Release Date
August 20, 2004
DVD Release Date
March 1, 2005 (Buy on Amazon)
Director
Renny Harlin, Paul Schrader
Writer
Caleb Carr, William Wisher Jr, Skip Woods, Alexi Hawley
Cast
Stellan Skarsgaard, Gabriel Mann, Billy Crawford, Clara Bellar, Ilario Bisi-Pedro, Ralph Brown, Andrew French, Antonie Kamerling, Alessandra Martines, Eddie Osei, Julian Wadham
Studio
Running Time
115 minutes
MPA Rating
Rated R for strong violence and gore, disturbing images and rituals, and for language including some sexual dialogue
What is Exorcist: The Beginning about?
Father Lankester Merrin thinks that he has glimpsed the face of Evil. In the years following World War II, Merrin (STELLAN SKARSGÅRD) is relentlessly haunted by memories of the unspeakable brutality perpetrated against the innocent people of his parish. In the wake of all he has seen, both his faith in his fellow man and his faith in the Almighty have deserted him. He can no longer honestly call himself a man of God.
Merrin has... Full synopsis »
MOVIE REVIEW
You've all heard the stories about how Paul Schrader made "Exorcist: The Beginning," submitted the film for approval and was then fired because it was too psychological and not gory enough. So, instead of cutting their losses and releasing the movie as is, Warner Brothers decided to waste more money (on a prequel that was destined to fail no matter how good) by rewriting and re-shooting 90% of the film with a different director. Who did they hire? Why, none other than Renny Harlin, the genius behind such films as "Driven," "Cutthroat Island" and "The Long Kiss Goodnight." It all makes perfect sense. Full movie review »
