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Idea & Info: The Exorcist (Original Theatrical Release) — Page 2

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apart from the updated WB logo and the smoothing over of the jump cut with CG then yeah, the 25th Anniversary pretty much nails it from what i remember

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A restoration leaning closer to the look and feel of the 25th, old WB logo of course, would be the way to go for me.  The film still chills me to the core and I cannot imagine any other film will ever have such an effect.  When it works, it works.  I just don't think it needed any changes.
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I wonder if it's a worthy project to create the most complete version of the documentary Fear of God.

The longest version is the one found on the R1 25th DVD and the current BD releases.  But it's still missing some segments, particularly the Mercedes McCambridge parts.

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As mentioned before, Dr. Sapirstein's release, like some of his others, suffers from encoding problems and watermarks. If though his color correction is indeed accurate, his color correction would not be for naught despite the relative low quality of his video. Andrea's color match method could be used to transplant the corrected colors to a compression artifact-free source, without any frame re-syncing or cropping needed.

Incidentally, the original jump cut in the ending is preserved in HD in Terror in the Aisles on the Halloween II BD.

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The Aluminum Falcon said:

Incidentally, the original jump cut in the ending is preserved in HD in Terror in the Aisles on the Halloween II BD.

i have terror in the aisles. i could provide that scene, if it's ever needed :)

 

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I was following this thread in silence, but someone talked about me, so I was forced to post... (^^,)

I have The Exorcist on laserdisc (only pan & scan) - could be useful for its soundtrack, and the PAL DVD director's cut - don't know if its color grading is the same of the BD or not.

Well, if I have understood well, the video of BD is good except color grading, and the final scene; the audio could be taken from the P&S DVD, plus a laserdisc soundtrack is not a bad idea; the colors from 1997 LB DVD; the final scene from Terror in the Aisles... I think we have a restoration project, guys!

Sadly my projects are lost due to an HDD crash… 😦 | [Fundamental Collection] thread | blog.spoRv.com | fan preservation forum: fanres.com

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That would be one hell of a presentation.
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RE: The Exorcist (Original Theatrical Release)


Holy Cow!! Thank you everyone! I hope this does come true. I wish I could offer something to help out. You guys are the best!

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 (Edited)

I have the 5.1 track from the P&S DVD if you need it, but not sure if it differs from the 25th version or not. Also could look at getting the mono from Dr Sapirsteins cut, although we don't know the source. He could have just downmixed the Stereo track. Wouldn't be surprised if he did to be honest.

On an unrelated note, I just bought the R1 25th DVD for $2! Craziness! Wanted it for the longer cut of Fear of God as I've only got the shorter UK version.

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_,,,^..^,,,_ said:

I was following this thread in silence, but someone talked about me, so I was forced to post... (^^,)

Okay, now this is too funny right?  Speak his name and he shall come ..... LMMFAO!!!

Thanks for the giggle Andrea

:)

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Good stuff, good stuff... and thanks to Lee for starting the ball rolling.  It's such a great film it deserves to be given the best treatment.  I doubt we'll ever see anything quite like it again.  The imitators were miles behind it.
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zeropc said:

laserdisc featuring the original mono mix is this u.s. ld.

Wait... isn't that the time-compressed one?

#1007 (vs. #1007-LV) is not time-compressed, but uses the same cover.

JEDIT: http://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/48525/1007/Exorcist-The-(1973)

A picture is worth a thousand words. Post 102 is worth more.

I’m late to the party, but I think this is the best song. Enjoy!

—Teams Jetrell Fo 1, Jetrell Fo 2, and Jetrell Fo 3

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AntcuFaalb said:

zeropc said:

laserdisc featuring the original mono mix is this u.s. ld.

Wait... isn't that the time-compressed one?

#1007 (vs. #1007-LV) is not time-compressed, but uses the same cover.

JEDIT: http://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/48525/1007/Exorcist-The-(1973)

I have to check out what version is present into my collection... but first I have to find it! IIRC it's the not time-compressed - I strongly hope so...

Jetrell Fo said:

_,,,^..^,,,_ said:

I was following this thread in silence, but someone talked about me, so I was forced to post... (^^,)

Okay, now this is too funny right?  Speak his name and he shall come ..... LMMFAO!!!

Thanks for the giggle Andrea

:)

No problems, I'm always around for things like this... (-^,)

Sadly my projects are lost due to an HDD crash… 😦 | [Fundamental Collection] thread | blog.spoRv.com | fan preservation forum: fanres.com

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Lets get Mark Kermode in on this. No one knows The Exorcist like that guy.


I saw a screening of an original print at the Bloor cinema in toronto. it's colours had got to the point where almost the entire film had lost it's blue and yellow channels and basically was red. but it added to the mood. saw it on halloween night. 

it was great fun. this film really is a masterpiece.

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I got a PM from Dr. Sapien on another forum. He built the mono track himself.

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NeonBible said:

I got a PM from Dr. Sapien on another forum. He built the mono track himself.

 * Sapirstein

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borisanddoris said:

This was released at one point.  I've got it.  It's wonderful.  

The mono track is just terrific too.  Made the film much more authentic, scary, and enjoyable.

I should say it's not without faults: the person who did this did add their own credit to the titles and credits in a way I find a bit obtrusive.  

They did restore the red WB logo too...which is a HUGE plus in my book.

This fanedit was actually discussed over on blu-ray.com, and the general consensus was that this fanedit was terrible. I took a look at it myself, and I agree, It is sickly green, and like many others, I have a hard time believing that those were the original colors. It is highly questionable in my opinion. And the compression was awful on the mkv. He also slapped his name all over the edit - a very poor idea to feed his ego. I deleted it after just jumping around a bit.

The majority on blu-ray.com feel that the new blue color timing is terrible on the blu-ray, and I agree. I just don't think that green is any better. I currently own the digibook blu-ray, and while I hate the blu-ray coloring, I think the green is even worse. This needs proper color timing desperately. I was hoping the recent re-release might correct it, but it's the same exact print.

Also, I hate the cgi-enhanced jump-cut at the end that they use on the alleged "theatrical" version. That shot shot be restored to the rough jump-cut as it was originally. The original logo at the beginning would be nice too. I hate it when they feel the need to use their new logo instead of the original logo seen in theatres.

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Oldfan said:

borisanddoris said:

This was released at one point.  I've got it.  It's wonderful.  

The mono track is just terrific too.  Made the film much more authentic, scary, and enjoyable.

I should say it's not without faults: the person who did this did add their own credit to the titles and credits in a way I find a bit obtrusive.  

They did restore the red WB logo too...which is a HUGE plus in my book.

This fanedit was actually discussed over on blu-ray.com, and the general consensus was that this fanedit was terrible. I took a look at it myself, and I agree, It is sickly green, and like many others, I have a hard time believing that those were the original colors. It is highly questionable in my opinion. And the compression was awful on the mkv. He also slapped his name all over the edit - a very poor idea to feed his ego. I deleted it after just jumping around a bit.

The majority on blu-ray.com feel that the new blue color timing is terrible on the blu-ray, and I agree. I just don't think that green is any better. I currently own the digibook blu-ray, and while I hate the blu-ray coloring, I think the green is even worse. This needs proper color timing desperately. I was hoping the recent re-release might correct it, but it's the same exact print.

Also, I hate the cgi-enhanced jump-cut at the end that they use on the alleged "theatrical" version. That shot shot be restored to the rough jump-cut as it was originally. The original logo at the beginning would be nice too. I hate it when they feel the need to use their new logo instead of the original logo seen in theatres.

 I'm with you. The green looks terrible, and until I see some cold-hard evidence that this is how it was "supposed" to look I'm going to consider it no more accurate than the bluray (which looks just fine to me, albeit a LITTLE cold). 

I skimmed it as well, loved the addition of the original warners logo but that's about it. I for one am indifferent about the jump cut since to my eyes it looks better anyways with the smoothing, but I can see how people can get nit-picky when they say it's the "theatrical cut" and that wasn't how it was originally in theatres (but it's just that, nit picking).

But that green! Yikes.

At least The Exorcist 3 "Legion" fan-edit is good! Need to get that on Blu.

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Flexicon9 said:

The first DVD was released in 1997... that was the flipper with a 2.0 track on one side and a 5.1 track on the other as you guys said.  Now I have the 25th Anniversary DVD from 1998 and it has only a 5.1 track in English.  My understanding is that Friedkin supervised that mix.  So does that mean that the original 5.1 track from the 1997 P&S side is different than the subsequent 5.1 track from the 25th Anniversary disc?  It would have to be, right?  Then the "version you've never seen before" sports a brand new robust mix different from all previous of course.  So there's a bunch of mixes for this film.  I assume the laserdisc must have the best mono or stereo.  Did they introduce new sound effects for the director's cut only, or did they introduce new effects all the way back in 1998 for the 25th Anniversary?

Yes. Having read postings from some knowledgeable people on blu-ray.com and lddb, if you want the 'original' (inc '79 re-release) audio you need three mixes from three different sources:

1. 1973 release: Mono from the '79 laserdisc but apparently it's time compressed to fit on one disc

2. 1979 re-release 35mm: PCM Dolby Stereo from the '93 laserdisc - presumably better than the below dvd's DD 2.0 version

3. 1979 re-release 70mm six track: 5.1 from the '97 dvd - P&S side

Everything after that is (an additional) remix.

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Thankfully, it's possible to salvage and sync time-compressed audio. I might have the '79 LD somewhere. I'll take a look.

I think my Philips CDV-488 might be the best for this. It has amazing analog audio reproduction!

A picture is worth a thousand words. Post 102 is worth more.

I’m late to the party, but I think this is the best song. Enjoy!

—Teams Jetrell Fo 1, Jetrell Fo 2, and Jetrell Fo 3

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 (Edited)

A comment on the LDDB listing of the Japanese 25th Anniversary LD claims that it has a version of Fear of God that's 20 minutes longer than the U.S. LD. So does that mean the Japanese LD has the complete documentary?

LDDB also says that the 80s Japanese LD had analog mono (still not CX) - and lists it as having 3 sides instead of 2. So could that be a better source than the 1979 LD? There are three copies on Urabanchou - they ship to the States. There's two of the original pressing and one of the budget-priced 1989 reissue; they're all listed as 2 discs, and are all $25 (without the hefty charges to import to the States, of course).

Would it be worth it to import the first Japanese LD just for a non-compressed version of the mono? And would it be worth it to track down the  Japanese 25th LD for the complete doc? (That version isn't listed on Urabanchou, though LDDB lists an Obi-less version for $50, and a sealed copy for $67.)

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Jonno said:

A conversation about the Fear of God versions here:

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Exorcist-Fear-of-God-documentary-full-length-version/topic/10737/

No mention of a +20min version at the time, I wonder what that might consist of? By the way, I can still provide the BBC broadcast version if it's useful for a project.

 It would be great if only to re-edit in the Mercedes McCambridge bits that got cut for the home video release.

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Through simple deductive reasoning, I have determined that LDDB listing is wrong about the doc being 20 minutes longer on the Japanese LD.

The poster may have been under the mistaken assumption that the 74m version from the DVD was also on the Japanese LD; it couldn't have been, since on both the U.S. and Japanese versions the documentary fit on a single CLV side (meaning that both releases had the same 52m version that later appeared on the R2 DVD).

So now we don't have to waste our money on the 25th Ann. Japanese LD. (Though I still think it could be a good idea to get the original Japanese release, for a non-time-compressed mono track.)