Posted Mon Jul 24, 2023 at 06:43 AM PDT by Matthew Hartman
"Why this film, why only release it in the UK?"
"I think the point is to make collectors despair. To see ourselves as animal and ugly. To make us reject the possibility that Warner Bros. could love us."
Warner Bros. is unleashing William Friedkin's iconic The Exorcist on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray in October (Just in time for Exorcist: Believer). However, in what's becoming an all-too-familiar happening of late in the realm of physical media collecting, the bigger and better deluxe edition release of this high-demand horror classic will be released only overseas. While there's a good chance of Best Buy or some retailer getting a slick SteelBook and maybe a deluxe package option, Warner Bros. has been especially kind to U.K. residents. Zavvi's exclusive "Ultimate Collector's Edition" is already sold out - but right now on Amazon UK, you can pre-order the bigger, better, and fully-packed "Deluxe Edition" ... if you're willing to shell out about $100 USD including shipping.
While we don't have full disc specifics, HDR, Audio, or what-if-any legacy bonus features, we do know that both the original Theatrical Cut and Friedkin's Director's Cut will be included. But to make this set even more epic on a biblical scale, this set features a "unique leather grain outer slipcase and clamshell box" - honestly this looks just like my Catholic grandmother's bible! Inside is a SteelBook case replicating the classic poster art along with a double-sided reproduction poster, Mark Kermode's The Exorcist BFI FIlm Classics book, reproduction lobby cards, art cards, another 40-page booklet, and a sticker of authenticity.
Now the pre-order price on this set is pretty high for a single title, about $89.99 before shipping - but it's certainly a showstopping art piece for any collector's shelf. Comparatively, this is what Zavvi had in their already sold out set:
So it may be a little bit more upfront, but you're getting the same stuff - albeit different slipcase art - but also picking up a couple of additional extra swag items along the way. And best of all - it's still available to order!
So dig in some couch cushions and see what you can find and get that order in. The set is apparently limited to 2000 units globally so maybe we'll see a similar edition come up for sale here in the States, but if past is truly prologue, I can see this being yet another exciting Warner Bros. deluxe set that we'll have to import.
As soon as we get official word from Warner Bros about this release, we'll update with disc specs and hopefully, we'll also see some awesome US-Based retailer exclusives too.
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