Considered by many to be the greatest horror film of all time, William Friedkin’s 1973 classic The Exorcist and its 2000 director’s extended cut re-release have seen numerous DVD releases going back to 1998, as have the original’s four sequels, 1977’s Exorcist II: The Heretic, 1990’s The Exorcist III, 2004’s Exorcist: The Beginning and its alternative version, 2005’s Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist. Only the original and its extended version have previously been released on Blu-ray, originally in 2010, and again last year. For the first time, Warner Bros. has released The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology on Blu-ray and standard DVD containing all six films.

Friedkin’s original version was adapted by William Peter Blatty from his best-selling novel about a movie star mother (Ellen Burstyn) whose daughter (Linda Blair) is possessed by the devil. An exorcism is performed by two priests (Max von Sydow and Jason Miller) while a Washington D.C. detective (Lee J. Cobb) takes an interest in the bizarre death of the mother’s director friend (Jack MacGowran) while on location in his city. The extended director’s cut adds ten minutes to the original.

The first sequel, Exorcist II: The Heretic, was an ill-conceived mess written by William Goodhart and directed by John Boorman (Deliverance). Richard Burton is a priest sent by his Cardinal (Paul Henried) to investigate the death of Max von Sydow’s Father Merrin four years earlier while Linda Blair reprises her role as the possessed girl. The film was a career nadir for everyone connected with the film including Louise Fletcher and James Earl Jones who are wasted in supporting roles.

Blatty wrote his own sequel, Legion, published in 1983, which formed the basis of The Exorcist III which Blatty, whose only previous direction was of 1980’s The Ninth Configuration, both wrote and directed seven years later. George C. Scott in Lee J. Cobb’s old role as the detective and William Flanders as his friend, a priest, provide excellent performances, but most of the cast, including Brad Dourif, Jason Miller, Barbara Baxley and Viveca Lindfors are wasted in poorly conceived supporting roles.

John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate, Seven Days in May) was set to direct Exorcist: The Beginning when he became ill and the project was taken over by Paul Schrader (American Gigolo) from a script by William Wisher, Jr. (The Terminator) and Caleb Carr. More of a psychological thriller than an out-and-out scare flick, Stellan Skarsgard as the middle-aged Father Merrin and Gabriel Mann as a younger priest head an excellent cast in the film made primarily on location in Morocco. Morgan Creek, the film’s production company, was not happy with the result – it wasn’t scary enough for them – and fired Schrader, replacing him with Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2). Harlin’s version starring Skarsgard and James D’Arcy was critically lambasted and died a quick death at the box-office. With egg on their faces, the producers re-hired Schrader to put the finishing touches on his version which was released a year later to greater critical reception and somewhat better box-office as Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist.

In the forty-one years since The Exorcist raised the bar on horror films, nothing has really surpassed it as a cultural phenomenon, but TV’s anthology series American Horror Story probably comes closest. The third season of the series, American Horror Story: Coven, has been released on Blu-ray and standard DVD as the fourth season begins its TV run.

I was enthralled by the first two seasons of the series, but this third outing left me cold. In the previous two series, you could find characters to root for, but here they’re all such unredeemable monsters that you feel nothing when they bite the dust, especially since they keep being brought back to life through witchcraft and voodoo. There’s nothing wrong with the performances of Emmy winners Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates, nominees Angela Bassett, Sarah Paulson and Frances Conroy, or others including Gabourey Sidibe and Taissa Farmiga, but wading through ten hours expecting any of them to resemble anything close to a real human being is a waste of precious time.

Your time might be better spent in viewing the two seasons each of Copper and Ripper Street, both available on Blu-ray and standard DVD.

Copper, about a New York City police precinct in the Five Points section of New York immediately following the Civil War, was the first produced series of BBC America which was not renewed after its first two well-received seasons. A real pity because it was one of the best, if comparatively little seen, police procedurals on TV. The same fate befell the BBC (U.K.) production of Ripper Street set in a police precinct in White Chapel in the 1890s after Jack the Ripper’s reign of terror had ended but whose memory kept the city on edge nevertheless. Fortunately for that series, Amazon UK has picked up the tab for a third season that will air on BBC and BBC America after it streams on Amazon.UK, but not Amazon.US.

Universal has released 1942’s Holiday Inn on Blu-ray in both the original black-and-white and the putrid colorized versions. While most critics prefer this to the 1954 quasi-remake, White Christmas, which is being re-released by Paramount on Blu-ray and standard DVD with additional special features, I do not. Maybe it’s because I saw both 1948’s Easter Parade and White Christmas as a child long before I saw Holiday Inn which they both emulate in different ways. All three have scores comprised primarily of Irving Berlin standards, but the only songs in Holiday Inn that are among Berlin’s best are, ironically, “White Christmas” and “Easter Parade”.

Kino Lorber continues its Blu-ray releases of classic United Artists films. New releases include 1964’s Topkapi and 1981’s True Confessions.

Jules Dassin’s Topkapi is a caper film set primarily in Istanbul with excellent performances by Melina Mercouri, Maximilian Schell, Peter Ustinov and Robert Morley as jewel thieves. Ustinov won his second Oscar for his performance.

Ulu Grosbard’s True Confessions from John Gregory Dunne’s novel is a thriller about the murder of a prostitute involving the Catholic Church. Robert De Niro is an ambitious priest at odds with his detective bother played by Robert Duvall. Charles Durning as a church benefactor and Burgess Meredith as a bitter elderly priest provide excellent support. Duvall is especially good as the determined cop.

This week’s new releases include X-Men Days of Future Past and the Blu-ray upgrade of My Darling Clementine.