one".
I think a lot of it (especially in these hedonistic modern times) is done in an attempt to devalue the originals and obfuscate the Truth that they point to.
Yes, that is also true. Perhaps back in the 70s and 80s when the various sequels and adaptations popped up it was a "purer" form - as in imitation being the most sincere form of flattery and, in this case, effort to join in on the success - but in this age it would be highly doubtful that simple profit or *gasp* artistic goals are behind these projects.
I know, even back then much was driven by greed and as such my use of "purer" above is not very accurate beyond its simplicity of objectives, but compared to the modern motivations and mechanisms of corruption, it was a less sophisticated (and thus, perhaps, purer) way, I guess.
Regardless, we still have the original, it will remain unmatched and Hollywood's corrupting tentacles will not overshadow it. Von Sydow managed to bring an already incredibly well-written character to whole another level. And to this day, his delivery of that line is still as powerful and chilling as ever.
There have been so many attempts over the years to milk that story, but I think most people saw through it. The original remains head and shoulders (and the rest of the body) above them.
What Blatty created through his book and then Friedkin through the film are true originals, and a powerful and authentic story and performance that cannot be reproduced. No matter how many crass imitations Holywood makes, Father Merrin's line from the original story applies here as well: "There is only one".
I think a lot of it (especially in these hedonistic modern times) is done in an attempt to devalue the originals and obfuscate the Truth that they point to.
Yes, that is also true. Perhaps back in the 70s and 80s when the various sequels and adaptations popped up it was a "purer" form - as in imitation being the most sincere form of flattery and, in this case, effort to join in on the success - but in this age it would be highly doubtful that simple profit or *gasp* artistic goals are behind these projects.
I know, even back then much was driven by greed and as such my use of "purer" above is not very accurate beyond its simplicity of objectives, but compared to the modern motivations and mechanisms of corruption, it was a less sophisticated (and thus, perhaps, purer) way, I guess.
Regardless, we still have the original, it will remain unmatched and Hollywood's corrupting tentacles will not overshadow it. Von Sydow managed to bring an already incredibly well-written character to whole another level. And to this day, his delivery of that line is still as powerful and chilling as ever.
How are you commenting? Didn't you die back in 1973??
Some things must remain a mystery. Especially in this life.
She actually turns me off now. Total boner killer.
The premise for this supposed reboot sounds closer to The Exorcist 3. Will have to see how it turns out.