This was a lot of fun and was actually pretty funny during certain parts, especially the depiction of Satan. Also, when two old ladies pissed in buckets and chucked them at the door of their neighbor I burst out laughing. I have a feeling they went and grabbed most of these actresses from an old folks home and just looked for the weirdest looking people they could find. One last note: any scene where people were eating was pretty disgusting but probably very accurate.
Swedish for "The Witch", Häxan is a silent documentary, or at least essay film, about witchcraft, particularly in the Middle Ages, and using some of the tricks of Méliès and German expressionism in its recreations. Like the best of that latter genre, it's full of interesting images, and the demons and devils these women cavort with are really well realized. And here the first reel made me think it was all going to be pencils pointing at specific details in Medieval illustrations (not that there isn't a certain old-fashioned charm to that). Director Benjamin Christensen addresses us directly and means to show that the scapegoats known as witches were in reality often struck with mental health issues, which is more instructive to his 1922 audience than today's, and if the final chapter is weaker, it's in part because the psychology is so primitive, well-meaning though it is. He does suggest that trading witch trials for mental institutions (and how the rich and poor are sent to different places) is only an incremental improvement. But whether or not the film is informative today, that's a little besides the point. Check it out for the cool visuals, and though told in vignettes, there's enough story in the middle chapters to keep you interested.
I laughed every single time they showed the devil with his tongue sticking out and wiggling around. It reminds me of the devil in Tenacious D's "Beelzeboss" scene from The Pick of Destiny.
Aside from that, I think the description of the film as "didactic" is accurate, and as mentioned even the earlier fictional story parts are tied back into the information/educational purpose in the last part of the film.
It is unfortunate that so much time was spent attributing the witchcraft from earlier generations to "female hysteria", as the idea of "hysteria" as this strange catch-all had already been largely subsumed into more specific disorders in medical literature even by that time. It is especially disturbing when you consider the wide variety of symptoms described in the last part, such as a loss of sensitivity on the skin.
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Katrina Vicious
Thou hast a freaky tongue, O satan!TheMajor
Lots of style AND lots of substance. You could call this the ultimate illustration of a subject matter. It's also very enjoyable to watch.9/10
akuma587
One of the best silent films ever.essaywhu
This was a lot of fun and was actually pretty funny during certain parts, especially the depiction of Satan. Also, when two old ladies pissed in buckets and chucked them at the door of their neighbor I burst out laughing. I have a feeling they went and grabbed most of these actresses from an old folks home and just looked for the weirdest looking people they could find. One last note: any scene where people were eating was pretty disgusting but probably very accurate.Dieguito
Great history lesson! A very good movie about Satan and the Inquisition done by the Catholic Church.Siskoid
Swedish for "The Witch", Häxan is a silent documentary, or at least essay film, about witchcraft, particularly in the Middle Ages, and using some of the tricks of Méliès and German expressionism in its recreations. Like the best of that latter genre, it's full of interesting images, and the demons and devils these women cavort with are really well realized. And here the first reel made me think it was all going to be pencils pointing at specific details in Medieval illustrations (not that there isn't a certain old-fashioned charm to that). Director Benjamin Christensen addresses us directly and means to show that the scapegoats known as witches were in reality often struck with mental health issues, which is more instructive to his 1922 audience than today's, and if the final chapter is weaker, it's in part because the psychology is so primitive, well-meaning though it is. He does suggest that trading witch trials for mental institutions (and how the rich and poor are sent to different places) is only an incremental improvement. But whether or not the film is informative today, that's a little besides the point. Check it out for the cool visuals, and though told in vignettes, there's enough story in the middle chapters to keep you interested.weirdboy
I laughed every single time they showed the devil with his tongue sticking out and wiggling around. It reminds me of the devil in Tenacious D's "Beelzeboss" scene from The Pick of Destiny.Aside from that, I think the description of the film as "didactic" is accurate, and as mentioned even the earlier fictional story parts are tied back into the information/educational purpose in the last part of the film.
It is unfortunate that so much time was spent attributing the witchcraft from earlier generations to "female hysteria", as the idea of "hysteria" as this strange catch-all had already been largely subsumed into more specific disorders in medical literature even by that time. It is especially disturbing when you consider the wide variety of symptoms described in the last part, such as a loss of sensitivity on the skin.
auvajs
Great film!(But 8 million victims? .. Come on.. there was about 50 000 victims of which-hunts in Europe)
baraka92
Saw it with live music. A really creppy one and yet surprisingly funny, the intertitles were very witty at some parts.On cinema at the cinema
Absolutely wonderful! Actually just bought this on Blu-Raygreenhorg
More films need an over-sexed frat boy version of the Prince of Darkness.Animal House Satan rules!
Froznic
TYVM for the link Dr No! I found it in a couple places but not a reliable source. You're awesome!Dr No
http://www.archive.org/details/Haxan_tinted_and_subtitledjmars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl6NvqUM5IMZeltaebar
I really wanted to like this movie, but I failed. For the most time it was tedious.Showing items 1 – 15 of 16