Ellen-Burstyn Movie Reviews

The plot should be familiar to just about everyone. Linda Blair, in a truly remarkable performance, plays Regan MacNeil, the sweet and innocent twelve-year-old daughter of actress Chris McNeil (Ellen Burstyn) who becomes possessed by a demon. Jason Miller is Father Karras, a Jesuit priest battling his own demons of guilt over his mother's final days on earth and starting to lose his faith at the constant scenes of misery he sees all around him. After all medical and psychiatric tests and treatments fail to stop Regan's utter deterioration into a disturbed abomination of a child, Chris contacts Father Karras in an effort to arrange an exorcism. Max von Sydow plays Father Merrin, the pinnacle of good in this film who has battled this demon before and won; he is the exorcist in this ultimate battle of good versus evil.

The Exorcist truly is a powerful movie experience, filled with several of the most shocking scenes to ever appear on film. I was surprised that so many of the more controversial aspects of the story actually made it from novel to screen, especially in the original 1973 incarnation of the film. It's really impossible for me to say which is better, the film or the novel. There are several subplots and very significant details in the novel that did not make it to the big screen, and a few little things in the movie are hard to interpret outside the context of the novel. Among the most disturbing images in this film are those of the medical tests Regan undergoes after the onset of her problems. I find it much easier to watch the most graphic scenes wherein the demon within Regan attacks her and those around her, although Regan's appearance is shockingly horrible in the later stages of her possession. The demonic manifestations and exorcism are done extremely well in the movie; Friedkin did a much more powerful and convincing job than my own imagination in terms of showing the demonic manifestations. The movie adds several things to the exorcism itself that do not appear in the novel and, by and large, gives the exorcism itself more prevalence than Blatty himself did, yet it also manages to capture and express quite well the inner struggle and soul-rending doubts and fears of Father Karras. This inner struggle of good vs evil, of faith vs hopelessness strikes me as the heart of this story, and the movie communicates this surprisingly well.

The added scenes in this updated version of the film are crucial to the integrity of the story, though there are of course other fans who will argue that the new scenes do damage to the power and vision of the original. The film is just too rushed without the new footage, and the original film strikes a discordant note with Blatty's authorial vision. The most memorable scene that, until now, was not shown in the movie was the spiderwalk scene wherein Regan climbs down the stairs in an impossible and deliciously creepy position; I can't imagine for the life of me how that scene could have been left out of the original film. I had several questions along these lines, so I made it a point to listen to the film's commentary by director William Friedkin. Friedkin's initial discussion of the filming of the opening scene in Iraq is fascinating, but throughout the rest of the film he does little more than summarize what is happening, oftentimes quoting characters line for line. I think he makes a couple of misstatements about what we are seeing, and much to my surprise he offers motivations for the characters that I disagree with rather strongly. He tells us nothing about the making of the film, offers no praise for Linda Blair, says nothing about the ways in which the demonic scenes were produced, and mentions the new additions to the film only in passing if at all. There is very little "making of" material among all the DVD features, which is the one disappointment I take with me from this release of what is arguably the most significant and famous horror movie ever made.

The plot should be familiar to just about everyone. Linda Blair, in a truly remarkable performance, plays Regan MacNeil, the sweet and innocent twelve-year-old daughter of actress Chris McNeil (Ellen Burstyn) who becomes possessed by a demon. Jason Miller is Father Karras, a Jesuit priest battling his own demons of guilt over his mother's final days on earth and starting to lose his faith at the constant scenes of misery he sees all around him. After all medical and psychiatric tests and treatments fail to stop Regan's utter deterioration into a disturbed abomination of a child, Chris contacts Father Karras in an effort to arrange an exorcism. Max von Sydow plays Father Merrin, the pinnacle of good in this film who has battled this demon before and won; he is the exorcist in this ultimate battle of good versus evil.

The Exorcist truly is a powerful movie experience, filled with several of the most shocking scenes to ever appear on film. I was surprised that so many of the more controversial aspects of the story actually made it from novel to screen, especially in the original 1973 incarnation of the film. It's really impossible for me to say which is better, the film or the novel. There are several subplots and very significant details in the novel that did not make it to the big screen, and a few little things in the movie are hard to interpret outside the context of the novel. Among the most disturbing images in this film are those of the medical tests Regan undergoes after the onset of her problems. I find it much easier to watch the most graphic scenes wherein the demon within Regan attacks her and those around her, although Regan's appearance is shockingly horrible in the later stages of her possession. The demonic manifestations and exorcism are done extremely well in the movie; Friedkin did a much more powerful and convincing job than my own imagination in terms of showing the demonic manifestations. The movie adds several things to the exorcism itself that do not appear in the novel and, by and large, gives the exorcism itself more prevalence than Blatty himself did, yet it also manages to capture and express quite well the inner struggle and soul-rending doubts and fears of Father Karras. This inner struggle of good vs evil, of faith vs hopelessness strikes me as the heart of this story, and the movie communicates this surprisingly well.

The added scenes in this updated version of the film are crucial to the integrity of the story, though there are of course other fans who will argue that the new scenes do damage to the power and vision of the original. The film is just too rushed without the new footage, and the original film strikes a discordant note with Blatty's authorial vision. The most memorable scene that, until now, was not shown in the movie was the spiderwalk scene wherein Regan climbs down the stairs in an impossible and deliciously creepy position; I can't imagine for the life of me how that scene could have been left out of the original film. I had several questions along these lines, so I made it a point to listen to the film's commentary by director William Friedkin. Friedkin's initial discussion of the filming of the opening scene in Iraq is fascinating, but throughout the rest of the film he does little more than summarize what is happening, oftentimes quoting characters line for line. I think he makes a couple of misstatements about what we are seeing, and much to my surprise he offers motivations for the characters that I disagree with rather strongly. He tells us nothing about the making of the film, offers no praise for Linda Blair, says nothing about the ways in which the demonic scenes were produced, and mentions the new additions to the film only in passing if at all. There is very little "making of" material among all the DVD features, which is the one disappointment I take with me from this release of what is arguably the most significant and famous horror movie ever made.

The plot should be familiar to just about everyone. Linda Blair, in a truly remarkable performance, plays Regan MacNeil, the sweet and innocent twelve-year-old daughter of actress Chris McNeil (Ellen Burstyn) who becomes possessed by a demon. Jason Miller is Father Karras, a Jesuit priest battling his own demons of guilt over his mother's final days on earth and starting to lose his faith at the constant scenes of misery he sees all around him. After all medical and psychiatric tests and treatments fail to stop Regan's utter deterioration into a disturbed abomination of a child, Chris contacts Father Karras in an effort to arrange an exorcism. Max von Sydow plays Father Merrin, the pinnacle of good in this film who has battled this demon before and won; he is the exorcist in this ultimate battle of good versus evil.

The Exorcist truly is a powerful movie experience, filled with several of the most shocking scenes to ever appear on film. I was surprised that so many of the more controversial aspects of the story actually made it from novel to screen, especially in the original 1973 incarnation of the film. It's really impossible for me to say which is better, the film or the novel. There are several subplots and very significant details in the novel that did not make it to the big screen, and a few little things in the movie are hard to interpret outside the context of the novel. Among the most disturbing images in this film are those of the medical tests Regan undergoes after the onset of her problems. I find it much easier to watch the most graphic scenes wherein the demon within Regan attacks her and those around her, although Regan's appearance is shockingly horrible in the later stages of her possession. The demonic manifestations and exorcism are done extremely well in the movie; Friedkin did a much more powerful and convincing job than my own imagination in terms of showing the demonic manifestations. The movie adds several things to the exorcism itself that do not appear in the novel and, by and large, gives the exorcism itself more prevalence than Blatty himself did, yet it also manages to capture and express quite well the inner struggle and soul-rending doubts and fears of Father Karras. This inner struggle of good vs evil, of faith vs hopelessness strikes me as the heart of this story, and the movie communicates this surprisingly well.

The added scenes in this updated version of the film are crucial to the integrity of the story, though there are of course other fans who will argue that the new scenes do damage to the power and vision of the original. The film is just too rushed without the new footage, and the original film strikes a discordant note with Blatty's authorial vision. The most memorable scene that, until now, was not shown in the movie was the spiderwalk scene wherein Regan climbs down the stairs in an impossible and deliciously creepy position; I can't imagine for the life of me how that scene could have been left out of the original film. I had several questions along these lines, so I made it a point to listen to the film's commentary by director William Friedkin. Friedkin's initial discussion of the filming of the opening scene in Iraq is fascinating, but throughout the rest of the film he does little more than summarize what is happening, oftentimes quoting characters line for line. I think he makes a couple of misstatements about what we are seeing, and much to my surprise he offers motivations for the characters that I disagree with rather strongly. He tells us nothing about the making of the film, offers no praise for Linda Blair, says nothing about the ways in which the demonic scenes were produced, and mentions the new additions to the film only in passing if at all. There is very little "making of" material among all the DVD features, which is the one disappointment I take with me from this release of what is arguably the most significant and famous horror movie ever made.

The plot should be familiar to just about everyone. Linda Blair, in a truly remarkable performance, plays Regan MacNeil, the sweet and innocent twelve-year-old daughter of actress Chris McNeil (Ellen Burstyn) who becomes possessed by a demon. Jason Miller is Father Karras, a Jesuit priest battling his own demons of guilt over his mother's final days on earth and starting to lose his faith at the constant scenes of misery he sees all around him. After all medical and psychiatric tests and treatments fail to stop Regan's utter deterioration into a disturbed abomination of a child, Chris contacts Father Karras in an effort to arrange an exorcism. Max von Sydow plays Father Merrin, the pinnacle of good in this film who has battled this demon before and won; he is the exorcist in this ultimate battle of good versus evil.

The Exorcist truly is a powerful movie experience, filled with several of the most shocking scenes to ever appear on film. I was surprised that so many of the more controversial aspects of the story actually made it from novel to screen, especially in the original 1973 incarnation of the film. It's really impossible for me to say which is better, the film or the novel. There are several subplots and very significant details in the novel that did not make it to the big screen, and a few little things in the movie are hard to interpret outside the context of the novel. Among the most disturbing images in this film are those of the medical tests Regan undergoes after the onset of her problems. I find it much easier to watch the most graphic scenes wherein the demon within Regan attacks her and those around her, although Regan's appearance is shockingly horrible in the later stages of her possession. The demonic manifestations and exorcism are done extremely well in the movie; Friedkin did a much more powerful and convincing job than my own imagination in terms of showing the demonic manifestations. The movie adds several things to the exorcism itself that do not appear in the novel and, by and large, gives the exorcism itself more prevalence than Blatty himself did, yet it also manages to capture and express quite well the inner struggle and soul-rending doubts and fears of Father Karras. This inner struggle of good vs evil, of faith vs hopelessness strikes me as the heart of this story, and the movie communicates this surprisingly well.

The added scenes in this updated version of the film are crucial to the integrity of the story, though there are of course other fans who will argue that the new scenes do damage to the power and vision of the original. The film is just too rushed without the new footage, and the original film strikes a discordant note with Blatty's authorial vision. The most memorable scene that, until now, was not shown in the movie was the spiderwalk scene wherein Regan climbs down the stairs in an impossible and deliciously creepy position; I can't imagine for the life of me how that scene could have been left out of the original film. I had several questions along these lines, so I made it a point to listen to the film's commentary by director William Friedkin. Friedkin's initial discussion of the filming of the opening scene in Iraq is fascinating, but throughout the rest of the film he does little more than summarize what is happening, oftentimes quoting characters line for line. I think he makes a couple of misstatements about what we are seeing, and much to my surprise he offers motivations for the characters that I disagree with rather strongly. He tells us nothing about the making of the film, offers no praise for Linda Blair, says nothing about the ways in which the demonic scenes were produced, and mentions the new additions to the film only in passing if at all. There is very little "making of" material among all the DVD features, which is the one disappointment I take with me from this release of what is arguably the most significant and famous horror movie ever made.

The plot should be familiar to just about everyone. Linda Blair, in a truly remarkable performance, plays Regan MacNeil, the sweet and innocent twelve-year-old daughter of actress Chris McNeil (Ellen Burstyn) who becomes possessed by a demon. Jason Miller is Father Karras, a Jesuit priest battling his own demons of guilt over his mother's final days on earth and starting to lose his faith at the constant scenes of misery he sees all around him. After all medical and psychiatric tests and treatments fail to stop Regan's utter deterioration into a disturbed abomination of a child, Chris contacts Father Karras in an effort to arrange an exorcism. Max von Sydow plays Father Merrin, the pinnacle of good in this film who has battled this demon before and won; he is the exorcist in this ultimate battle of good versus evil.

The Exorcist truly is a powerful movie experience, filled with several of the most shocking scenes to ever appear on film. I was surprised that so many of the more controversial aspects of the story actually made it from novel to screen, especially in the original 1973 incarnation of the film. It's really impossible for me to say which is better, the film or the novel. There are several subplots and very significant details in the novel that did not make it to the big screen, and a few little things in the movie are hard to interpret outside the context of the novel. Among the most disturbing images in this film are those of the medical tests Regan undergoes after the onset of her problems. I find it much easier to watch the most graphic scenes wherein the demon within Regan attacks her and those around her, although Regan's appearance is shockingly horrible in the later stages of her possession. The demonic manifestations and exorcism are done extremely well in the movie; Friedkin did a much more powerful and convincing job than my own imagination in terms of showing the demonic manifestations. The movie adds several things to the exorcism itself that do not appear in the novel and, by and large, gives the exorcism itself more prevalence than Blatty himself did, yet it also manages to capture and express quite well the inner struggle and soul-rending doubts and fears of Father Karras. This inner struggle of good vs evil, of faith vs hopelessness strikes me as the heart of this story, and the movie communicates this surprisingly well.

The added scenes in this updated version of the film are crucial to the integrity of the story, though there are of course other fans who will argue that the new scenes do damage to the power and vision of the original. The film is just too rushed without the new footage, and the original film strikes a discordant note with Blatty's authorial vision. The most memorable scene that, until now, was not shown in the movie was the spiderwalk scene wherein Regan climbs down the stairs in an impossible and deliciously creepy position; I can't imagine for the life of me how that scene could have been left out of the original film. I had several questions along these lines, so I made it a point to listen to the film's commentary by director William Friedkin. Friedkin's initial discussion of the filming of the opening scene in Iraq is fascinating, but throughout the rest of the film he does little more than summarize what is happening, oftentimes quoting characters line for line. I think he makes a couple of misstatements about what we are seeing, and much to my surprise he offers motivations for the characters that I disagree with rather strongly. He tells us nothing about the making of the film, offers no praise for Linda Blair, says nothing about the ways in which the demonic scenes were produced, and mentions the new additions to the film only in passing if at all. There is very little "making of" material among all the DVD features, which is the one disappointment I take with me from this release of what is arguably the most significant and famous horror movie ever made.

The plot should be familiar to just about everyone. Linda Blair, in a truly remarkable performance, plays Regan MacNeil, the sweet and innocent twelve-year-old daughter of actress Chris McNeil (Ellen Burstyn) who becomes possessed by a demon. Jason Miller is Father Karras, a Jesuit priest battling his own demons of guilt over his mother's final days on earth and starting to lose his faith at the constant scenes of misery he sees all around him. After all medical and psychiatric tests and treatments fail to stop Regan's utter deterioration into a disturbed abomination of a child, Chris contacts Father Karras in an effort to arrange an exorcism. Max von Sydow plays Father Merrin, the pinnacle of good in this film who has battled this demon before and won; he is the exorcist in this ultimate battle of good versus evil.

The Exorcist truly is a powerful movie experience, filled with several of the most shocking scenes to ever appear on film. I was surprised that so many of the more controversial aspects of the story actually made it from novel to screen, especially in the original 1973 incarnation of the film. It's really impossible for me to say which is better, the film or the novel. There are several subplots and very significant details in the novel that did not make it to the big screen, and a few little things in the movie are hard to interpret outside the context of the novel. Among the most disturbing images in this film are those of the medical tests Regan undergoes after the onset of her problems. I find it much easier to watch the most graphic scenes wherein the demon within Regan attacks her and those around her, although Regan's appearance is shockingly horrible in the later stages of her possession. The demonic manifestations and exorcism are done extremely well in the movie; Friedkin did a much more powerful and convincing job than my own imagination in terms of showing the demonic manifestations. The movie adds several things to the exorcism itself that do not appear in the novel and, by and large, gives the exorcism itself more prevalence than Blatty himself did, yet it also manages to capture and express quite well the inner struggle and soul-rending doubts and fears of Father Karras. This inner struggle of good vs evil, of faith vs hopelessness strikes me as the heart of this story, and the movie communicates this surprisingly well.

The added scenes in this updated version of the film are crucial to the integrity of the story, though there are of course other fans who will argue that the new scenes do damage to the power and vision of the original. The film is just too rushed without the new footage, and the original film strikes a discordant note with Blatty's authorial vision. The most memorable scene that, until now, was not shown in the movie was the spiderwalk scene wherein Regan climbs down the stairs in an impossible and deliciously creepy position; I can't imagine for the life of me how that scene could have been left out of the original film. I had several questions along these lines, so I made it a point to listen to the film's commentary by director William Friedkin. Friedkin's initial discussion of the filming of the opening scene in Iraq is fascinating, but throughout the rest of the film he does little more than summarize what is happening, oftentimes quoting characters line for line. I think he makes a couple of misstatements about what we are seeing, and much to my surprise he offers motivations for the characters that I disagree with rather strongly. He tells us nothing about the making of the film, offers no praise for Linda Blair, says nothing about the ways in which the demonic scenes were produced, and mentions the new additions to the film only in passing if at all. There is very little "making of" material among all the DVD features, which is the one disappointment I take with me from this release of what is arguably the most significant and famous horror movie ever made.

Playing By Heart is a relationship movie. It's also billed as a romantic comedy on the video jacket. I beg to differ. It's a drama if I've ever seen one. Playing By Heart deals with some very complex relationship issues in a direct, honest manner. The intensity of the relationship formats is engrossing.

The movie is set up in a variety of pairings, not all of which are romantically linked. The relationships that are romantic, represent a wide spectrum of ages, and stages in such a relationship.

We meet Hannah (Gena Rowlands) and Paul (Sean Connery). They've been married forty years. Their relationship is in a state of flux almost from the very start of the movie. Their story is evidence that, even after all those years of marriage, there are things to discover about your spouse. The notion that Paul might still be carrying a torch for an old flame is a bone of contention between he and Hannah. One example of their combativeness is when Paul remarks, "It's been almost twenty-four hours since we traded barbs. We don't want to get rusty do we?"

Then there's Joan (Angelina Jolie) and Keenan (Ryan Phillippe). They are the young, wild twenty-somethings who discover each other in the L.A. club scene. Keenan is withdrawn and anti-social where Joan is boisterous and the poster child for high drama, her every life event intensely scrutinized for anyone who will listen. Joan keeps doing her level best to work her way into Keenan's life while he puts forth the same effort pushing her away. At one point, he finally tells her, "This isn't anything. This will never be anything." Meredith (Gillian Anderson), on the other hand, pushes men away because of a long history of being burned in relationships, or as she puts it, "scalded repeatedly". She is a theatre director who has been keeping herself consumed with work, but when she pulls a bookshelf down on herself at the library, an architect named Trent uses the opportunity to ask her out on a date.

He maintains that, "I'm not just asking you out to dinner as a preemptive strike against litigation." Despite her steadfastness to the contrary, she accepts, saying, "Anyone who can say preemptive strike against litigation with a straight face deserves a dinner companion."

Theirs becomes a rollercoaster relationship of her pushing him away and him not accepting her attempts to shut him out. Meredith makes some interesting observations about the dating process that anyone who is dating or has ever dated may find refreshingly honest. So much of the dating process is calculated artificiality. She even admits to Trent, that before their first date, she had been on the phone with her sister coming up with a psychological profile for him.

Perhaps the most intense relationship in the movie is a mother-son pairing. Mildred (Ellen Burstyn) is the mother to a gay son, Mark (Jay Mohr). He is in the hospital dying of, it is assumed, AIDS. His final wishes are to start their relationship over, being honest with each other and sharing some of their thoughts with each other. She, and the rest of Mark's family, had been in denial about his being gay, and he doesn't want his last days to be full of her denial about his dying. Some powerful and moving scenes between them.

As a mother with sons, the most moving moment was when he asked her to tell him a story. He wants to hear the last part of "Goodnight Moon". My boys have this book. We read it quite often. The thought of speaking those words to one of them as they lay dying in my arms tore through my heart. She also reflects on the time she was pregnant with him. These are instances that all you moms out there will be hard-pressed not to have tears streaming down your cheeks.

Among the other characters are Gracie (Madeleine Stowe) and Roger (Anthony Edwards), who are both married and having an affair. There is also Hugh (Dennis Quaid), who spends his nights going from bar to bar, telling tall tales of woe to any woman who will listen to him. Their relationships are evidence of the understanding one tries to have about what they are doing and why.

Why do some people love each other? How does it happen? Joan considers something a friend had told her once. "Talking about love is like dancing about architecture." She maintains that, however true that statement is, she's still going to try to talk about love anyway. On the flip side, Paul recalls the advice Joan had given their children about falling in love. "The wonderful thing about falling in love is you learn everything about that person and so quickly. And if it's true love, then you start to see yourself through their eyes. And it brings out the best in you. It's almost as if you're falling in love with yourself."

Playing By Heart is honest and genuine. Some of the honesty manifests itself in some big-time swearing and sexual innuendo, hence the "R" rating. It's a drama in the sense that relationships are dramas with light-hearted comedic moments to equal the playing field. It's about falling in love. It's about not wanting to fall in love but falling in love anyway.

An amazing star cast, a theme that will have you guessing until the end how all the entertaining but diverse vignettes are connected, some very mature and intelligent humour, and above all some enchantingly memorable and sincere dialog about life, relationships, love.

Mind you, none of the characters is in a simple straightforward predicament. Angelina Jolie especially pitches in an absolutely stunning performance, although everyone is convincing and memorable in their role.

What a cleverly crafted movie. You know the satisfaction you feel when you've just had a complete meal, that's what I'll bet you'll feel.

Highly recommended absorbing film, for *owning*, not just for seeing once. It's one of those.

Don't have much to say about the movie - loved it when it first came out and still do! Hence the five stars!

Even if you remove the topic of alcoholism completely, you can see how the movie deals with issues like what happens when the person you are married to is no longer the person you married? What do you do when someone you love is hiding things not just from others but from themselves? What issues come up when a couple starts to see a licensed practitioner? What is it like to enter a support group, especially when you have judgments about the types of people that make up the support group?

I would have given this movie five stars if not for my personal distaste for Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia. But this movie really opened my eyes, and perhaps more importantly, my heart, and I would recommend it to anyone who has experienced a troubled relationship, due to alcohol or not.

Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan gave wonderful performances as Alice and Michael Green. I thought this movie showed a very realistic look at alcoholism and the effects on a family. Andy, as Michael, the ever caring, loving, devoted husband looking after his girls, and not seeing a problem exists. Meg, as Alice, insecure and able to hide her drinking from everyone but her children, Jess and Casey. When Alice is forced to face her demons, everyone has to come to grips with their own insecurities and the truth.

"When a Man Loves a Woman", it's amazing what the outcome can be!