The Exorcist (film) The Exorcist (film) The Exorcist is a 1973 American supernatural horror film adapted by William Peter Blatty from his 1971 novel of the same name, directed by William Friedkin, and starring Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow, and Jason Miller. The film is part of "The Exorcist" franchise. The book, inspired by the 1949 exorcism of Roland Doe, follows the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl and her mother's attempts to win her back through an exorcism conducted by two priests. The adaptation is relatively faithful to the book, which itself has been commercially successful (earning a place on
The Silence of the Lambs (film) One Night" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"), to win Academy Awards in all the top five categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It is also the first (and so far only) Best Picture winner widely considered to be a horror film, and only the third such film to be nominated in the category, after "The Exorcist" (1973) and "Jaws" (1975). It is regularly cited by critics, film directors, and audiences alike as one of the greatest and most influential films of all time. In 2018, "Empire" ranked it 48th, on their