- Actors: Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, Hilary Dwyer, Robert Russell, Nicky Henson
- Directors: Michael Reeves
- Format: PAL
- Region: All Regions
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: 18
- Studio: Prism
- DVD Release Date: 1 Sep 2003
- Run Time: 82 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00005NCZC
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 23,208 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Witchfinder General is one of those cult British films that, like The Wicker Man, seemed to herald a renaissance in the fortunes of the British film industry in the late 1960s and early 70s. With only his third film, director Michael Reeves displayed an assured grasp of technique and a confident ability to mix and match genres that marked him out as a homegrown wunderkind to rival the Spielbergs and Coppolas who were just graduating from film school across the Atlantic. Sadly, this promise remained unfulfilled as Reeves died suddenly, soon after completing the film, from a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs; Witchfinder General remains his only significant work
Veteran Vincent Price is wonderfully cast as the titular witchfinder, Matthew Hopkins, whose bloody and usually sexually motivated persecutions across civil war-torn East Anglia are carried out with much relish, graphic fake blood and lots of screaming. Ian Ogilvy, an old school pal of the director's, is the upright new model soldier who swears vengeance against Hopkins for the rape of his betrothed (Hilary Dwyer, who in true Hammer Horror fashion gets to take her top off and scream a lot). Lascivious depictions of burning witches and gratuitous sex aside, what draws the viewer into the film is the setting as Reeves' camera roams lovingly across the East Anglian countryside. The opening-hanging scene, for example, depends strongly on location for its effect, and Ogilvy's quest for revenge takes on a John Ford-style Western aura in the director's hands. Perhaps not quite the masterpiece some seem to think it is, Witchfinder General remains a sturdy piece of distinctively British filmmaking.
On the DVD: This disc allows the viewer to select the slightly extended "Export cut" of the movie, which has a little more graphic blood than the censored UK release, although the restored sequences are of markedly inferior quality. The anamorphic picture and mono sound are decent, even if too many murky nighttime scenes and badly dubbed actors' voices betray the film's restrictively low budget. The major extra is a documentary about the life and short career of Michael Reeves, while other fill-ups include text notes from critic Kim Newman, a music video, trailer, filmographies and stills. All in all, it's a welcome restoration of a genre classic. --Mark Walker
Special Features
English
Region 0
Region 0
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
witchfinder general blu ray.,
This review is from: Witchfinder General [Blu-Ray] [1968] (Blu-ray)
i was very sceptical when i heard that odeon films were releasing witchfinder general on blu ray,because some of there dvd releases are of questionable quality.however,i purchased the blu ray and have just watched it and i have to admit,that i was wrong.the blu ray is of amazing quality and this film has never looked so good.the picture quality is stunning and in my opinion,is better quality than some modern films on blu ray.the picture is clear,the audio is clear,the colours are vivid and i am so glad that i opted to upgrade my dvd to blu ray,as it was worth every penny.this is one of my favourite films and it has at last been given the quality release that it deserves.well done odeon films for releasing such a beautiful transfer of this classic horror gem and may you carry on releasing such quality horror blu rays.my advice to all is to buy this blu ray,you won't be sorry that you did.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning Blu Ray,
This review is from: Witchfinder General [Blu-Ray] [1968] (Blu-ray)
To all you blu ray naysayers I give you this - a movie over 40 years old and looking absolutely incredible. You've never seen the landscapes this beautiful, the uniforms so vivid, Vincent Price's acting so subtle. Given the movies low budget and age I would say this is the biggest revelation I've yet had in hi-def - roll on some more 60s/70s British horror gems. Does the film itself hold up? Absolutely. I never noticed before how much like a western Michael Reeves made it, right down to the soundtrack. The ducking and the burning scenes remain two of horrors most upsetting set pieces. Only the twin blights of the period - rotten day for night photography (just one scene) and blood like red paint prevent perfection. To sum up, if you're swithering over a dvd upgrade my advice is to go for it - you'll never need to buy this classic again.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
England's "Seventh Seal",
By A Customer
This review is from: Witchfinder General [DVD] (DVD)
"Witchfinder General" is for England's film history what Bergman's "Seventh Seal" was to Sweden and Dreyer's "Day of Wrath" was to Denmark. Apart from the parallels in their subject (superstitious hysteria in anarchic times), "WG" bears a cinematic selfconsciousness that every other art movie is praised for - but "WG" is also an explicit genre film, which makes it difficult for reviewers to rank it as a "classic". And it has no hope to offer - the characters are either corrupt or being corrupted, no Van Helsing comes to rescue. Michael Reeves' pessimistic view of the human condition and ambivalent perspective towards religion as a relief are maybe somewhat similar to Bergman, but probably even closer to America's cinematic exorcist Abel Ferrara (Ferrara's "The Addiction" is a must see, and if for comparison only). It's a pity that Reeves died shortly afterwards of a mixture of barbiturates and alcohol, and yet fitting that the contemporary media exploited the seemingly accidental overdose as a "suicide".Enough has been said elsewhere about "WGs" pros (camerawork, soundtrack, selfconscious direction) and cons (obvious budget restraints). In my eyes Vincent Price gives his best performance here. Bless Michael Reeves that he dared the confrontation with his star by insisting on "underacting" instead of giving one of his usual "camp" performances. The depicted violence is fully justified by the film's subject, and it proves Reeves' non-exploitational approach to his subject that he uttered his dissatisfaction with tacked-on explicit scenes for the export version which probably increased the film's "notoriety". The DVDs contains both Reeves' preferred version and the export version, so the viewer may choose depending on his taste (if you consider this word fitting). Sadly, despite the picture's sharpness and rich colour, the dark parts are too saturated (a problem with many DVDs) which results in some virtually unwatchable night scenes. The restored censor's cuts (luckily not too many) are of ludicrous quality, obviously taken from a video master. The music soundtrack has been handled with great care, but the dialogue sounds distorted at times. Well, a documentary is included, and the whole thing still looks better than most video tapes that you'll find. 4 1/2 stars for the film, 3 1/2 stars for the DVD. Henry-X
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