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This brand new completely restored and uncut version of the Michael Reeves classic is available on DVD for the very first time! England is in civil war as the Royalists battle Oliver Cromwell s Roundheads for control. This conflict distracts people from rational thought and allows unscrupulous men to gain power by exploiting village superstitions. One of these men is Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price), who tours the land offering his services as a persecutor of witches. Aided by his sadistic accomplice John Stearne (Robert Russell), he travels from town to town and wrenches confessions from "witches" in order to line his pockets. Extras Include: Documentary: The Blood Beast: The Films of Michael Reeves (24 Mins) Intrusion: Michael Reeves Short Film with optional commentary. (Never before commercially released) Theatrical Trailer and Stills Gallery.
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One of the great British horrors --Total Film
Michael Reeves' masterpiece --Empire
An acknowledged horror classic --The Times
Michael Reeves' masterpiece --Empire
An acknowledged horror classic --The Times
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Witchfinder General, 2011 Odeon Remasterd special edition - Vincent Price's most chilling performance
27 April 2012
An avid watcher of Vincent Price films, I am a great fan of the style of camp gothic horror he perfected along with Roger Corman. I was totally unprepared for what I saw in this film.
Price plays Matthew Hopkins, a figure who looms large in the British folk memory. The Witchfinder General, a man of infinite infamy. Hopkins was a lawyer from East Anglia, who used the religious mania and political turmoil of the Civil War to prey upon his victims, persuading gullible villagers that various citizens were witches, and putting them to horrible deaths.
Price is totally chilling as the sadistic and cynical Hopkins. There is no hint of his more comedic performances here, he dominates the film and his malevolent presence overshadows every scene. The film follows his visits to several villages and explores his methods and motivations, leading to the deaths of various innocents. The story also follows a young soldier (an impressive Ian Ogilvy) in Cromwell's army, who is driven to revenge after Hopkins preys upon those close to him.
Director Michael Reeves beautifully brings the era of the civil war to life with some impressive location work and cinematography. He directs with a brisk pace, but manages to explore many characters fully and presents them as real people. Sadly, this was to be his last film as he died shortly after. Also worth getting is his only other work, `The Sorcerers', again with Ogilvy and an aged Boris Karloff. He only made two films but both were masterpieces that any director would be proud of.
It is hard to believe that this film was produced by Tigon, a film studio set up as a cheap rival to Hammer. It has a well crafted and well produced feel to it.
This special edition is pretty good. The film is presented in 16:9 widescreen with a mono soundtrack. The picture has been remastered and restored, and it shows. There are some decent extras, including a documentary about Michael Reeves and a previously unreleased short film `Intrusion', which is worth a look.
A great release for a great film. For my money a horror classic that stands alongside the `Wicker Man'.
Price plays Matthew Hopkins, a figure who looms large in the British folk memory. The Witchfinder General, a man of infinite infamy. Hopkins was a lawyer from East Anglia, who used the religious mania and political turmoil of the Civil War to prey upon his victims, persuading gullible villagers that various citizens were witches, and putting them to horrible deaths.
Price is totally chilling as the sadistic and cynical Hopkins. There is no hint of his more comedic performances here, he dominates the film and his malevolent presence overshadows every scene. The film follows his visits to several villages and explores his methods and motivations, leading to the deaths of various innocents. The story also follows a young soldier (an impressive Ian Ogilvy) in Cromwell's army, who is driven to revenge after Hopkins preys upon those close to him.
Director Michael Reeves beautifully brings the era of the civil war to life with some impressive location work and cinematography. He directs with a brisk pace, but manages to explore many characters fully and presents them as real people. Sadly, this was to be his last film as he died shortly after. Also worth getting is his only other work, `The Sorcerers', again with Ogilvy and an aged Boris Karloff. He only made two films but both were masterpieces that any director would be proud of.
It is hard to believe that this film was produced by Tigon, a film studio set up as a cheap rival to Hammer. It has a well crafted and well produced feel to it.
This special edition is pretty good. The film is presented in 16:9 widescreen with a mono soundtrack. The picture has been remastered and restored, and it shows. There are some decent extras, including a documentary about Michael Reeves and a previously unreleased short film `Intrusion', which is worth a look.
A great release for a great film. For my money a horror classic that stands alongside the `Wicker Man'.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
one of vincent prices finest performances and although initialy both he and mike reeves did not get on,mike new what he wanted and he got it.vincent was an old pro,and did not like to be told how to act by the new kid on the block,"young man,do you realize how many flms i have made,?...how many have you made?.." "two good ones"came the reply,vincent laughed aloud and they finished what was to become one of vincent prices finest performances.odeon entertainment has included the original trailer wich is always nice to see,and also included a documentary about mike reeves and his films,who would have gone on to even greater things had he not died at an early age.the music captures the period very well indeed and is beautifull to listen to in its own right,its one of those soundtracks you play over in your head long after the movie has finished.the film has a semi documentary feel to it and ads to the overall flavor,the burning scenes of the witches is very well done,and the anglian scenery is beautifully photographed.odeon entertainment are to be congratulated on the stunning box art they have used for this dvd,i have also noticed they are realy coming out with some great classic,and little seen gems,odeon entertainment are in my book a label to look out for,keep up the good work,this is the stuff collectors realy want.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
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This digitally remastered special edition of The Witchfinder General contains a few nice extras on the single disc - besides which it is standard packaging with no booklets or other tactile aspects. But it is an interesting movie and the documentary and other bonus features are good to have.
The movie itself is 83 minutes duration and apparently is the Director's Cut. The Director in question being 23 year old wonderkid Michael Reeves, who died the following year. The bonus documentary is around 25 minutes and has many fellow film-makers paying credit to his talent, ambition and artistic vision. This does come across in the movie, although it is clear that he was restricted by working within a small budget. To his credit, he has tried to find creative solutions to overcome obstacles. Some nice locations, big skies, tracking shots, nice angles, cross-country horse chase are all good. Great musical score too.
The story is set in puritanical England, during the Civil war. It makes no bones about showing the horrors of that time period and how brutal people could be to one another. The accompanying documentary explains that Reeves had some difficulties with the censors, due to exceeding what was then considered acceptable - which is now a tad hard to fathom, since the fake blood is very obviously fake... Although I suppose the violence is more convincing, and it does serve to give a strong realism to a grim part of our national history.
Like many films from the sixties, the classically trained actors are perhaps a little polished to be entirely convincing as rough peasants - but it's a good strong cast putting in a very worthy show. There are a couple of light comedy moments, but mostly it stays fairly tense. The end was well unexpected.
The movie itself is 83 minutes duration and apparently is the Director's Cut. The Director in question being 23 year old wonderkid Michael Reeves, who died the following year. The bonus documentary is around 25 minutes and has many fellow film-makers paying credit to his talent, ambition and artistic vision. This does come across in the movie, although it is clear that he was restricted by working within a small budget. To his credit, he has tried to find creative solutions to overcome obstacles. Some nice locations, big skies, tracking shots, nice angles, cross-country horse chase are all good. Great musical score too.
The story is set in puritanical England, during the Civil war. It makes no bones about showing the horrors of that time period and how brutal people could be to one another. The accompanying documentary explains that Reeves had some difficulties with the censors, due to exceeding what was then considered acceptable - which is now a tad hard to fathom, since the fake blood is very obviously fake... Although I suppose the violence is more convincing, and it does serve to give a strong realism to a grim part of our national history.
Like many films from the sixties, the classically trained actors are perhaps a little polished to be entirely convincing as rough peasants - but it's a good strong cast putting in a very worthy show. There are a couple of light comedy moments, but mostly it stays fairly tense. The end was well unexpected.
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