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 Exorcist III the film went under various titles, including "The Exorcist: 1990". Morgan Creek and Fox insisted on including the word "Exorcist" in the title, which producer Carter DeHaven and Blatty protested against: I begged them when they were considering titles not to name it "Exorcist" anything -- because "Exorcist II" was a disaster beyond imagination. You can't call it "Exorcist III", because people will shun the box office. But they went and named it "Exorcist III". Then they called me after the third week when we were beginning to fade at the box office and they said 'We'll tell you the