Emily Rose

The Exorcism of Emily Rose - Unrated (Special Edition)
$14.94
this was a very good movie and came in a timely fashion. i was very pleased.

The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel
$28.00
Let me first say that I am a devout Roman Catholic, who prays the Rosary, but does not currently go to Church. I have self studied Hebrew and Latin, having plied and worked on translating some of the New and Old Testaments. In addition, I have read many, many accounts of Christian Fathers, ranging from Eusebius to Augustine to Pope Benedict III. I would characterize myself as a Thomist, in that I am essentially in whole agreement with the Philosophical Structure of the World as described in the Summa Theologica by Saint Thomas Aquinas. I accept a world of immaterial beings containing both numerous Angels and Demons, created by God, all serving various purposes, with an ultimate evil immaterial Being designated Lucifer, Satan, Azazel, or whatever name seems to please the believer. I have also read the lives of numerous Christian Mystics, and believe that many are `legit' and have either engaged in or participated in somewhat miraculous events during the course of human history.

I purchased this book because I originally had received the DVD `The Exorcism of Emily Rose' as a birthday gift. I enjoyed the movie, and researched enough to learn that the Anneliese Michel case was the inspiration for this movie. After doing some research on Amazon.com, it appeared that this particular book, albeit somewhat dated [1981?] appeared to be a fairly thorough and objective account of the events leading up to Anneliese' death. I hoped that the book might perhaps shed some light on the inspiration for the movie, and would hopefully produce some more tangible evidence to support some of the suggestions [particularly the encounter between `Emily' and the `Virgin Mary'] or visions as depicted on the silver screen.


As a final preface, let me advise the reader that I am a 20 attorney, who has participated in criminal defense for most of that period almost exclusively, and have done over 100 jury trials from start to finish. Thus, in part, I read the book with the hopes that some of the trial aspects, which take up the majority of the movie, would be better documented in the book.

I read the book in about four days and wish to first note that the author treats all the persons involved with the proper respect due them. My impressions however left me with a firm conviction that Anneliese Michel was probably not possessed by any demons whatsoever. Please understand that I have no doubt that during the course of human history there have been some individuals with the misfortune of being `possessed' by demon[s] or malevolent spirits of some nature. Unfortunately, the evidence as contained in this book would, in my opinion, not give sufficient basis for either religious or legal proof of a genuine possession.

The author does try to present the evidence in the most favorable light to Anneliese, her family, her priests, and even her doctors. Unfortunately, much of this evidence simply does not pass objective muster. One particular problem is that, although Anneliese kept a fairly detailed record of her illness over a period of years, much of her writings were deleted by her priest, which, unfortunately, would suggest that these statements and musings were not likely in support of the contention for possession. In addition, it appears that the author had to surmise a number of incidents from which there is no record whatsoever.

The author does at the end present a credible alternate explanation for Anneliese' condition, based on a state known as RASC, or Religious Altered State of Consciousness. Unfortunately, the book copy I possess has no updates after 1983 and therefore I have no idea if or whether any of this theorizing is currently in vogue some 25 years later. Nonetheless, it does appear that the `experts' in this case did a poor job of analyzing the evidence, the medications involved, as well as the causative affects of the various mixture of all these factors in determining whether or not the accused were `negligent' in their treatment of Anneliese.

I wish to point out that it is my firm conviction that Anneliese, as well as those around her, were completely convinced of her `demonic possession', and that it is almost a certainty that it was literally true for Anneliese in her own mind. This unfortunately does not support the underlying contention of `possession'. The `demons' involved, their very vague and somewhat inconsistent statements, the fact that they were unintelligible and certainly produced little or no information that would appear `supernatural', suggests that this was not a `possession' in the literal sense. Even so, we have so little understanding of human prescience, intuition, and subconscious communications that there can never be certainty in this regard. However, the Movie certainly takes liberties to produce `convincing' evidence of possession which is simply non-existent in the factual case from which the inspiration was derived. In this sense, I think that the movie certainly produces more convincing `proof' than was ever present in the actual events. I was hoping that the book, given that the exorcisms lasted for years, might perhaps give the basis for the `truths' as proposed by the movie but in an extended form from the film. Sadly, the book does not [because I believe the evidence cannot] support the rather powerful faith based convictions as presented in the movie.

In any event, the book reads well, is presented with the respect and decency this poor family and the poor priests involved deserved. I agree with the author that the conclusions of the Court appear arbitrary, and I unfortunately have to fault defense counsel for not `ripping these experts apart'. Under these circumstances, I would have treated the defense experts as `hostile witnesses' and cross-examined them to show the deficiencies in their own report preparations, and conclusions.

I hope this review helps a prospective purchaser.

A Rose for Emily
$39.95
A superbly crafted dramatization of Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner's first nationally published short story, this is the tale of an indomitable Southern woman who clutched the past so resolutely that life itself was denied. The film is at once a twentieth century Gothic tale, a psychological study of isolation, and a history of the decay of the old order. Starring Anjelica Huston as Miss Emily Grierson, and featuring John Carradine in a cameo role, the film is narrated by John Houseman. Produced by Lyndon Chubbuck and H. Kaye Dyal.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose (+ BD Live) [Blu-ray]
$28.95
this was a very good movie and came in a timely fashion. i was very pleased.