Witch Hunt (1996)

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Movie
German title Witch hunt
Original title The Crucible
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1996
length 123 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Nicholas Hytner
script Arthur Miller
production Robert A. Miller
David V. Picker
Diana Pokorny
music George Fenton
camera Andrew Dunn
cut Tariq Anwar
occupation

Witch Hunt is an American feature film from 1996. Directed by Nicholas Hytner , the screenplay was written by Arthur Miller based on his play of the same name .

action

The witch hunt takes place in 1692 in Salem , then a strictly Puritan community in the American state of Massachusetts, which at that time was still a British colony.

Pastor Parris, the local priest, has discovered his daughter Betty, his niece Abigail Williams and several other girls dancing in the woods to the songs of the black slave girl Tituba, who is rooted in pagan roots. He even says he saw some naked. Some of the children, Parris' daughter Betty and Ruth Putnam, do not seem to be recovering from the shock of the discovery. You pass out and get sick. Since the "illnesses" of the children cannot be explained by doctors, rumors of supernatural events, evangelism and witchcraft arise. Parris hires Pastor Hale, a specialist in demons and the devil, to investigate his daughter's illness. The girls, above all Abigail, realize very quickly that they can avoid punishment if they accuse others of having driven them to do what is forbidden. They indiscriminately accuse parishioners of being in league with the devil.

The girls appear in court as witnesses and denounce new witches every day of the trial, who are then arrested. The farmer John Proctor sees through the lies and warns against believing the statements of the girls. Parris' niece Abigail, who was previously Proctor's maid and had an affair with him, wants to be his wife and therefore accuses Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft. With the help of his maid, Mary Warren, Proctor tries to save his wife and to prove in court that Abigail and the girls are lying. At first Mary says that the girls are only simulating, but under the pressure of the girls and a new mock seizure, she doesn't stick to the truth. She now accuses Proctor of being in league with the devil and forcing her to confess. Proctor is arrested and sentenced to death. He can save his life by admitting his alliance with the devil. But he cannot reconcile it with his conscience to buy his life with a lie. He is hanged with the other delinquents.

The fateful momentum of the events is particularly evident in the behavior of the clergy. While Pastor Parris watched the events inactive for fear of reputation and position, the judges Hawthorne and Danforth the testimony of the girls was enough to condemn people as witches. After the process has started, they remain in their rigid posture and believe that they cannot go back. Their vanity and inability, as persons of authority, to admit their errors makes it impossible for them to stop trying innocent citizens. Only Pastor Hale comes to insight and tries to save lives, but he has to realize desperately that madness is stronger than all reason.

Others

  • Originally, New Zealand actress Melanie Lynskey auditioned for the role of Abigail .
  • Daniel Day-Lewis , who plays John Proctor , has been married to Miller's daughter Rebecca , a well-known film director and screenwriter , since 1996 .
  • The Crucible , the original title of the film and the play of the same name by Arthur Miller, translated into German means something like "The Trial by Fire".

Reviews

  • "Nicholas Hytner ('King George') filmed Arthur Miller's timeless play about collective guilt and personal integrity - an undisguised parable of the McCarthy-era communist hatred - as an intense and elegant period piece. Paul Scofield is particularly convincing in this universally relevant social psychogram relentless witch hunter. " (Focus: film)
  • "Arthur Miller, grand seigneur of the theater, provided the template for a gripping drama about denunciation and religious madness in 17th century America." (Cinema)
  • "The film, for which Miller himself wrote the screenplay, relies on the inner dramaturgy of the individual scenes, rather a precise implementation than a reinterpretation, but at the same time breaks it up in a cinematic manner with an economical and precise application of cinematic means. Also excellent in terms of performance." (film service)
  • "Based on Arthur Miller's timeless play of the same name about collective guilt and personal integrity, British director Nicholas Hytner ('King George - A Kingdom for More Mind') has staged a highly topical film here that is both dramatic and acting. The filmmaker is leaving In his period piece, the focus of which is the eternal struggle of the individual versus the crowd, he relies entirely on the precise language of Miller, who also wrote the script, and the presence of his two stars Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder. A demanding, intellectual pleasure . " (VideoWeek)
  • "The author and his congenial director bring Salem paranoia to life in such a terrifyingly authentic manner that it is not difficult to understand the parable, which was intended as a criticism of McCarthy's agitation for communists, as a warning against contemporary fundamentalism. Hytner succeeds in the greatest witchcraft with his actors. Abigail in particular, Winona Ryder, expresses the drooling psyche of a sexually frustrated person with all cunning and cunning. " (The week)

Awards

Witch Hunt was nominated twice for an Oscar (Best Supporting Actress & Best Screenplay) in 1997, but came away empty-handed. Oscar nominee Joan Allen won the Empire Award , Paul Scofield received a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor . The film also won other film awards such as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award and the British Southeastern Film Critics Association Award .

Joan Allen and Paul Scofield were nominated for the Golden Globe Award .

The film took part in the 1997 Berlinale , but received nothing when it came to the award.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ crucible . On: LEO . Retrieved April 29, 2014