British filmmaker Sir John Boorman has made some great movies over the decades. His credits include Point Blank, Excalibur, the Best Picture nominated Deliverance, the Best Picture nominated Hope and Glory, and The Tailor of Panama. He also made the famous turkey Zardoz, but at least that movie has a strong cult following. The Boorman movie that gets the most grief is the one that was a sequel to one of the most popular movies of all-time. He made Exorcist II: The Heretic. Director David Kittredge digs into that messy situation with the documentary Boorman and the Devil, which has been making the festival rounds and earning positive reviews recently, but hasn’t managed to secure a distribution deal yet.
Sure, Exorcist II: The Heretic isn’t a well-liked movie, but I’m sure that a lot of genre fans would be interested in watching Boorman and the Devil to find out how the movie came out the way it did. Distributors need to snatch this one up.
Directed by Boorman from a screenplay by William Goodhart, Exorcist II: The Heretic has the following synopsis: Owing to his experience with exorcisms, Father Lamont is chosen by his superiors to investigate the death of Father Merrin, who died during the exorcism of young Regan MacNeil. Lamont finds Regan under the psychiatric care of Dr. Tuskin. By hypnotizing the girl, he is able to learn that Merrin previously exorcised the same demon from a boy in Africa. Hoping for answers, Lamont travels to Africa in search of the youth. Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, Kitty Winn, Paul Henreid, and James Earl Jones star.
The Hollywood Reporter‘s review of Boorman and the Devil says, “Whatever your take, the crazy story behind Exorcist II: The Heretic is ultimately one of nostalgia — for a time when ambitious filmmakers like Boorman could go to Hollywood and commit ‘the sin of hubris,’ and then go to hell for it.” The IndieWire reviewer wrote, “David Kittredge delivers a dazzling reflection on the career of John Boorman in the documentary Boorman and the Devil, a robust reframing of the legendary director’s Exorcist II: The Heretic, as strange and poetic as the disastrous 1977 production itself.” Our friends at Bloody Disgusting: “Boorman and the Devil is absolutely everything that you’d want from an Exorcist II deep dive reclamation. Kittredge’s thorough exploration of this title is evident, and compelling information is put together in an impressive, comprehensive package that avoids many of the standard talking head documentary pitfalls. It’s also surprisingly funny.” And Deadline: “The fact no one has picked up this exceptional docu from director David Kittredge is baffling, leading me to think somehow it is cursed, much the same way the original Exorcist was thought to be while in production. Not only is this docu entertaining, it is also a great primer on the film business, then and now, and is easily one of the best movies about the making — and unmaking — of a movie I have ever seen.”
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