In the seventeenth century, in new england, the farmer william and his family are banished from the puritan plantation controlled by the church due to differences in religion principles. Joan fontaine had director approval for the witches and she subsequently worked with frankel on. From its primal assault of an opening to its crazed ending the witches keeps its audience engaged throughout with the slow creeping tension. This films plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. The witches is a 1966 british horror film made by hammer films. Its not too hard to figure out why the witches qualifies as childrens literature.
The film stars anya taylorjoy, ralph ineson, kate dickie, harvey scrimshaw, ellie grainger and lucas dawson. The witches is a 1990 fantasy film based on the book of the same name by roald dahl. This isnt quite enough to make it one of the classic hammer horrors. The witches is a 1966 hammer horror film, featuring joan fontaine in her final cinematic role. I was amazed at the beautiful camera work, the involved plot, and the fabulous. Interiors were filmed at hammers usual studio at bray in the same year the famous horror film company vacated their home altogether for mainly elstree and pinewood. Gwen screams, and the scene dissolves to the opening credits. It starts off well and continues to be compelling viewing for two thirds of the film. Joan fontaine had director approval for the witches and she subsequently worked with frankel on the stage.
Recommended for fans of the hammer catalog or horror fans in general. The witches was adapted from the childrens book of the same title by british author roald dahl. His girlfriend marta actress not identified urges him to hurry and take her to the office. It was adapted by nigel kneale from the novel the devils own by norah lofts, published under the pseudonym peter curtis. Despite the films best efforts, it only pulls viewers back to yet another obvious direction. The witches is also construed somewhat as a postlewtonian horror film after val lewton, the famous producer of the 1940s who made a string of works beginning with cat people 1942 that hovered in a delicate state of ambiguity as to whether what we were seeing was supernatural or mundane in nature and the belief merely superstitions in. A historian is called to a creepy old castle to help a strange old widow catalogue her erotic antiquities. The plot revolves around deborah mayfield, a teacher recently returned to britain after a twenty year stint working at. However, the film turned out to be a box office disappointment and she made only a few tv movies thereafter. This film was a pet project of joan fontaine, based on a novel by peter curtis. The film looks good on bluray, the audio is the original mono. He then meets her dark, seductive daughter and finds he is falling under her erotic spell. Hammer produced a 6,000word serialisation and foursection strip cartoon intended for newspapers, and a special edition of the devils own by curtis, now retitled the witches was released by.
Released in 1966 when london was at the height of its swinging period, the witches stars joan fontaine. The film was released as a double bill with love is a woman 1966. An english school missionary assigned in an african village has a run in. It was directed by nicolas roeg and produced by the jim henson company for lorimar film entertainment and warner bros. The protagonist and antagonist are both in their fifties and you really get the feeling kay walshs. The witches 1966 film wikipedia republished wiki 2. An italian generals widow sarah ferrati tempts the palace historian richard johnson by turning into a beauty. It was the final film that jim henson personally worked on before his death, the final theatrical film produced by lorimar productions, and the last film made based on dahls material before his death both henson and dahl died that year. In a distinctly english fashion, hammers 1966 film the witches drew the curtain on joan fontaines film career, a tidy link to her earlier starring role in the english born master of.
The formula turns all the witches into mice, and the staff and hotel guests join in killing them, unknowingly ridding england of its witches. The witches includes the last performance by a legend of the silver screen in a feature film. All goes well at first, until she starts to hear some disturbing stories about the town. Double, double toil and troubleweve conjured up the best witch movies ever, and youre not going to want to skip out on a single one. The supporting cast also included hammer regular duncan lamont, as. It was directed by cyril frankel and starred joan fontaine, alec mccowen, kay walsh, ann bell, ingrid boulting and gwen ffrangcon davies. The film goes off the rails in its third act for some, ruining the great atmosphere it had spent time working on.
The witches is a 1990 dark fantasy comedy film directed by nicolas roeg, produced by jim henson and starring anjelica huston, mai zetterling, rowan atkinson, and jasen fisher, based on the 1983 childrens novel of the same title by roald dahl. Right at the beginning, he tells the reader some ways to recognize a witch so that they can avoid being caught by a one while theyre still young 1. Many of these top the list of the scariest halloween movies youll come across. Damiano damianis the witch is a rich and arty psychological drama with unsettling undertones set in a decaying palace in rome featuring sarah ferrati and rossana schiaffino as witches who attract men into the palace with the offer of employment working in the palaces library cataloging a collection of erotic literature and the promise of high pay plus sex. The village of hambleden, buckinghamshire, was the filming location for the fictional village of heddaby. Fontaine stars as teacher gwen mayfield, who is in charge of a missionary school in. The film is based on john updikes novel the witches of eastwick 1984. As the film should be reaching its climax it somehow fails to really delivery. About halfway through the movie, the witches effectively resets itself with a convenient amnesia plot that finds gwen having to work her way back into haddaby, where she has to uncover the actual truth this time. She plays gwen mayfield, a former missionary in africa who was driven out by the native witch doctors. Halloween is just around the corner, and theres no better time to sit back with some spellbinding stories than when the leaves have changed and the fall weather has arrived. The local witch doctors have led a rebellion, and they reach the school before she is able to escapethe shaman wearing a body mask. Little big man 1970 dustin hoffman, faye dunaway, chief dan george feature comedy, western.
Everything you need to know about 7 witches movie 2017. The cast featured childactor martin stephens, then 17. The specifications and extras on both releases are the same, though without the. The witches released internationally as the devils own in 1966 is an oftforgotten entry from hammer films. The movie was based on the novel, the devils own written by norah lofts. The witches dvd 1966 shop the best classic films movie. A british schoolteacher joan fontaine has a nervous. It was directed by nicolas roeg and produced by the jim henson company for lorimar film entertainment and warner bros, starring anjelica huston, mai zetterling, rowan atkinson and jasen fisher as in the novel, the plot takes place in an alternate reality where the world is plagued by infanticidal witches who. As in the original novel, the story features evil witche. Stephanie bax kay walsh, whom mayfield discovers is the head witch. The witches 1966 releases dates, movie score, movie trailer, movie poster, synopsis, and plot. The marketing of the film was, typically for hammer in this period, fairly comprehensive and sophisticated. Both luis bunuel and carlos saura had considered making a film out of the novel aura by carlos fuentes. There are some good performances from joan fontaine and kay walsh and a good atmosphere, but some plot points bring it down to average.
Hammer film productions took on this anthony nelson keys produced english home counties occult thriller at the behest of fiftyoneyearold former hollywood star and hitchcock blonde joan fontaine rebecca 1940, suspicion 1941, whod bought the rights to the recently published novel the devils own a title which was retained. A witchcraft story about sinister goings on in a sunny english village. An english school missionary assigned in an african village has a run in with the local witch doctor and suffers a nervous breakdown. After recovering back in england she takes a job teaching in a small country town hoping to make a new start for herself. The devils own is a 1966 british horror film made by hammer films. Joan fontaine in the witches 1966 michele dotrice and kay walsh in the witches. She soon discovers the town is home to a coven of witches and they plan to sacrifice a local girl in one of their rituals. Fuentes wasnt too happy with this version and declared that either bunuel or saura would have done a much better job. Sergio logan richard johnson opens the drapes and glass doors and looks down upon the busy highway below. The film opens with an english schoolteacher, gwen mayfield joan fontaine, packing up her belongings at a mission school in colonial africa. The witch is a chilling portrait of a family unraveling within their own sins, leaving them prey for an inconceivable evil.
I was first put off by a comment that the films belief in witchcraft was apparently equated with belief in some green goo, but, i stress the film is very literate and a compliment to miss fontaine. The witches is available as a standalone bluray dvd release from shock entertainment but it is also included in shocks 17 disc hammer horror bluray collection. At an african mission, one of the teachers, gwen mayfield, attempts to calm her students who believe they are about to be attacked by a local voodoo priest. Its cool to find a movie featuring two female leads spoilers. Thats a longwinded way of saying the source novel is the devils own by norah lofts and it was adapted into the film the witches by hammer film productions in 1966.
Curse of the crimson altar 1968, beyond the door iii 1989, the reptile 1966, final prayer 20, the blood on satans claw 1971. The witches, 1966, pan peter curtis when churchyards yawn. The witches 1990 film wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. Scream factory is a dvd, bluray and digital brand created to focus on notable and underrated horror, scifi, thriller films from the past that. What makes this film so distinctive is its understatementthe horror when it emerges is all the more disquieting since everything seems so idyllic. The witches is a decent hammer offering but not an outstanding one. It still has all the common tropes that wed expect to see a ruined church, a quintessentially english setting, and a melodramatically gothic script but the film is closer to the folkhorror movement than the studios other offerings in the 1960s. The witches 1966 cast and crew cast photos and info fandango. The witches of eastwick is a 1987 american dark fantasycomedy film directed by george miller and starring jack nicholson as daryl van horne, alongside cher, michelle pfeiffer and susan sarandon as the eponymous witches. Whats the story as their big day approaches the happy couple should be celebrating. She soon discovers the town is home to a coven of witches and they plan to sacrifice a. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the witches 1966 near you.
Hammer film from a nigel kneale script in which schoolteacher joan fontaine moves to a sleepy english village and finds the locals engaged. Underrated in the larger oeuvre of hammer horror, the witches is still an effectively made and executed little chiller. A new england folktale also known simply as, the witch is a 2015 americancanadian period supernatural horror film written and directed by robert eggers in his feature directorial debut. The witches is a 1966 british horror feature film directed by cyril frankel never. The witches 1990 film wikipedia republished wiki 2. Scream factory has done a great job giving the film its first bluray release here in the states, with solid marks in presentation as well as special features. Le streghe or the witches was a portmanteau film that brought together five wellknown directors to create a short film featuring mangano, and it has now received a very nice bluray edition in the states from arrow academy. It was adapted by nigel kneale from the novel the devils own by norah lofts, under the pseudonym peter curtis. The problem with the witches, the 1966 hammer production newly released on dvd by studiocanal, is that the ending deflates the tension.
One gets the sense, watching this film today, that the animators wanted to depict the queen as a classical, wartnosed witch all along, but the films major plot devicethat the queen is a. Joan fontaine was instrumental in getting this movie made. Theyve got their family with them, theyve rented an island for the big day, but unbeknownst to them their wedding falls on the day when a 100 year old curse comes to fruition. The synopsis below may give away important plot points.