The Exorcist

Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo: ‘I’ve never heard us described as an island of joy before!’

Radio’s odd couple take questions from actors, directors and Observer readers about optimism, the films they disagree on – and biscuits

Miranda Sawyer

01, May, 2022 @6:00 AM

Boy whose case inspired The Exorcist is named by US magazine

The boy, previously known as Roland Doe, underwent exorcisms in Cottage City, Maryland, and St Louis, Missouri, in 1949

Maya Yang

20, Dec, 2021 @7:06 PM

The Harder They Fall to Widows: the seven best films to watch on TV this week

Jonathan Majors squares up against Idris Elba in a fun, gritty western, and Viola Davis shines in Steve McQueen’s heist caper

Simon Wardell

29, Oct, 2021 @8:00 AM

The Exorcist: Ellen Burstyn to reprise role in new $400m trilogy

Universal has picked up the rights to an ambitious new continuation of the Oscar-winning horror

Benjamin Lee

26, Jul, 2021 @7:14 PM

Cinema legend Ellen Burstyn: 'It was never my intention to be a movie star'

As she prepares to smash an Oscar record, the great actor talks about drawing on her own suffering, missing her violent mother – and surviving the Hollywood ‘hamburger machine’

Ryan Gilbey

05, Jan, 2021 @6:00 AM

Influential composer Krzysztof Penderecki dies aged 86

Polish musician won numerous awards, scored The Exorcist, and was admired by rock stars

Imogen Tilden and agencies

29, Mar, 2020 @11:42 AM

Max von Sydow: an aristocrat of cinema who made me weep | Peter Bradshaw

From his fateful game of chess to a moving turn in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Von Sydow was the last standard bearer of Bergman’s high-minded movie idiom

Peter Bradshaw

09, Mar, 2020 @5:04 PM

Max von Sydow, star of The Exorcist and The Seventh Seal, dies aged 90

The veteran actor, best known for his collaborations with Ingmar Bergman, as well as roles in Star Wars and Hannah and Her Sisters, has died

Catherine Shoard

09, Mar, 2020 @3:17 PM

Nine films that should have won best picture at the Oscars

The Academy’s biggest oversights and most controversial choices from nine decades of ceremonies

Mark Kermode, Observer film critic

18, Feb, 2019 @8:00 AM

Suspiria and the true stories behind classic horrors

The Suspiria remake has arrived, but what inspired the original? From Psycho to A Nightmare of Elm Street, explore the real horrors that influenced cinema

Alex Rayner

10, Nov, 2018 @6:59 AM

From Rosemary's Baby to Suspiria, five directors on cinema's scariest moments

What makes a horror scene so spine-chilling? Ahead of Halloween, Edgar Wright, Karyn Kusama and others discuss their best worst nightmares

Interviews by Killian Fox

28, Oct, 2018 @9:00 AM

'I was terrified!': you share stories of watching classic films on first release

After audio resurfaced of a terrified audience watching the original Halloween on release, we asked you to recall your experiences of seeing major movies at the time

Guardian readers

22, Oct, 2018 @2:53 PM