People fainting at screenings of The Exorcist
Written by Joe D on September 19th, 2026
William “Hurricane Billy” Friedkin
The Late, great, Bud Smith, Editor Extraordinaire!
Jack “Specs” Nitzsche
Here’s a news report from back when The Exorcist was released. It shows the extreme reactions of theater goers to the film. It was a kind of Mania! Two of my friends worked on this film, Bud Smith was the editor and Jack Nitzsche was the composer, plus he did a lot of custom made sound effects. Thier work added a lot to the overall effect of the movie.