I first saw this film in the theater on the first weekend of it's initial release in 1973.... I was 13 years old.... What I remember of that experience is this; The 'line' to get in stretched out of the theater and around the block, I waited in line for over an hour to see this movie... (and I didn't mind!) ... The 'pre-hype' surrounding this movie was incredible! The novel was a HUGE hit before the movie came out... EVERYBODY had read "The Exorcist" (including me) and was talking about it when, suddenly, it was anounced that a 'movie' was being made and everybody went nuts.... We were already scared before we even got into the theater!
The other thing I remember was this; The first moment I laid eyes on Linda Blair it WAS 'Love At First Sight' ! (I was 13...) ... And I could not believe the 'horrors' that poor girl was about to go through... It was, quite litterally, 'gut-wrenching' for me... I think I did not sleep at all that night, I was afraid my bed would start shaking...
William Friedkin instantly won a spot at the top of my 'favorite directors' list for creating this masterpiece and ALL of the actors were extraordinary. Although SOME of the 'special effects' were a bit 'cheesy' (the 'head spinning'), MOST of the FX were quite convincing!
Bottom line is this; "The Exorcist" is not only one of The Best Horror Movies ever made, it is one of The Best MOVIES ever made... They don't make them like that anymore...
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