On The Exorcist: From Novel to Film

by William Peter Blatty

See pic. Purple cover.

Genres: Horror, Film, Nonfiction

375 pages, Paperback

First published April 21, 2015

About the author

William Peter Blatty was an American writer and filmmaker. He wrote the novel The Exorcist (1971) and the subsequent screenplay version for which he won an Academy Award. Born and raised in New York City, Blatty received his bachelor's degree in English from the Georgetown University in 1950, and his master's degree in English literature from the George Washington University in 1954. He also wrote and directed the sequel "The Exorcist III". Some of his other notable works are the novels Elsewhere (2009), Dimiter (2010) and Crazy (2010).
Sourced from Wikipedia

Reviews

[Michelle Horton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this at a local used book store for $1. I loved the movie so I decided to buy it. This is NOT the novel The Exorcist, but rather the first draft screenplay and explanations by the author why changes were made from novel to film, where the story came from, etc. I've not read the actual novel, but now I want to just to see the similarities and differences. Yes, it was pretty creepy (as to be expected) and I now understand the story better. I would recommend this quick read for anyone who liked the novel or film The Exorcist.

[William King · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a "must have" for any real-deal Exorcist fan. It takes you through Blatty's thought processes and provides the reader with two completely different screenplays of this enduring classic.

[myralina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The inside cover says this 40th edition is “expanded by the author, including new dialogue, a new character, and a chilling new extended scene…” I haven’t read the original version nor watched the movie so I can’t compare this edition to the original. This story itself was written in a way that you can imagine everything clearly and the characters came alive. Their expressions and actions felt very natural. This author is very good at showing, not telling. For example, when it came to the topics the quiet characters would not mention directly. Their actions would show how disturbed they are. Overall the topic of demons was disturbing but very interesting.

[Paul Dinger]

I loved the film version of The Exorcist. Even it's sequel is one of my favorite movies though people were laughing at it when I went to see it. However, I was unhappy upon reading it to learn they changed so much. It is what happens with movies though. This is an interesting read to find out what happens even when the director and screenwriter agree and make a great film that the writer still has regrets about. I found it very enlightening.

[Kevin Armes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This scared the living daylights out of me as a young teen. Terrific story and screenplay.

[Ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting, if not underdeveloped.

[Mscharlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the actual screenplay of the movie. I read it on one day. Good read but hard to find.

[Jen Gough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Screen plays are not my favorite past times!