Exorcist II – The Heretic (Maybe not the worst sequel ever made)

In 1977, Warner Bros. released the long anticipated sequel to the 1973 blockbuster “The Exorcist”.  Weekend box-office receipts were huge, but the reviews were terrible – so bad that the film was re-edited, then re-released.  The new cuts didn’t help much and the “Exorcist II” died a quick death.

Backstory.  “Exorcist II” was directed by John Boorman, known best for “Deliverance” (1972.)  Boorman hated the original film, said it “wasn’t uplifting”, which may account as to why this one is so different.

Jon Voight was originally cast as Father Lamont.  Voight asked for script changes to make it “more believable.”  After three screenplay revisions, Voight still unsatisfied, quit.  (Star Linda Blair said that with each rewrite, it only became worse.)  Richard Burton replaces him.

Ellen Burstyn (as Chris MacNeil, the possessed girl’s mother) refuses to take part.  Still on board are Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil, Kitty Wynn as Sharon and Max Van Sydow as Father Merrin.

PLOT:  The Catholic Church decides to investigate what killed Father Merrin in an exorcism, sending Father Lamont (Richard Burton.)  Regan MacNeil is now undergoing hypnotherapy with her psychiatrist Dr. Gene Tuskin (Louise Fletcher.)  Father Lamont participates in these sessions and finds that the demon “Pazuzu” still lurks within, prohibiting Regan from her true destiny.

Dr. Tuskin is skeptical.  Major plot point:  Science vs. religion.

Regan, besides being an artist, miraculously heals an autistic girl by briefly speaking with her.  She also has some psychic abilities and is “in synch” with the priest.

Thru flashbacks, it’s revealed that Father Merrin’s previous exorcism was of a boy named Kokumo – a healer in Africa who has the power to drive away locusts.  Lamont comes to the conclusion that it is “great goodness that attracts evil,” in an attempt to destroy it.

Lamont, against the church’s orders, travels to Africa.  He sees that his visions are correct.

Weirdest Scene.  As Regan dances onstage – Father Lamont is attacked by an angry mob.  They think he’s in league with Satan.  Regan feels his pain and goes into seizures.  Lamont barely escapes.

Lamont, with the help of “Ecumenical Edwards” (Ned Beatty) finds Kokumo (James Earl Jones), now a scientist who is breeding a new locust that will resist its destructive tendencies.

“The Good Locust.”

Returning to the states, Lamont meets Regan, they go into synch again, where the spirit of Father Merrin tells him to guard her against evil.  Instead, Lamont takes Regan back to Georgetown, back to where the original exorcism took place.  Dr. Tuskin and Sharon find out and while rushing there, they are met with a plague of locusts.  Their taxi crashes next to the house.

In that house, Lamont meets the second Regan – the evil one.  The demon-possessed twin urges Lamont to kill the good Regan, but he realizes that he must kill the evil one, by “tearing out her heart.”

A larger swarm of locusts descends, smashing into the house.  Lamont kills the evil Regan.  Good Regan begins twirling an instrument thru the air (the same used by Kokumo.) This calms down the locusts.  Lamont and Regan leave, the evil one vanquished.

First, the highpoints.  Camerawork (by William Fraker) is exceptional, some of the shots are starkly beautiful.  Louise Fletcher’s look when she realizes Regan’s drawing foretold the future… Father Lamont’s first meeting Kokumo and when Regan sleepwalks on top of the roof.

Music is by the legendary composer Ennio Morricone.

Some costly set decoration – Regan’s glassy penthouse apartment is remarkable.

Richard Burton’s performance.  By 1977, he was divorced from Liz Taylor and on the wagon, anxious to prove he could still act.  He gives it one hundred percent.

What Went Wrong?  The storyline goes off in too many directions.  The strobe-light hypnosis sessions go on for too long – the effect is irritating.  The idea that the Catholic Church would investigate a four year old exorcism is farfetched.  (Isn’t that a job for the police?)  The grand finale is so over the top, but where else are you going to see Richard Burton tear out Linda Blair’s heart?

The 70’s has been called Hollywood’s Silver Age and it would be fair to say that the “Exorcist II” could only happen in the 70’s.

Text © 2017 – ERN

“Eyes Wide Shut” – Original 3 Hour Director’s Cut

A framed image of a nude couple kissing – she with her eye open – against a purple background. Below the picture frame are the film's credits.  Due to increased interest in this article, further content has been added in RED text.

In the special features section, on the “Eyes Wide Shut” DVD, there are three interviews, labeled under “Cast & Crew”.  Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Steven Spielberg.  (Why is Spielberg listed as a crew member?  Because he helped cut the missing 29 minutes.)

Contrary to what Warner Bros. execs said at the time, they were not “delighted” with the original version of “Eyes Wide Shut”.  They didn’t like it, didn’t understand it and wanted cuts.  Director Stanley Kubrick said “no,” (he had final authority), until he was found dead four days later from a heart attack.

Edited scene:  Originally, Alice does have a brief sexual encounter with Sander Szavost at the Christmas party.  (Song follows, titled “Baby did a Bad Thing”.)

Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut (1999): A satirical comedy about an affluent middle-class ...

Sky du Mont as Sander Szavost with Nicole Kidman as Alice.

Edited:  Victor Ziegler (Sydney Pollack) is betraying Bill Harford (Tom Cruise.)  Alice (Nicole Kidman) is being used as a sex slave by the Illuminati-like lodge, and by Ziegler himself.

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Probably the most interesting sequence rumored to be cut is Alice Harford’s dream, which Nicole Kidman mentions indirectly.  The interviewer asks her why did she laugh while sleeping?  Kidman replies, “I was laughing at the imagery of the dream.”  Apparently, her character is a victim of a secret society (the Illuminati) and she’s remembering her MK-Ultra programming thru the dream.

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Warner Bros. were especially disturbed by whatever was in this scene.

Further proof of the cut dream sequence occurs at the film’s conclusion.  At the toy store, Helena Harford (Madison Eginton) picks up a Barbie doll with wings.  In the edited dream, Alice is seen “flying”.  [ILLUMINATI BUTTERFLY SYBOLISM.]

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Helena Harford shows mother an image of her other half.

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Not edited, but not easily understood are the final scenes.  The daughter appears separated from her parents, while Alice keeps Bill occupied in conversation.  (As their daughter is being taken away by the secret society.)


Nicole Kidman said she’s seen the movie twice.  Is this a hint, i.e., once the original, twice, the cut version?

Of the three interviewed, she’s the only one who cries, saying Kubrick’s death “seemed wrong” and “that he had more to say.”

Tom Cruise describes his director as a “magical, wonderful guy.”

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Tom Cruise with director Stanley Kubrick.

“Eyes Wide Shut”, three years in the making, was wearing on Cruise, who both “dreaded and looked forward to ending” the Dr. Bill Harford character.  Kubrick said, “Every scene, every moment, has to be earned.”  Cruise asks, “Just tell me how long is this gonna take?  Two years?”  Kubrick laughed, saying, “Tom, if it took that long, then everything they say about us is true!”  When asked about his death, Cruise replies that he had great concern for the movie – another indication that he was telling us something happened to “Eyes Wide Shut” after the director died.

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Stanley Kubrick & Steven Spielberg

The Salieri of the piece is Steven Spielberg, who doesn’t talk about “Eyes Wide Shut” at all.  He mentions that he didn’t like “The Shining” at first, that Jack Nicholson’s performance was “Kabuki theater”; however, “Stanley’s films grow on you over time.”  For him, Kubrick’s best gifts were “his friendship” and “his impeccable craft, his compositions, and his films.”

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Sketches for Kubrick’s concept for “A.I.”

In another interview, not on this DVD, Spielberg claims that Kubrick wanted him to direct “A.I.” (Artificial Intelligence.)  Kubrick would produce it.  What most people aren’t aware of is that Spielberg completely rewrote the script Kubrick wrote.  “A.I” (based on the short story “Summer Toys Last All Summer Long” by Brian Aldiss.)  “A.I.” was headed for darker themes, something Steven Spielberg wanted no part of.  Thus, with “A.I.” we have a Disneyized version of an unrealized Stanley Kubrick film.

As for any hope for the missing “Eyes Wide Shut” footage reappearing, it ain’t gonna happen.  The cast, the crew and Kubrick’s family have been sworn to secrecy.  Warners denies there ever were any major cuts.  (There is what is called the “European Version” containing 90 seconds more of orgy footage.)

A positive note:  only Stanley Kubrick would’ve dared make this movie and there are still clues to what can be learned from it.

Eyes Wide Shut (1999) [957 × 1350] by Aleksander Szczepaniak : MoviePosterPorn | Classic horror ...

 

Text ©2017-ERN

ELVIS Films RECUT for DVDs

Generally, a theatrical film isn’t changed for a DVD release.  If it is, the public is warned, “Director’s Cut”, e.g..  Not so for three Elvis Presley movies.

Change of Habit 1969 Poster.jpg  The first and worst example is “Change of Habit” (1969), where the King portrays Dr. John Carpenter, a doctor working in the ghetto.  He is joined by three nuns incognito.  (Mary Tyler Moore, Barbara McNair and Jane Elliot.)  In the plot, Dr. Elvis mistakenly believes the three women are there for abortions, which he refuses.  (It was illegal then.)  The punchline?  He asks them “By the way, was it the same guy?”  This scene was cut by Universal, I presume, so that people don’t know abortion was once considered a bad thing.

Elvisontour.jpg Next, “Elvis on Tour” (1972), is a documentary released by MGM.  Today, it’s owned by Warner Bros.  The original song over the title credits was “Johnny B. Goode”.  It’s been replaced by “Don’t be Cruel”.  Now, we can argue back and forth about Elvis being on something while singing “Johnny B. Goode”.  I don’t care.  Elvis on chemical substances is still ten times better than the singers of today.  “Elvis on Tour” is not the same without this song.

This is elvis.jpg  Finally, “This is Elvis” (1981) is an excellent retrospective of the King’s career:  part documentary-part reenactment.  Towards the conclusion, Elvis sings “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” which has been removed for the “Special Edition” at the request of his estate.  (His ex-wife?  His daughter?)  This song was cut because Elvis forgets the words at one point.  It does show, however, Elvis at the end of his rope, raw and unvarnished.

Likewise, CBS would cut “Unchained Melody” from “Elvis in Concert” (1977), a real shocker.

It is unforgiveable in this day and age to edit out, whitewash, a part of rock and roll history.  If this article does any good, Universal and Warner Bros. will restore these films UNCUT.

Text © 2017 – ERN  (YouTube video is not affiliated with EricReportsNews.)

Illuminati Killings – Stanley Kubrick, Brittany Murphy, Cathriona White

Stanley Kubrick Interview 1966The official cause of death for director Stanley Kubrick was a heart attack while he slept.  What arouses suspicion?  The timing of his death:  a mere three days after screening “Eyes Wide Shut” for Warner Brothers executives who wanted drastic cuts.  Kubrick refused.  Final cut was written in his contract.

7Eyes_Wide_Shut_-_frontThe “Eyes Wide Shut” DVD.  There are three interviews with Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Steven Spielberg.  Cruise is asked what was the first thing he thought when he heard of Kubrick’s death.  Answer:  “I wondered what would happen to the movie.”  Kidman cries, saying, his death didn’t seem like it was real or that it was the right time.  The big question:  What is Spielberg doing there?  Answer:  He was brought in to make the cuts Kubrick refused.

What was removed from “Eyes Wide Shut”?

A.  Nicole Kidman (as Alice Hartford) has a sexual encounter with Sandor Szavost during the first party sequence.  (This is made clear by the song which follows:  “Baby Did a Bad Thing”.)

B.  The Victor Zeigler character (based on Zbigniew Brzezinski) is having an affair with Alice.

C.  Alice’s dream sequence.  (“Alice in Wonderland”, get it?)  She is a victim of MK-Ultra monarch mind control.  (A very real technique used by the CIA.)  This is hinted at in the film’s conclusion – the Barbie doll with wings.

D.  Muddled ending, but it seems that Bill and Alice’s young daughter is the next to be used by the Illuminati.  Is she being kidnapped, while Alice distracts Bill by offering him sex?

Altogether, about a half hour of footage was removed.  Still, enough remains to expose a secret society that silently runs the world.

Note:  Kubrick bases the “Nick Nightingale” character on himself – an entertainer brought in to these Illuminati functions, yet left on the fringes.  (And presumably killed at the end.)

It can be argued that Stanley Kubrick was no longer young when he died.  (Age 70.)  This still doesn’t answer why Warner Brothers would edit his last movie.  Wouldn’t they want a pure, director’s cut for the DVD?  It also doesn’t answer why his family and Cruise/Kidman refuse to answer questions about the original cut.

image précédente d images brittany murphy sin city posté le There are two different versions to the bizarre circumstances of actress Brittany Murphy’s death at the age of 32.

The MSM version:  December 2009.  Ms. Murphy is fired from a movie for bad behavior.  She is reported to be drastically underweight – possibly anorexic and on drugs.  (Unproven.)  Dec. 20.  An ill Murphy passes out in the shower and is discovered by her mother, who calls 9-1-1.  She is rushed to the hospital where she dies two hours later from a heart attack.  Official cause of death:  pneumonia, anemia and a bad combination of over-the-counter drugs.

Angelo Bertololotti (Brittany’s father) conducts a toxicology test on his daughter’s hair and finds extreme amounts of toxic material, possibly from rat poison.

Additionally, Ms. Murphy’s husband Simon Monjack dies five months later from the exact same thing.

Backstory.  Brittany M. had befriended a border patrol agent named Julia Davis who was being prosecuted by the Dept. of Homeland Security.  Ms. Davis had reported major breaches from terrorists on the U.S.-Mexican border.  The DHS decided to ruin Davis for exposing them.  B. Murphy helped Davis with income and legal aid.  Ms. Davis eventually won her case in court.  In the last months of Brittany’s life, she and her husband believed they were being followed and thought their phone was tapped.  Brittany-Murphy-s-Final-Film-Something-Wicked-Gets-First-Trailer-Video-435127-2

In her final movie “Something Wicked”, she appears noticeably ill.  Was death the price she paid for going against the government’s open border policy?

Brittany Murphy's Something Wicked DVD Release Details...

Los Angleles, CA.  September 28, 2015.  Cathriona White (known as Jim Carrey’s girlfriend) is found dead in her home, presumably from suicide.  She is 28 years old.  Pills are found on a bedside table with a suicide note for Carrey.  It reads:  “Jim, I love you.  Please forgive me.  I’m not for this world.”  Also, she had left a last goodbye on her Twitter account on the 24th.  (I don’t believe she wrote either.  It all seems staged.  And why leave the note to someone you just broke up with?)

Cathriona White, namorada do ator Jim Carrey, comete suicídio, diz ...

Jim Carrey issued the following statement:  “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the passing of my sweet Cathriona.  She was a truly kind and delicate Irish flower, too sensitive for this soil, to whom loving and being loved was all that sparkled.  We have all been hit by a lightning bolt.”  (A Satanic reference.)

Cathriona White: Jim Carrey's girlfriend found dead 'days after break ...

Anyone who has seen Jim Carrey in recent years will notice changes.

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It is evident that Jim Carrey is involved in the occult, i.e., Satanism.   “The Number 23” film predicts he will kill his girlfriend.  On SNL, he appears as Baphomet aka the devil.  “In Living Color” the all-seeing eye watches from the background.  On the “Jimmy Kimmel Show”, he openly mocks the Illuminati as the “Illuminutty” and the “all-mocking tongue.”

Leading up to Ms. White death, there had been odd posts sent by Carrey.

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A photo of him giving the middle finger to a bunch of dead flowers.  (He refers to her as a “flower”.)  Or the photo of him saying the sun will never shine without him.

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Did Cathriona know too much about Carrey and his involvement with the Illuminati?  Did she tell the wrong person something about him?  Was she be about to go public and reveal who the real Jim Carrey is?

Text © 2015 – EricReportsNews

EricReports on Movies

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The Ninth Configuration (1980, Warner Bros.)

Author of “The Exorcist”, William Peter Blatty analogy of a madhouse populated by war veterans.  Everything changes when a new head of psychiatry enters:  Col. Vincent “Killer” Kane (Stacy Keach.)

Is he who he says he is?  Scott Wilson co-stars as Capt. Billy Cutshaw, an astronaut who has a complete nervous breakdown right before a moon launch.  Kane must prove to him God exists through a miracle.  Costars Ed Flanders (Col. Fell) and Jason Miller (Lt. Reno.)  Films highlight:  the biker bar confrontation that had audiences screaming with rage.  Anti-climatic ending is beautifully rendered.  Blatty tried for years to get this made with various stars (Charlton Heston, Kirk Douglas.)  Won a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay.  Original title was “Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane”.

Spider Baby  (1964, American General Pictures)

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Weird comedy/horror film concerning the Merrye family; mental regressives who are homicidal.

Stars Jill Banner as Virginia.  (Her best role.  Died at the age of 35 in a tragic car accident.)

Co-stars Beverly Washburn as Elizabeth, Sid Haig as Ralph and Lon Cheney Jr. as “Bruno” their chauffeur and guardian.  Cheney, known for his role in “The Wolfman” (1941), looks dissipated, but manages to bring it all together in a poignant scene that brings Miss Washburn to tears.  Dark-humored farce is not for all tastes.  “Spider Baby” has gained a cult following throughout the years.  A new slightly, longer version is available on a “Special Edition” DVD.

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Twilight’s Last Gleaming  (1977, Allied Artists)

Domestic terrorists take control of a nuclear launching site, threatening to star WWIII, unless the President admits the Vietnam war was fought for no reason.  I don’t agree with the politics of this picture; however, it’s worth seeing for its exciting story, acting, and score by Jerry Goldsmith.  Stars Burt Lancaster, Paul Winfield, Burt Young, Charles Durning, Richard Widmark, Joseph Cotton and Melvyn Douglas.  Directed with gusto by Robert Aldrich.

Dementia aka Daughter of Horror (1955, HPK Productions)

Gritty little nightmare of a woman (Adrienne Barrett) driven to psychosis and murder.  Arty, low-budget, black and white.  Unusual (to say the least) for its time.  Barely seen – has a small following.  Originally titled “Dementia”.  Didn’t pass the censors, so four scenes were cut and the title was changed to “Daughter of Horror”.  Most famously seen briefly in “The Blob” (the theater scene.)  Over the top narration is provided by Ed McMahon.

Twisted Nerve  (1968, British Lion Film Corp.)

Banned from network-TV broadcast for its alleged conclusion that Down’s Syndrome may lead to criminal or violent behavior.  (Denied by the filmmakers.)

Hywel Bennett stars as a pampered mama’s boy who also happen to be a psychotic killer posing a helpless retard.  Trouble follows when he fancies a sexy, young Brit (Hayley Mills.)  Costars Billie Whitelaw (known later for her role in “The Omen”) and Barry Foster (“Frenzy”.)  Both Bennett and Mills previously starred in “The Family Way” (1966), which bares little resemblance to this intense, psychosexual thriller.

Sweeny Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street  (2007, Warner Bros.)

The bloodiest musical you’ll ever see.  Stars an Oscar-nominated Johnny Depp in the title role and Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett (robbed of a nomination.)  Supposedly based on the true story of a barber and his female accomplice who sell meat-pies with a secret ingredient:  people!  The real star of the show is songwriter Stephen Sondheim.  His music is magnificently orchestrated.  Tim Burton’s best film since “Batman” (1989) – stunning visuals.

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This is Elvis  (1981, Warner Bros.)

Part documentary, part recreation of the life of singer-actor Elvis Presley.  Excellent overview for Elvis fans or for those interested in the history of rock ‘n roll.  Contains clips from the 1950’s (raw Elvis), 1960’s (movie star Elvis) and the 1970’s (Vegas Elvis.)

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Catfish  (2010, Universal)

How much do you know about someone you meet on the Internet?  The documentary “Catfish” answers the question.  Young man (“Nev” Schulman) exchanges correspondence with a hot, young chick, then slowly discovers she isn’t who she claims to be.   Disturbing look at how identities can be manipulated.

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See the Man Run  (1971, ABC)

TV-movie about a has-been actor (Robert Culp) and his wife (Angie Dickenson) caught up in a kidnapping plot.  Great role for Culp.  Genuine excitement and suspense.  Twist ending.  Available on YouTube.

Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine  (1966, AIP)

I wish I had such a machine.  Mad Doctor Goldfoot (Vincent Price) releases beautiful robot women for nefarious reasons.  Satire on spy movies with AIP’s bikini starlets thrown in.  Susan Hart never looked better.

Frankie Avalon costars.  Title song sung by Diana Ross and the Supremes.  A sequel followed titled:  “Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs” (1967.)

Text Copyright 2015 – EricReports