The Exorcist: The Beginning: Widescreen Edition DVD Review

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Title: The Exorcist: The Beginning: Widescreen Edition

Region: One

Genre: Horror

Stars: Stellan Skarsgard, Izabella Scorupco, James D’Arcy, Alan Ford, and Ben Cross

Writer: Alexi Hawley

Based On A Story By: William Wisher and Caleb Carr

Director: Renny Harlin

Feature length: 113 minutes

Extras: Feature Length Audio Commentary With Director Renny Harlin, Behind-The-Scenes Featurette, Theatrical Trailer, Onscreen Cast & Crew List

Languages: English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, and French Language Dubbed Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Subtitles: English Captions and Closed Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles

Packaging: Keep Case

Chapter Stops: 30

Sound: DTS Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 2004/DVD Release: 2005

Theatrical Distributor: Warner Brothers Pictures

Home Video Distributor: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: R

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

Stellan Skarsgard portrays Father Merrin in the scary prequel to the original phenomenon entitled “The Exorcist: The Beginning.” It is 1949 and Merrin has adapted the reputation of being a finder of rare antiquities. Hired by a mysterious contractor (Ben Cross) to go to Kenya where a Christian church has been discovered that predates the arrival of Christianity to the region by thousands of years, Merrin is to find and bring back an ancient idol of untold origins. Upon arriving at the sight, Merrin is teamed up with another priest (James D’Arcy) sent by the Vatican and discovers a land besieged by fear, pestilence, and death. The local tribe in the area resents the British army being station at the dig sight and believes a great evil lies within the excavated church. Merrin has been haunted by memories of Nazi atrocities during the Holocaust and consequently has lost his faith in God.

However as peculiar events begin to grow in intensity, his research leads him to believe that the ancient church was actually built and purposely buried in this area because beneath the church is the sight where Lucifer fell. Upon discovering the unholy crypt beneath the church, Merrin must confront the mystery of the evil that has touched the people of this area and regain his faith in God if he is to fight back the demon that has been unleashed upon the Earth.

It has been documented that Writer and Director Paul Schrader directed the project first, but for whatever the reasons were, Renny Harlin was hired to direct the film and so now there are literally two different prequels to “The Exorcist” on film. A few weeks ago I read that Schrader’s version is being screened at a film festival abroad under the title “The Exorcist: The Prequel,” but as far as I know there has been no announcement made regarding any future home video release of Schrader’s version. That noted, I have to start this DVD review a bit differently than I normally do by stating that considering the enormous challenge of filming a prequel to what is a classic of the horror genre and then having to have the film ready to screen in theaters within 11 months of the start of production, I think Renny Harlin did a pretty good job. Quite tastefully in his feature length audio commentary, Harlin focuses solely on the making of his film and makes no attempt to discuss why Schrader’s version was ultimately shelved in favor for the adaptation that premiered theatrically in wide release last year.

Harlin is quite eloquent in explaining why the film was produced as it was with particular attention toward introducing some of the backstory as well as little hints that would be reintroduced in the original film as well as the two sequels that followed it. “The Exorcist: The Beginning” was the first film Mr. Harlin has worked on where in conjunction with Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro the traditional negative cutting was bypassed and digital color timing was employed to evoke atmosphere and greater overall emotional impact. He also discusses the challenges and reasoning behind the film’s stylistic presentation, which was used in part to pay homage to the original film and to make the prequel more accessible for a new generation of viewers not familiar with the other three films in the series. Personally I think this prequel might be the best spin-off to be produced in the franchise outside of the original. The only part I did not care too much for was the final confrontation in the catacombs beneath the church with the possessed soul. It somehow detracted from the film and in some ways pulled me out of the story all together because it looked something from out of Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” trilogy. All things considered though, I think Renny Harlin delivered an above average prequel to “The Exorcist” and his commentary is the highlight of the extra value material included on this disc, which also features a behind-the-scenes EPK featurette (8:10), the theatrical trailer (1:53), and a select onscreen list detailing the cast and crew involved with the movie.

I was pleasantly surprised to find an excellent and aggressive English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Soundtrack as well as an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack. The quality of the Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround soundtrack is almost indistinguishable from the DTS option so both are terrific. A French Language Dubbed Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack and English Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing impaired along with French and Spanish Language Subtitles are encoded onto the DVD as options too. The image quality is excellent with a clear anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio presentation that preserves the manner in which the film was exhibited theatrically as close as possible for home video users. The interactive menus feature animated transitions and full motion scene selections and all are easy to navigate.

“The Exorcist: The Beginning: Widescreen Edition” is available on DVD-Video now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Warner Home Video.

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