The film goes off the rails in its third act for some, ruining the great atmosphere it had spent time working on. She plays gwen mayfield, a former missionary in africa who was driven out by the native witch doctors. The problem with the witches, the 1966 hammer production newly released on dvd by studiocanal, is that the ending deflates the tension. 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. 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 witches is a 1990 fantasy film based on the book of the same name by roald dahl. The witches is a 1966 british horror feature film directed by cyril frankel never. The witches includes the last performance by a legend of the silver screen in a feature film. 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. 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.
An italian generals widow sarah ferrati tempts the palace historian richard johnson by turning into a beauty. Stephanie bax kay walsh, whom mayfield discovers is the head witch. 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. Little big man 1970 dustin hoffman, faye dunaway, chief dan george feature comedy, western. The witches is a 1966 hammer horror film, featuring joan fontaine in her final cinematic role. 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. 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. 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. 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. It was adapted by nigel kneale from the novel the devils own by norah lofts, published under the pseudonym peter curtis. Joan fontaine had director approval for the witches and she subsequently worked with frankel on. 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. 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. 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. Curse of the crimson altar 1968, beyond the door iii 1989, the reptile 1966, final prayer 20, the blood on satans claw 1971. I was amazed at the beautiful camera work, the involved plot, and the fabulous.
The witch is a chilling portrait of a family unraveling within their own sins, leaving them prey for an inconceivable evil. This film was a pet project of joan fontaine, based on a novel by peter curtis. 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 specifications and extras on both releases are the same, though without the. It was directed by nicolas roeg and produced by the jim henson company for lorimar film entertainment and warner bros. The plot revolves around deborah mayfield, a teacher recently returned to britain after a twenty year stint working at. The witches is a decent hammer offering but not an outstanding one. As the film should be reaching its climax it somehow fails to really delivery. A british schoolteacher joan fontaine has a nervous. 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.
A historian is called to a creepy old castle to help a strange old widow catalogue her erotic antiquities. The film stars anya taylorjoy, ralph ineson, kate dickie, harvey scrimshaw, ellie grainger and lucas dawson. 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. 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 witches was adapted from the childrens book of the same title by british author roald dahl. The witches dvd 1966 shop the best classic films movie. The cast featured childactor martin stephens, then 17. 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. Whats the story as their big day approaches the happy couple should be celebrating. Despite the films best efforts, it only pulls viewers back to yet another obvious direction. Recommended for fans of the hammer catalog or horror fans in general.
It was adapted by nigel kneale from the novel the devils own by norah lofts, under the pseudonym peter curtis. Released in 1966 when london was at the height of its swinging period, the witches stars joan fontaine. After she has recovered from her breakdown, shes asked to act as the headmistress for a school in heddaby a quaint little town in the countryside. 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. After recovering back in england she takes a job teaching in a small country town hoping to make a new start for herself. The protagonist and antagonist are both in their fifties and you really get the feeling kay walshs.
Both luis bunuel and carlos saura had considered making a film out of the novel aura by carlos fuentes. The formula turns all the witches into mice, and the staff and hotel guests join in killing them, unknowingly ridding england of its witches. 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. Many of these top the list of the scariest halloween movies youll come across. The synopsis below may give away important plot points. The witches is a 1966 british horror film made by hammer films. It was directed by cyril frankel and starred joan fontaine, alec mccowen, kay walsh, ann bell, ingrid boulting and gwen ffrangcon davies. 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. The film is based on john updikes novel the witches of eastwick 1984.
The witches 1966 releases dates, movie score, movie trailer, movie poster, synopsis, and plot. 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. As in the original novel, the story features evil witche. All goes well at first, until she starts to hear some disturbing stories about the town. Its cool to find a movie featuring two female leads spoilers. The supporting cast also included hammer regular duncan lamont, as. The witches 1966 film wikipedia republished wiki 2. A witchcraft story about sinister goings on in a sunny english village. However, the film turned out to be a box office disappointment and she made only a few tv movies thereafter.
Underrated in the larger oeuvre of hammer horror, the witches is still an effectively made and executed little chiller. Everything you need to know about 7 witches movie 2017. Sergio logan richard johnson opens the drapes and glass doors and looks down upon the busy highway below. An english school missionary assigned in an african village has a run in. Scream factory is a dvd, bluray and digital brand created to focus on notable and underrated horror, scifi, thriller films from the past that.
The marketing of the film was, typically for hammer in this period, fairly comprehensive and sophisticated. There are some good performances from joan fontaine and kay walsh and a good atmosphere, but some plot points bring it down to average. Joan fontaine was instrumental in getting this movie made. His girlfriend marta actress not identified urges him to hurry and take her to the office. The witches is a 1990 britishamerican dark fantasy horrorcomedy film based on the childrens novel of the same title by roald dahl. The movie was based on the novel, the devils own written by norah lofts. 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. The village of hambleden, buckinghamshire, was the filming location for the fictional village of heddaby. The witches 1990 film wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. This films plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Fuentes wasnt too happy with this version and declared that either bunuel or saura would have done a much better job. The film opens with an english schoolteacher, gwen mayfield joan fontaine, packing up her belongings at a mission school in colonial africa. 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.
The film looks good on bluray, the audio is the original mono. Hammer film from a nigel kneale script in which schoolteacher joan fontaine moves to a sleepy english village and finds the locals engaged. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the witches 1966 near you. The witches, 1966, pan peter curtis when churchyards yawn. Fontaine stars as teacher gwen mayfield, who is in charge of a missionary school in. The film was released as a double bill with love is a woman 1966. Its not too hard to figure out why the witches qualifies as childrens literature. 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.
The local witch doctors have led a rebellion, and they reach the school before she is able to escapethe shaman wearing a body mask. 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. Gwen screams, and the scene dissolves to the opening credits. This isnt quite enough to make it one of the classic hammer horrors. Joan fontaine in the witches 1966 michele dotrice and kay walsh in the witches. The witches 1990 film wikipedia republished wiki 2. 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. 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. An english school missionary assigned in an african village has a run in with the local witch doctor and suffers a nervous breakdown. The witches released internationally as the devils own in 1966 is an oftforgotten entry from hammer films. The devils own is a 1966 british horror film made by hammer films.
What makes this film so distinctive is its understatementthe horror when it emerges is all the more disquieting since everything seems so idyllic. It stars anjelica huston, mai zetterling, rowan atkinson, and jasen fisher. He then meets her dark, seductive daughter and finds he is falling under her erotic spell. From its primal assault of an opening to its crazed ending the witches keeps its audience engaged throughout with the slow creeping tension.