The Gemini killers performance reminded me of Heath ledgers joker character. His voice, cadence, and overall bad guy role was very reminiscent of the joker. Does anyone agree? Could Heath have been influenced by this film ?
shareSorry, I've not seen any of the Batman films, and I don't know if HL patterned his character after Dourif's interpretation. I will say that HL seems to have been a consummate artist, so it would have been interesting to see what he might do with the Gemini role.
shareHeath Ledger must have used Brad Dourif's character in The Exorcist III to help create The Joker. It would be an extraordinary coincidence if he didn't. Too bad Heath is longer with us to confirm.
shareYeah, his death, in its way more untimely than Robin Williams', leaves all kinds of holes, especially that abyss of the future in which we will never know what he would have, and could have done...
shareI can see similarities and I wouldn't be surprised if Ledger had absorbed some of Dourif's performance to enhance his own. I see a variety of influences in Ledger's performance including Dourif, Nicholson, Lloyd, and even a little Pacino in there.
**WARNING: MY POSTS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**
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This topic has a irony to it because ,in the scenes of Kinderman and the Univ. President,the atmosphere in the building changes with the statue of a priest in red turns into a demonic figure in black.The figure has green slicked-back hair,a white face,and a evil wide grin- a perfect copy of the Joker.
shareThat's not irony.
And so, God came forth and proclaimed widescreen is the best.
Sony 16:9
I think they even lifted some dialogue from the Gemini Killer and put it in the Joker's mouth. That's what I noticed yesterday night watching The Exorcist III.
[ Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it. ]
No.
shareAfter rewatching it last night, when the Gemini Killer first shows his 'face' to us
Brad Doriffs mannerisms reminded me of Heath Ledger's Joker. Funny part is there is a joker statue in the movie!
Nice catch on the Joker statue, but why Blatty used that intrusive gimmick really baffles me. It has no place in the story - nor does the bald St. Dominic (or whoever's) statue in the atrium. Come to think of it, neither does "Alice" who is delivering the university president's speech. The entire scene is a false buildup to a fake and un-scary climax. Nothing supernatural happens except for the president's office door opening "on its own", and possibly some breezes that blow papers in a basket...but those could easily be explained by "Alice" opening a door located on a lower floor in the building.
So both St. Dominic and the come-to-life Joker statue are utterly absurd and a waste of film as well as audience attention. They don't even work as a symbolic expression of "Kinderman's inner vision", since the script does not establish any connection to St. Dominic or the Joker in Kinderman's unconscious or imagination.
The perfect place to establish such a connection would have been in Kinderman's dream sequence, which is rife with symbolic weirdness - but the dream contains no St. Dominic or Joker imagery of any sigificant kind that I have ever noticed. So, again, the entire "Alice delivers the speech" scene is wasted footage.
I watched this film for the first time earlier tonight. I noticed the Joker statue as well and wondered why it was there. A bizarre decision, for sure.
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I am not a fan. I just happen to enjoy movies. Fans are embarrassing.
Nice catch on the Joker statue, but why Blatty used that intrusive gimmick really baffles me. It has no place in the story...So both St. Dominic and the come-to-life Joker statue are utterly absurd and a waste of film as well as audience attention.
the documentary even points out that Blatty insisted on having the Joker-headed statue
Thanks for that info. Iirc, someone said that it was supposed to "resonate" with the Tarot imagery in Dr. Temple's office - the Joker is a card, Tarot is cards - I dunno. It's still an intrusive, unscary gimmick, embedded within an entirely pointless scene. The buildup goes nowhere - a wind blows some papers around, a door creaks open, an irrelevant "Regan giggle" is added to the soundtrack, Kinderman steps into the hallway, the lights flicker, all leading up to a completely incongruent Joker statue and the appearance of "Alice" ("what's wrong with these lights?") which scares Kinderman but not, unfortunately, the viewer...