Censorship - The Exorcist 1973

The Exorcist is a horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted by William Peter Blatty from his novel. The book was inspired by the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with a young girl being possessed and her mother’s desperate attempt to save her through an exorcism conducted by two priests.

Reception in the UK:

The Exorcist was included in the “video nasty” phenomenon of the early 1980’s, although the home video was released in 1979. Warner Bros. Decided not to submit the film for classification following the “video nasty” crisis, and the implementation of the Video Recording Act 1984. It was not until 1999 that the film was submitted and passed uncut with an 18 rating.

The film was shown on terrestrial television in the UK for the first time in 2001, on Channel 4.

This film had caused a scare to many of the public when it had been released, it was said that many people had fainted when watching this and some committing suicide because they were so scared. It was also said that during the filming of the Exorcist many strange things were happening, a fire had broke out which caused a setback in pre-production. Friedkin claimed that a priest was brought in numerous times to bless the set, Blair and Ellen Burstyn (The Lead Actors) had actually permanently damaged their back due to their harness.

This film indeed is an extremely terrifying film and it is understandable why it had a bad reception in the UK, I think that it being supposedly banned in the UK for a few years was the right decision because it was something that many people had not seen before.

However, it could be said that the BBFC should not have a say over what we watch and if we can watch it. I also think that it is unfair for the BBFC to be able to restrict us from seeing films that we may think are suitable for us. Many people may argue that we have the decision to choose what is best for us and someone else should not take that decision. I agree with but in certain cases such as The Exorcist or The Clockwork Orange, such films should be away from public eyes as it could be too much for people to bear.

For example, in The Exorcist; the scenes whilst the young girl is possessed causes fear to those watching, it could possibly make them believe that what is happening in the film will happen to them.