Opening Logo Comparison: The Exorcist (1973)

The Exorcist premiered in 1973, opening with the then-current Warner Bros company logo designed by Saul Bass. This carried through to the initial video releases in the early 1980s on VHS, Beta, LaserDisc, and CED VideoDisc. An early 1990s remastered video release replaced the original logo, only for it to reappear on the initial 1997 DVD release of the film. By the 25th anniversary video releases in fall 1998, the opening logo was gone again and the entire exorcism sequence color timing had been drastically overhauled. The 2000 “Version You’ve Never Seen” theatrical release (now referred to as the “Extended Director’s Cut) made further changes to the color timing of the exorcism as well as introducing numerous modifications to the sound mix and including previously deleted footage.
All post-1998 editions of The Exorcist are missing the black-on-red company logo at the beginning and have a completely altered presentation of the exorcism. Even video and streaming releases claiming to be the “original theatrical version” - right up through the 2023 4K UHD Blu-ray release are missing the original company logo and have the revised exorcism scene, which I’ll compare in future videos.

[@crow1994-bl]

Proud owner of the 1997 DVD. Would not watch The Exorcist any other way.