dwatts
04-30-2003, 01:06 AM
Just got through watching the R0 metronome release of Witchfinder General.
Anamorphic 16:9 WideScreen. Two cuts of the film, Directors Cut, Export Cut. 20-minute documentary of Director Michael Reeves. Music video (Cathedral). Production Notes and trailer for “Sorcerers”.
When we think about British horror most of us envisage something along the lines of a Hammer film. WitchFinder General though has an entirely different feel. It is safe to say that the tone of this film is unique unto itself.
It tells the tale of “Matthew Hopkins”, a witch finder in the 1600’s, riding across England sentencing women and men to death for witchcraft. On the side, he likes to lie to relatives of those accused (young women, of course) saying that for “favors”, maybe he would conclude the relative was not actually, guilty. This amounts to rape.
It goes without saying that Matthews ways finally catch up to him, with a dramatic conclusion. Vincent Price plays Matthew Hopkins to great effect, and Ian Ogilvy plays an avenging soldier.
This disc looks to be filled to the brim with extras. I guess it is. But when you dig down a little bit, it is not as good as it sounds. The 20-minute documentary is barely adequate. Basically we have some guys fawning over the lost master Director, who by the age of 24 had Directed three films, and by 25 was dead through booze and drugs. We have clips from the three films (and one short he made early on) and that’s it. It is 20-minutes where you learn very little, to be honest. The guy lived, was liked, and died after three films (by the way, The Sorcerers looks to be a dated, but very effective tale much shown in horror publications. It starred Boris Karloff. If you've ever seen a shot of Karloff, burnt black sitting in a fireplace with the blackened body of an old woman beside him, you know what I'm talking about. I wonder if this is on DVD?)
I have not watched the music video – the essay is fine. The highlight of the disc ought to be the two cuts of the film. It goes without saying that one has more content, a tiny bit of nudity, and more “gore”. This might have worked well had they done a better job integrating this extra footage. As it stands, you have these weird cuts where the reasonable DVD transfer breaks down into sub-par VHS quality segments. Frankly, for subsequent viewings, I’m going to go with the version without this added material. It’s just not worth the effort. Having said that, some DVD junkies just must have every frame shot, so they might like this. I suspect most would want a far cleaner copy though.
The transfer is not reference, plenty of speckles and scratches on this one. But the colors and nice, and there’s nothing to spoil your enjoyment. The sound is mono only.
Thinking back on the last 82 minutes of my life, I must say I am very happy to own this film. It has a coldness, a starkness that really adds to the feel of the age that is being portrayed. There is plenty of intrigue – and Price pulls off the Hopkins character with aplomb (you simply can’t wait for him to get what’s coming to him). Everyone does a fine job, to be honest. The music is suitable, and the whole wretched situation comes across as authentic, and nasty.
I’m not aware of any other releases of this film – maybe better are out there. This is an inexpensive DVD release of a movie that, once again, simply belongs in anyone's classics collection. You’ll never see Vincent Price like this again, and the film maintains a British feel while being unique. One to keep, no doubt.
Anamorphic 16:9 WideScreen. Two cuts of the film, Directors Cut, Export Cut. 20-minute documentary of Director Michael Reeves. Music video (Cathedral). Production Notes and trailer for “Sorcerers”.
When we think about British horror most of us envisage something along the lines of a Hammer film. WitchFinder General though has an entirely different feel. It is safe to say that the tone of this film is unique unto itself.
It tells the tale of “Matthew Hopkins”, a witch finder in the 1600’s, riding across England sentencing women and men to death for witchcraft. On the side, he likes to lie to relatives of those accused (young women, of course) saying that for “favors”, maybe he would conclude the relative was not actually, guilty. This amounts to rape.
It goes without saying that Matthews ways finally catch up to him, with a dramatic conclusion. Vincent Price plays Matthew Hopkins to great effect, and Ian Ogilvy plays an avenging soldier.
This disc looks to be filled to the brim with extras. I guess it is. But when you dig down a little bit, it is not as good as it sounds. The 20-minute documentary is barely adequate. Basically we have some guys fawning over the lost master Director, who by the age of 24 had Directed three films, and by 25 was dead through booze and drugs. We have clips from the three films (and one short he made early on) and that’s it. It is 20-minutes where you learn very little, to be honest. The guy lived, was liked, and died after three films (by the way, The Sorcerers looks to be a dated, but very effective tale much shown in horror publications. It starred Boris Karloff. If you've ever seen a shot of Karloff, burnt black sitting in a fireplace with the blackened body of an old woman beside him, you know what I'm talking about. I wonder if this is on DVD?)
I have not watched the music video – the essay is fine. The highlight of the disc ought to be the two cuts of the film. It goes without saying that one has more content, a tiny bit of nudity, and more “gore”. This might have worked well had they done a better job integrating this extra footage. As it stands, you have these weird cuts where the reasonable DVD transfer breaks down into sub-par VHS quality segments. Frankly, for subsequent viewings, I’m going to go with the version without this added material. It’s just not worth the effort. Having said that, some DVD junkies just must have every frame shot, so they might like this. I suspect most would want a far cleaner copy though.
The transfer is not reference, plenty of speckles and scratches on this one. But the colors and nice, and there’s nothing to spoil your enjoyment. The sound is mono only.
Thinking back on the last 82 minutes of my life, I must say I am very happy to own this film. It has a coldness, a starkness that really adds to the feel of the age that is being portrayed. There is plenty of intrigue – and Price pulls off the Hopkins character with aplomb (you simply can’t wait for him to get what’s coming to him). Everyone does a fine job, to be honest. The music is suitable, and the whole wretched situation comes across as authentic, and nasty.
I’m not aware of any other releases of this film – maybe better are out there. This is an inexpensive DVD release of a movie that, once again, simply belongs in anyone's classics collection. You’ll never see Vincent Price like this again, and the film maintains a British feel while being unique. One to keep, no doubt.