This is how Friedkin transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. The fact that the one giving him the message and demarcating him is a child is not a coincidence it’s just one small demonstration of one The Exorcist’s major strengths: the ability to portray events in documentary like fashion while retaining full control on what each frame entails in a thematic sense. He looks up from a lower position suggesting that what’s to come will be a struggle for him, one in which he will be lowered. Merrin is trapped by the child and the announcement. The child informs the priest that that something of interest has been dug up.ĭespite the fact that the compositions and camera movements are done in a naturalistic, unassuming manner, director William Friedkin is still able to fill the film with evocative frames like this one to set up the narrative. He stops and we see the subject of his search, an older archaeologist and priest named Father Merrin (Max von Sydow), positioned between his legs looking up. Eventually the camera comes upon and follows a young boy at the site who runs through the grounds. The presentation makes us feel like we’re watching a documentary. We see a series of establishing shots – animals walking through a haze and workers digging up a site – before a location card shows up informing us that we’re in Northern Iraq. It’s a sign of strenuous things to come, where he’ll be be starting at a lower vantage point. Despite being shot like a documentary, the establishing shots culminate in a picturesque frame where Father Merrin is trapped in between the legs of a young boy. A series of establishing shots let us know we’re in a desert on a dig site somewhere in Northern Iraq. Father Merrin (Alex von Sydow) is framed between the legs of a young boy looking up. Location card indicates we’re in Northern Iraq. The world isn’t black-and-white and the battle between good and evil has begun.Īnimals walk in the haze of the desert. The simplicity of the black-and-white image gives way to a hellish haze that burns the natural environment around it. A grayscale image of a desert is shown before its burning red, orange, and yellow hues dominate the screen. The film opens with a bright red title card as the Islamic call to prayer is heard in the background. The battle begins with a hellish intensity that must be overcome. The opening sequence of The Exorcist marks the end of simplistic worldviews order is broken and the world isn’t a clear cut black-and-white image anymore. The fantasy fades and the hues of the sun overpower the frame. A black-and-white perspective on the sun rising. The title card comes in a deep red font surrounded by black.
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