William Peter Blatty (January 7, 1928 – January 12, 2017) was an American writer, director and producer. He is best known for his 1971 novel The Exorcist and for his screenplay for the 1973 film adaptation. Blatty won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Exorcist, and was nominated for Best Picture as its producer. The film also earned Blatty a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama as producer. Born and raised in New York City, Blatty received his bachelor's degree in English from Georgetown University in 1950, and his master's degree in English literature from the George Washington University. Following completion of his master's degree in 1954, he joined the United States Air Force and served in the Psychological Warfare Division where he attained the rank of first lieutenant. After service in the air force, he worked for the United States Information Agency in Beirut. After the success of The Exorcist, Blatty reworked his 1966 novel Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane! into a new novel titled The Ninth Configuration, published in 1978. He went on to adapt the novel into the 1980 film, which was also his directorial debut. At the 38th Golden Globe Awards, the film won Best Screenplay and was nominated for Best Picture. Blatty refused to have any involvement with the first sequel to The Exorcist; it was critically panned. He directed the second sequel, The Exorcist III (1990), which he adapted from his 1983 novel Legion. His second film as a director, The Exorcist III was his final directorial credit and final screenplay credit. Some of his later novels include Elsewhere (2009), Dimiter (2010) and Crazy (2010). Description above from the Wikipedia article William Peter Blatty, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- January 7, 1928
- January 12, 2017 (aged 89)
- New York, New York, USA
- Writer, actor, director and producer
- 15 on MovieCove · 22 credits in all
What are William Peter Blatty's films like?
Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Morality.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
A split, not a type: Ironic 2 · Wry 2 · Earnest 7
Light 8 · Serious 0 · Dark 3
A split, not a type: Grounded 4 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 6
A split, not a type: Gentle 7 · Charged 1 · Intense 3
Steady 8 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 5
Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 1
Casual 6 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 8 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 3
Resolved 9 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy6
- Bittersweet4
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch William Peter Blatty's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
- A Shot in the Dark (1964) · writer · free
- The Ninth Configuration (1980) · actor, director, writer, producer · free
- The Exorcist III (1990) · director, writer · free
- What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966) · writer · free
- Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005) · writer · free
- Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) · writer · free
- Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) · writer · free
Subscription and free streaming for William Peter Blatty's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
22 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page; 9 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
The Exorcist: Martyrs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)
Short Cuts : The Exorcist (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
The Exorcist(2016)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
Exorcist: The Beginning(2004)
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films
Exorcists: The True Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
The Exorcist III(1990)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
The Ninth Configuration(1980)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
Exorcist II: The Heretic(1977)
Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films
Mastermind (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
The Exorcist(1973)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Darling Lili(1970)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
The Great Bank Robbery(1969)
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
Gunn (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
Promise Her Anything(1966)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films
A Shot in the Dark(1964)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
No Place to Land (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
Compound 9 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 22 titles, 20 of them dated from 1958 to 2024.
Film career
- 1973Screen debut· The Exorcist
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do William Peter Blatty's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 42nd percentile, the median of all 14; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 60th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th5
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 15 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Universally Panned1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed5
Reviewers score the dialogue 53/100 and the plot and story 44/100 in their films, across 11 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is William Peter Blatty's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, 1 of the 5 categories sits near the median of all films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does William Peter Blatty work with?
People who share at least 2 of William Peter Blatty's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jason Miller shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Blake EdwardsShared titles: Darling Lili (1970), What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966), A Shot in the Dark (1964)See all 3 shared titles with Blake Edwards
Actors
- Jason MillerShared titles: The Fear of God: 25 Years of 'The Exorcist' (1998), The Exorcist III (1990), The Ninth Configuration (1980), The Exorcist (1973)See all 4 shared titles with Jason Miller
- Ellen BurstynShared titles: The Fear of God: 25 Years of 'The Exorcist' (1998), The Exorcist (1973)See all 2 shared titles with Ellen Burstyn
- Linda BlairShared titles: The Fear of God: 25 Years of 'The Exorcist' (1998), The Exorcist (1973)See all 2 shared titles with Linda Blair
- Max von SydowShared titles: The Fear of God: 25 Years of 'The Exorcist' (1998), The Exorcist (1973)See all 2 shared titles with Max von Sydow
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Henry ManciniShared titles: Darling Lili (1970), What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966), A Shot in the Dark (1964)See all 3 shared titles with Henry Mancini
- Barry De VorzonShared titles: The Exorcist III (1990), The Ninth Configuration (1980)See all 2 shared titles with Barry De Vorzon
- Gerry FisherShared titles: The Exorcist III (1990), The Ninth Configuration (1980)See all 2 shared titles with Gerry Fisher
- Peter Lee-ThompsonShared titles: The Exorcist III (1990), The Ninth Configuration (1980)See all 2 shared titles with Peter Lee-Thompson
Producers
- Owen CrumpShared titles: Darling Lili (1970), What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966)See all 2 shared titles with Owen Crump
Mixed roles
- William FriedkinShared titles: The Fear of God: 25 Years of 'The Exorcist' (1998), The Exorcist (1973)See all 2 shared titles with William Friedkin
