Friday, April 26,1974
University Daily Kansan
7
'Exorcist' Is Contrived But Scary
BY CAROL GWINN
Kansas Reviewer
"The Exorcist" is a grusome assault on the central nervous system of the viewer. It leaves little to the imagination. Each scene—whether of the possessed child, Regan, slowly creaking her head completely around, or of her spewing churchette bleu onto the purple stole of one of the women, Jennifer Lainn, or of her bloody self-mutilation with a large silver cross is presented with an overabundance of exhausting detail.
For many the movie is nothing more than an endurance test. The viewer is forced to cope with the psychological effects of both the supernatural phenomena of possession and exorcism and the ugly, intentionally revolting scenes of obscene violence.
The major flaw of the movie is the lack of substitution for many of these scenes. There are too many characters, too much action, too much storytelling.
clear, and, as a result, characterization is poor. The relationship between Regan's mother, Chris, and the first victim of the attack was that many viewers never knew who was killed.
The relationship between Father Karras, the psychiatrist-priest originally called on to help Regan, and his dying mother is also never clarified, so the guilt feelings Karras has about allowing his mother to remain in the ghetto, which have major repercussions during the exorcism, are not adequately explained. At one point in the movie, Karras never prized that he thinks he is losing his faith. This is never brought up again.
And the reason that Merrin, the old priest who has been called because of his experience in performing exorcisms in the Middle East, is fighting the devil is as uncle and mysterious as the devil's choice of the 12-year-old Regan for possession. All
the viewer knows of Merrin is that he has worked in the digs in the Middle East, has a heart condition for which he is on some sort of medication and has an aptitude for almost getting run down on narrow Iranian streets.
Max von Sydow does a remarkable job portraying the self-assured old priest, his diposition of Merrin is based entirely on the script he has created, and that the script provides for the viewer.
As a result of this lack of characterization, "The Exorcist" is little more than a high-class horror flick, and only the good acting and superb filming of the contortions of the possession keep "The Exorcist" from reaching as well with "The Attack of the 50-Foot Woman."
However, the wells that cover Regen's face and her belaying bulge and eye contour are not covered.
in the atmosphere of mystery and fear that has surrounded the movie since work began on it. Fear in an audience is infectious and the desire to be frightened creates enough noise in most "Exorcist" audiences to shake the building—or at least the audience itself.
At best, the movie may simply be taken as a parapsychological phenomena instead of as an actual possession by the devil. The doctor's skepticism aren't totally discounted, and one of the exorcists is, after all, a psychiatrist.
Linda Blair, as Regan, and Ellen Burstyn,
as her mother, present a credible mother-daughter relationship, unfortunately Regan
and does little more than poke people over
everything in sight and wallop people
across the room. Burstyn is unable to do much with the limited script and eventually
wringer as she goes from doctor to sexist.
Brahms' 4 Symphonies Recorded In Their Entirety for the First Time
By KENN LOUDEN
Kaman Borkunen
Brahms: The Four Symphonies, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Dresden State Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado cond. Deutsche Grammophon (DGG) 2563 229-232.
People have inconsistent priorities. If someone dares to cut part of a controversial movie, they immediately cry censorship. Yet, if a piece of music is cut to accommodate the conductor, they say nothing.
Johannes Brahms died in 1897. For the first time his four symphonies have been recorded without any emissions. This is one of his most important works,udio Abbaado important as well as an
Abbado included all of Brahms' repeat marks when he recorded the symphonies. Perhaps to many people this is purely an academic matter, but Brahms didn't include repeat marks to have them ignored by those trying to shorten a performance.
One need only listen to the music to understand the symphony intentions of Brahms and question why the symphonies haven't been recorded in entirety sooner.
Brahms has often been criticized for adopting the classical sonata form. This form was begun by Hayden and completed by Beethoven. Brahms followed it in all but
his four symphony. Because of his adoption of this form, Brahms has been accused of lacking originality, and this may partially explain why his symphonies haven't been recorded in entirety before now.
Abbado follows Brahms' intentions, and the result is exceptionally satisfying. Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68 is permeated with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73 is performed in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Abbado works perfectly with these two orchestras. The drama of the first symphony is overwhelming; the last one has exceptional stylistic sensitivity. The second is formed with rhythmic verve and excellent instrumental voicing and balance.
Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90 is a disappointment. Abado doesn't have the same importance as Orchestra that he has with the other orchestras. This disc between conductor and orchestra may be partially excused as his son had ever conducted the Dresden orchestra.
But unfamiliarity isn't an excuse for a poor performance. The Symphony in F (Bach's Piano Concerto) is positive. Abbao performs the symphony academically—the symphony lacks sensitivity and appears to be unnecessarily complex. Rather than a peaceful picture, the listener is confronted with a suppositional piece of orchestration.
Symphony No. 4 is lamenting and balladuesque. Abiao performs it with the London Symphony Orchestra, and the two symphonies combine to form a nearly perfect whole.
DGG is the largest recording company in the world. The set of symphonies has no surface noise, thus attesting the excellent quality of DGG records.
Unfortunately, DGG is also the most expensive producer of records. The set hasn't been released but will probably cost about $25. Hopeably, people will still buy or at least have a chance to listen to this important collection.
The movie's emphasis is on the shock effect created by the mutilation of Regan, her iconoclastic shouting against her mother and the church and her boarse croaking, which is reminiscent of and forehadowed by growing, fighting dogs.
"The Exorcist" can be a quite frightening movie if the viewer doesn't find the contortions unrealistic and therefore humorous or think about the show's inconsistencies. For most people, the paranormal is always frightening.
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