Guide Note:

Based on the William Peter Blatty novel, The Exorcist is a 1973 film starring Linda Blair as a young girl possessed by a demon of awesome power and the attempts by two priests, played by Max von Sydow and Jason Miller, to drive the demon out. The film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won two: Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound.

Fast Facts

1. Academy Awards: 2
2. Based on a book by William Peter Blatty
3. Nominated for Best Picture, but lost to The Sting
4. Other Oscar nominations: Jason Miller for Best Actor, Ellen Burstyn for Best Actress, Linda Blair for Best Supporting Actress, William Friedkin for Best Director
5. William Friedkin had previously won Best Director for The French Connection
6. Book based on real-life exorcism conducted by Catholic Church

Ellen Burstyn plays Chris McNeil, a well-to-do actress who recently moved to Washington DC with her 12-year old daughter, Regan (Linda Blair). Strange occurrences in their new Georgetown home increase, until Regan begins playing with a Ouija board and claims she can communicate with spirits. Soon, Regan begins levitating and breaking out in lesions in her room, and doctors run a battery of painful tests (including a horrifying spinal tap) to discover what is wrong with the girl. Young disenchanted priest Damien Karras (Jason Miller) is drawn into the case and calls in "the exorcist", Father Merrin (Max von Sydow).