MovieChat Forums > Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) Discussion > The Exorcist II VHS cut

The Exorcist II VHS cut

posted 8 years ago by Santodemeo
5 replies | jump to latest

For added laughs to this already dreadful mess of a film I would encourage any of you who have not seen the original VHS cut to try and find a copy on ebay; I was able to find one effortlessly several years ago. The movie begins with narration by Father Lamont and includes more close-ups of Richard Burton with his blank, catatonic expressions. It's quite hilarious. I'm surprised that part III, which I consider to be a great complement to the original, wasn't looked at as the next Casablanca after this absurdity. Find that VHS copy and enjoy ;)

[–] bluedionysus 7 years ago

Honestly, I don't recommend the truncated version of THE HERETIC (despite being the one I grew up watching during the '80s and '90s.) Boorman scrambled to re-cut the film after the downright hostility of its initial reception... and only made things worse! Yes, it's shorter - and that's a huge part of the problem. Key moments are cut and re-arranged; so, if you're looking for coherence, forget about it - the VHS edit is much more confusing. I'm glad it's out-of-print.

[–] AFriendOfMrWhite 7 years ago

Not only that - if I'm not mistaken, one of the scenes that Boorman cut was the dialogue between Richard Burton and Paul Henreid, when they go into detail about the Church's suspicions around Merrin. So you end up not knowing what does "The Heretic" stand for in the title.

[–] bluedionysus 7 years ago

Agreed - one of the more badly hurt scenes.

Also, the final 20 minutes. Severely and badly truncated.

[–] heyteegs (1207) 2 years ago

That sounds like the alternative opening in the DVD.

[–] GetWokeGoBroke (646) 2 years ago

No need for the VHS since that version is on the newer Scream Factory blu ray and remastered in 2K.