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From John Boorman, the director of Point Blank and Deliverance, comes Exorcist II: The Heretic, a visionary metaphysical thriller that confounded audience expectations by delivering something unique and entirely unexpected.

It has been four years since the exorcism that saved the life of Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) and caused the deaths of Lankester Merrin (Max Von Sydow) and Damien Karras, the priests who helped her. Regan remembers nothing, but her therapist Dr Tuskin (Louise Fletcher) believes those memories are simply repressed and waiting. Meanwhile, Father Philip Lamont (Richard Burton) - his own faith shaken by a failed exorcism - is tasked by the Vatican with investigating Father Merrin, who faces posthumous charges of heresy for his controversial writings. His investigation will lead him to Africa, New York and Georgetown as he and Regan are drawn together in a spiritual battle that encircles the globe.

With an all-star cast, sublime cinematography, and a standout score from legendary composer Ennio Morricone, Exorcist II: The Heretic is a daring vision, packed with the kind of bold ideas and extraordinary images that Boorman would also explore in Zardoz and Excalibur. Forget what you think you know...

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of the 118-minute Original Premiere Version and the 103-minute International Version
Original lossless mono audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Savieri
Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing by film critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Glenn Kenny and Matt Rogerson, plus an archival interview with cinematographer William Fraker

DISC ONE - ORIGINAL PREMIERE VERSION

New commentary by film historian Lee Gambin and filmmaker David Kittredge, director of the forthcoming feature-length Exorcist II documentary, Heretics
New audio commentary by screenwriter and author Kelly Goodner and film historian Jim Hemphill
Archive audio commentary with director John Boorman
Archive audio commentary with special consultant Scott Michael Bosco
It's Okay, He's Gone, a new visual essay by film critics BJ and Harmony Colangelo
What Does She Remember?, an archive interview with actress with Linda Blair
Archive interview with editor Tom Priestley
Theatrical trailer
Teaser trailer
Extensive image galleries

DISC TWO - INTERNATIONAL VERSION

Archive audio commentary by film critic Mike White of The Projection Booth podcast
Theatrical trailer

Surprising that this isn't getting a 4K release. Did WB not allow Arrow to do a 4K restoration?

It is possible that WB didn't want to re-scan the elements, so Arrow had to use the same 2K scan that Scream used.

That would also be my guess.

dwk wrote: Fri Jul 26, 2024 6:54 pm It is possible that WB didn't want to re-scan the elements, so Arrow had to use the same 2K scan that Scream used.

I forgot that WB usually scans whatever elements they have themselves and send the raw scans to the labels for further restoration work. Though it is weird that they couldn't have been bothered to do that for this (if that is that case).

I would assume that they are probably too busy scanning other things and re-scanning recent-ish things just isn't in the cards right now.

I do like that in the blurb that Arrow are trying to position this more as a John Boorman film than an Exorcist entry, since it works far better if approached as one of Boorman's characteristically wacked-out (yet simultaneously deadpan and deadly earnest) mythological fantasias!

Shame Mark Kermode never did a commentary for this...

The recent documentary on the making and reception of the movie, Boorman and the Devil is very engaging, featuring interviews with Boorman, Linda Blair, and Louise Fletcher, as well as several other members of the crew as well as contemporary fans like Joe Dante and Mike Flanagan. It's got some dodgy animations and graphics (The Kid Stays in the Picture still has a lot to answer for), but it tells you just about everything you'd want to know without getting bogged down in minutiae.

Boorman's film was such an ambitious undertaking that it just seemed to have collapsed under the weight of its own hubris. The art direction, cinematography, and practical effects are all so, so good (I, for one, can't get enough of the use of all the glass and reflective surfaces in the film), but it sounds like the script was just a mess from the beginning, going through 10 rewrites as it was shooting, and the production really was cursed in terms of illnesses and setbacks and second-guessing from the start through well after its release. One has to respect Boorman's vision and craft, but the film is just sheer, great-looking nonsense with Fletcher giving the only good performance. (And okay, maybe James Earl Jones and Ned Beatty in their glorified walk-on roles.)

In the doc, Boorman characterizes the film as not a sequel to the original, but a riposte to it, and that seems like a spot-on description. Friedkin's film was documentary-like in its approach, and Heretic is like one long dream/nightmare.