WILLIAM PETER BLATTY'S FAITH TRILOGY

While there is a trilogy of exorcist movies (I, II, and III), there is an alternative trilogy that reflects the writer's attempt to grapple with the themes found in the first film and book: The Exorcist, The Ninth Configuration, and the Exorcist III). We didn't set out do cover the trilogy of faith intentionally but after we did Exorcist III, we ended up covering them in reverse order. The movies deal with questions around the existence of god, religious doubt, the problem of evil, the fall of man, etc. Each movie in the series is based on one of Blatty's novels (The Exorcist, The Ninth Configuration, and Legion). The Ninth Configuration and the Exorcist III are both directed by Blatty. The original Exorcist movie was directed by William Friedkin. The storyline of the Exorcist and Exorcist III are directly connected. The story in the Ninth Configuration is connected to the Exorcist by a particular thread but operates in a different genre and involves entirely different characters (with one notable exception). 

Here are our discussions of the movies on the podcast. I highly recommend all three films and the books on which they are based: