Friday
05Jun2009
Circumventing That 'Exorcist' Remake
Friday, June 5, 2009 at 11:27AM
Here's a close call. We decided earlier this week that unless there's a remake of major interest we're probably just going to lump 20 or 30 of them together in one list. I think it has more impact that way. And it looks like we just dodged a bullet, avoiding a remake of The Exorcist.
Colin Boyd | Permalink | in Adaptations, Horror Movies, Remakes | Print Article | Email Article | 5 Comments | Share Article
Reader Comments (5)
More controversial then Salo? Also it doesn't take much effort, then, to be banned in England.
More controversial than Salo because it was a major studio release in America, one that was even nominated for Best Picture, and became one of the all-time top grossing films.
Regarding the ban, I still think it's illegal in Finland or something. It's been banned all over the place at one time or another. In the UK, you couldn't buy it from the mid-80s until the 25th anniversary was released in '99.
The director died for Salo, just saying. If you want big time studio, A Clockwork Orange. Banned from the mid seventies until 2000 in England, also a blockbuster and oscar nominated. I'm just saying it is not a quantifiable measure.
Hmmm...I'll take The Exorcist and its $232 million domestic gross, its subliminal messages, its banned trailer, its ten Oscar nominations, Billy Graham insisting that evil was present in the actual celluloid of the film, its fainting spells and rumors of heart attacks in the aisles, its two deaths directly related to crew members plus its three deaths of family members of crew members, its set-destroying fire, and its ban in Australia subsequent to 1999 for fear of offending Christians over Clockwork and its $26 million domestic total, four nominations, and a move by Kubrick and the studio to pull it from distribution in England because a rise in violent crime was being linked to the film, meaning it was as sinister as Do the Right Thing. Was it banned anywhere else?
As for Salo, if I ask 100 people to give me the plot, how many could do it? I'm not saying the content isn't controversial, just that the film is a much more minor blip on the radar than a worldwide phenomenon like The Exorcist was.
Controversy is based on perception, and obviously, the more people in on it, the more controversial it becomes. When a porn actress rides a Sybian on Howard Stern, it's not news. When Janet Jackson's nipple is exposed during the Super Bowl: Controversy. So The Exorcist, one of the top ten grossing movies ever when you adjust for inflation, causes immediate and widespread religious and moral outrage, the effects of which are felt 20 years later, and some people die in the process...I think you can quantify that.
A clockwork Orange was banned, and still is, in many countries even though I don't have the exact amount. Also while it wasn't always related to satan enough people called ACO hell spawned, and still do,for it to be comparable. Kubrick got many death threats for it, the main reason it was initially pulled in England actually.
And while Salo in recent years is not as remembered in America as the Exorcist it is still hotly debated in its home of Italy. I'm not even sure if it is legally allowed to be shown there, neither is Realm of the Senses in Japan. When it was first released though there was controversy extending all the way to the Americas with enough a threat of riots that it was not officially shown in the US until over ten years later.
Finally if we are going by cast and crew deaths Quantum of Solace would be one of the most controversial films ever. Would you want that?