The Exorcist (1973)

With THE EXORCIST, William Friedkin (THE FRENCH CONNECTION, THE BOYS IN THE BAND) rivals Hitchcock for heart-stopping terror in this deeply horrifying masterpiece that led to religious boycotts, fainting and nauseous audiences, and a commercial success that forever changed Hollywood. Linda Blair plays Regan, a 12-year-old girl possessed by the devil. After exhausting all the options of science, psychology, and medicine, Regan's mother (Ellen Burstyn) realizes the supernatural nature of her daughter's condition and resorts to a religious solution, turning to Father Karras (Jason Miller) for an exorcism. Aided by the mysterious Jesuit exorcist Father Merrin (Max von Sydow), Karras must confront not only supernatural phenomena but also his own inadequate faith and displaced guilt over his mother's recent death, a personal torment Regan uses to manipulate him, but with disturbing results.

Like THE GODFATHER before it and JAWS soon after, THE EXORCIST enjoyed tremendous commercial and critical success that directly transformed Hollywood into the blockbuster behemoth of American culture.