William peter blatty, who has died aged 89, was miscast as a writer of horror. In 1970, blatty came out with his biggest literary hit, the exorcist, which he subsequently adapted into a 1973 movie blockbuster. He is portrayed by dick callinan in the exorcist and by scott wilson in the ninth configuration. The signed editions are sold out, but the trade edition is now in its second printing. The ninth configuration twinkle, twinkle, killer kane 1980. Take a look at even more movies and tv shows that were so nice they made em twice at least. The news was reported by his friend and collaborator william friedkin, who stated that the cause of death. A former marine arrives at a mental asylum housed in a remote. William peter blatty books list of books by author.
Later blatty wrote the comedy horror novel the ninth configuration 1978, a reworking of his 1966 effort twinkle, twinkle, killer kane, and he directed and wrote the 1980 movie, which later acquired a cult following. A former marine arrives at a mental asylum housed in a remote castle to run it. The ninth configuration 1980 directed by william peter. With stacy keach, scott wilson, jason miller, ed flanders. Bar fight scene from the 1980 film the ninth configuration directed by. William peter blatty, author of the novel the exorcist and writer of its film adapation, has died aged 89 blatty was most famous for his 1971. For more than fifteen years police lieutenant kinderman george c. See all books authored by william peter blatty, including the exorcist, and legion, and more on. Remembering william peter blatty, author of the exorcist. Based on his 1983 novel legion, writerdirector william peter blattys exorcist iii. As well the horror classic, the exorcist, his other novels include the ninth configuration, legion and dimiter. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the ninth configuration. Kane stacy keach teetering on the sanity brink himself tries to minister to the patients in a military mental hospital. Director william friedkin confirmed on his twitter account that blatty.
William peter blatty was born on january 7, 1928 in new york city, new york, usa. He also directed a brace of films, both adapted from his own. A strange, strange little movie, exorcist iii found author william peter blatty returning to the directors chair following his cult favorite the ninth configuration, though the experience here was equally compromised by studio tampering. The arty the ninth configuration is one of those mindbenders that doesnt flex the mind so much as rather cause temporary brain paralysis from being so terribly boring and nutso. Written, directed and produced by the author of the exorcist, william peter blatty, the ninth configuration is a challenging movie that not so surprisingly fails to make much sense to a first time viewer, though it makes a powerful impact on anyone who does see it. Despite being a confirmed stealth sequel to blatty s the exorcist, this story barely has anything to do with that film or its franchise. Recovered and released in 2016 under its original title, this is the definitive cut of the film based on his novel legion. There may not be any torrents of pea soup in exorcist iii, but for all its.
Nicol was staying at the budapest hilton, and was allegedly trying to make an international phone call when, presumably, something the operator did or said infuriated him, causing him to rip the phone out. He also wrote and directed the sequel the exorcist iii. William peter blatty, the man who helped to revolutionize the horror genre both in print and on the big screen with his bestselling 1971 novel the exorcist and its equally successful 1973 screen adaptation, died on january 12, only a few days after his 89th birthday. The ninth configuration turns 40 and its still the most. Many of todays films seem to be made solely for financial reasons, but the case of the exorcist is more complex than most. The basis of an acclaimed 1980 film also known as twinkle, twinkle, killer kane, william peter blattys the ninth configuration is a thoughtprovoking, blackly comic journey into the heart of madness. Captain billy cutshaw is a character appearing in the exorcist and the ninth configuration. But unlike the movie, the book is about much, much more than ouija boards, spinning heads and projectile vomit, blatty said in an article exactly 40 years later. The existential horror of atheism william peter blatty s me decade caligari has more on its mind. Author of the exorcist william peter blatty made his film directing debut adapting his own novel, an outthere allegory about shellshocked vietnam vets sent to a remote castle in the foggy pacific.
Around the same time as the filming of the ninth configuration, blatty also began writing legion. The ninth configuration by william peter blatty books on. Editions of the ninth configuration by william peter blatty. William peter blatty is the author of the exorcist, the ninth configuration, legion, elsewhere. Born in 1928, william peter blatty is a novelist and academy awardwinning screenwriter. But the one on my cinematic bucket list has always been william peter blatty s original version of the exorcist iii. Author of the exorcist william peter blatty made his film directing debut adapting his own novel, an outthere allegory about shellshocked vietnam vets.
While neither the ninth configuration 1980 nor the exorcist iii 1990. The basis of an acclaimed 1980 film also known as twinkle, twinkle, killer kane, william peter blatty s the ninth configuration is a thoughtprovoking, blackly comic journey into the heart of madnessand the outer limits of belief. William peter blatty is the bestselling author of the exorcist, which he turned into an academy awardwinning screenplay. The exorcist author and screenwriter william peter blatty 10272011. William peter blatty had cast him as killer kane in the ninth configuration also known as twinkle, twinkle, killer kane, and the film was being shot in budapest, hungary. Alexandra hellernicholas on william peter blattys underseen and underappreciated the ninth. William peter blatty, the author whose bestselling book the exorcist was both a milestone in horror fiction and a turning point in his own career, died on. Blatty would eventually republish his novel in 1978 as the ninth configuration, which he then attempted to find financing for and turn into a feature film one last time. Blatty wrote and directed his first film the ninth configuration. The ninth configuration, william peter blatty s surreal meditation on faith, as well as an exorcist pseudo sequel, still holds up 40 years later.
William peter blatty other books lists other books written by william peter blatty, apart from twinkle, twinkle, killer kane, the ninth configuration, or legion. The exorcist by william peter blatty overdrive rakuten. The exorcist screenplay for the 21st century special. It is based on blatty s novel the ninth configuration 1978, which was itself a reworking of an earlier version of the novel, first published as twinkle, twinkle, killer kane. The exorcist series which includes either four films or seven. The book details the demonic possession of elevenyearold regan macneil, the daughter of a famous actress, and the two priests who attempt to exorcise the demon. The ninth configuration twinkle, twinkle, killer kane. The ninth configuration william peter blatty macmillan. William peter blatty american screenwriter and novelist. Bar fight scene from the 1980 film the ninth configuration directed by william peter blatty the author of the exorcist. William peter blatty s directors cut of the exorcist iii which was thought to be lost. Scott has been haunted by the death of his friend father damien karras.
Photos constantly updated archive of photographs of william peter blatty. George dicenzo, jason miller, scott wilson, ed flanders en stacy keach. Blatty s sense of humor is visible in his camera choices, too note how an eerie shot of nuns in a hospital cuts to a stuffed penguin. After the success of the exorcist, blatty reworked twinkle, twinkle, killer kane. A true story of the hand of providence and evidence of life after death.
The power of william peter blatty s the exorcist iii. The son of immigrant parents, he was a comic novelist before embarking on a four decade career as a hollywood writer, penning the screenplays for a shot in the dark, what did you do in the war, daddy. The ninth configuration is an obscure 1980 film directed by william peter blatty, based on his 1978 novel of the same name itself a reworking of an earlier blatty novel called twinkle twinkle, killer kane. Besides being antimilitary and asking how madness is defined, the novel explores the problematic nature of identityin keeping with both the 1960s identity crises and the later spread of psychotherapy and selfhelp books. Remembering william peter blatty, author of the exorcist william peter blatty was one of the many notable people who died in 2017. The ninth configuration ebook written by william peter blatty. He was best known for writing the exorcist and for adapting it. William peter blatty, the author and screenwriter best known for writing the novel and film the exorcist, has died. William peter blatty s the ninth configuration 1980 01 may 2019 dailydead.
William peter blatty is the author of the exorcist, the ninth configuration, legion, elsewhere, many other books and numerous screenplays in 2009, cemetery dance published a special hardcover edition of his classic haunted house novella, elsewhere. William peter blatty in 1971 wrote the exorcist, a deeply unsettling theological thriller that later became an extremely lucrative and controversial hollywood blockbuster. A stunning meditation on gods existence that was the basis of an acclaimed golden globe awardwinning 1980 film also known as twinkle, twinkle, killer kane, william peter blattys the ninth configuration is a thoughtprovoking, blackly comic journey into the heart of madnessand the outer limits of belief. The exorcist is a 1971 horror novel by american writer william peter blatty. The ninth configuration is a 1980 american psychological drama film written, produced and directed by william peter blatty, in his directorial debut. William peter blatty january 7, 1928 january 12, 2017 was an american writer and filmmaker best known for his 1971 novel the exorcist and for the academy awardwinning screenplay of its film adaptation. The ninth configuration ebook by william peter blatty.
The heretic, blatty demonstrated a sure hand with his material. The ninth configuration in meinem herzen haben viele. The ninth configuration also known as twinkle, twinkle, killer kane is a 1980 american psychological drama film written, produced and directed by william peter blatty, in his directorial debut. But his directorial debut, 1980s the ninth configuration a dark.
William peter blatty was capable of transcending boundaries, pushing the envelope and opening doors that shouldnt be locked. William peter blatty audio books, best sellers, author. Much the same can be said of blattys previous work, the exorcist, but the ninth configuration is a little more complex. The ninth configuration by william peter blatty stacy.
William peter blatty, author of the exorcist, proved a workmanlike producerdirector for 1979s the ninth configuration. William peter blatty, author of the exorcist, died last night at the age of 89, according to director william friedkin. There he attempts to rehabilitate the patients by letting them act out their craziest fantasies and desires. He was married to julie alicia witbrodt, linda blatty, elizabeth gilman and mary margaret rigard. Adapting his more streamlined novel legion and completely ignoring john boormans exorcist ii. He shot to worldwide fame in 1971 with the exorcist, a novel about the efforts of two roman catholic priests to.
The ninth configuration is an obscure 1980 film directed by william peter blatty, based on his 1978 novel of the same name itself a reworking of an earlier. It was a tremendous financial success, the alltime box office champ for a while, but only a psychic could have predicted that people would line up to see a movie of this nature. Mark kermode introduces blatty s ninth configuration 1980. The ninth configuration is somewhat of a comedy, but william peter blatty shrewdly uses the comic effect as a distraction from the real nature of his novel, which you have to find your way to. From the new york times bestselling author of the exorcist, william peter blatty s the ninth configuration is a thoughtprovoking, blackly comic journey into the heart of madnessand the outer limits of beliefthat served as the basis of an acclaimed film also known as twinkle, twinkle, killer kane. Dismiss exorcist iii at your own peril hollywood in toto. This book is short, but it is deep and moving and there are only a handful of conversions through it that actually matter. He was a writer, known for the exorcist 1973, the ninth configuration 1980 and the exorcist iii 1990.
1375 804 200 912 584 1149 626 158 965 464 703 878 495 284 846 770 1089 1251 299 269 525 1152 145 1028 787 322 1477 466 386 727 677 1305 867 797 153 1353