Extended version of ‘The Exorcist’ to debut on Blu-ray

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is celebrating the 40th anniversary of William Friedkin’s horror film “The Exorcist” with a Blu-ray release featuring the theatrical version and an extended director’s cut.

The new release of the blockbuster, which won Oscars for William Peter Blatty’s screenplay (based on his novel) and for sound, arrives Oct. 8 in anticipation of Halloween.

“After my initial cut, I took out 12 minutes before I released it in theaters,” Friedkin said in a statement released Thursday. “Years later, Bill Blatty asked if I would review some of the rejected footage (which he always felt should have remained) with an eye towards putting it back in the new version. In so doing I believe we strengthened the spiritual aspects of the film.”

A terrifying tale of the fight between good and evil, “The Exorcist” stars Linda Blair as a young girl who becomes possessed by a particularly foul-mouthed devil, Ellen Burstyn as her actress mother, Jason Miller as a priest who is called into investigate, and Max von Sydow as the title character.

This release will also include two new featurettes: “Beyond Comprehension: William Peter Blatty’s ‘The Exorcist’ ” and “Talk to the Devil,” as well as an excerpt from the director’s book “The Friedkin Connection: A Memoir.”

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