Matthew hopkins the selfproclaimed witchfinder general of the title. Vincent price ian ogilvy hilary dwyer nicky henson bernard kay rupert davies tony selby robert russell. Tigon british film productions, american international pictures. Directed by michael reeves svgskull svgskull svgskull svgskull svgskull 1968 nr english 84min. Witchfinder general aka the conqueror worm directed by michael. Directed by 1 writing credits 5 cast 44 produced by 6 music by 1 cinematography by 1 film editing by 1. Paul ferris haunting soundtrack has never been released in its entirety, despite being praised by many as one of the best of the era.
Witchfinder general 1968, directed by michael reeves. The film also gained some noteriety due to the druginduced death of its director, michael reeves, following the completion of filming. Classiclady although price wasnt as menacing as ive seen him before, it was a different price for me. Soldier richard ian ogilvy in the suffolk home town of betrothed sara hilary dwyer after her uncle, an anglican priest, has been murdered by witchhunters, leading to a doityourself marriage, in the conqueror worm, a. In mid17th century england torn by civil war, lawlessness and terror gripped the countryside.
Witchfinder general is a 1968 britishamerican historical horror film directed by michael reeves and starring vincent price, ian ogilvy, hilary dwyer, robert. Witchfinder general 1968 for all his lengthy tenure as a horror film icon, rarely did vincent price have an opportunity to portray a character as unrelentingly evil as matthew hopkins in michael reeve s 1968 film witchfinder general released stateside as the conqueror worm. Rent witchfinder general 1968 on dvd and bluray dvd netflix. Witchfinder general is a 1968 british horror film directed by michael reeves and starring vincent price, ian ogilvy, and hilary dwyer. Witchfinder general 1968 classic horror film board. Apr 17, 2020 witchfinder general 1968 sometimes it takes a showbusiness death to make one revisit a film. Witchfinder general is a 1968 british horror film that was released just after the production code came to an end. Perhaps with vincent price as the star it has organically morphed into a horror flic. A young soldier seeks to put an end to the evils caused by a vicious witchhunter when the latter terrorizes his fiancee and kills her uncle. Unrated 1h 26min biography, drama, horror 17 may 1968 usa a young soldier seeks to put an end to the evils caused by a vicious witchhunter when the latter terrorizes his fiancee and kills her uncle. According to thr, there is word coming out of the cannes film festival that refn will produce a witchfinder general reboot. A disturbing tale of evil set during the english civil war.
His last and most famous film, witchfinder general 1968, is a fictionalized account of matthew hopkins, a brutal witch hunter in midseventeenth century england. The extreme violence of witchfinder general was controversial for its time, and although the film was released moreorless intact by british censors, it was heavily cut for its initial us release. Witchfinder general 1968 directed by michael reeves. Witchfinder general is a film of social collapse, one of a world weaponising belief to justify violence in a pastoral english setting. As for the film s numerous home video incarnations, the most complete version can be found on mgms 2007 dvd release. Considered by many to feature one of vincent prices best performances, 1968 s witchfinder general is getting remade as a new film produced by nicolas winding refn the neon demon according to thr, there is word coming out of the cannes film festival that refn will produce a witchfinder general reboot. Production notes by film critic kim newman 14 text pages hopkins the witchfinder general music video by cathedral 5. The english actress had a cinematic stretch in the late 1960s and early 70s appearing in two gentlemen sharing, the oblong box, the file of the golden glove, the body stealers, cry of the banshee and a 1970 version of wuthering heights with timothy datlon as heathcliff. Witchfinder general is gothic in its historic circumstances as an artwork, the ultimate film of a short career and a tragically brief life. Michael reeves set in an england where the fighting between oliver cromwells men and royalists has torn the social fabric, allowing opportunists of all sorts to make sport, this cult horror film comes at the reallife tale of witchfinder matthew hopkins from a typically 1960s direction youth, sex and zoom. Equally praised and vilified, the film fictionalizes the exploits of matthew hopkins, a prolific, reallife witch hunter, during the english civil war. Written by tom baker and michael reeves, based on the novel by ronald bassett. May 31, 2015 1968 price turns in one of his most chilling performances as the sinister, cynical, and obsessed hopkins, who prowls the 17th century english countryside already beset by civil war instigating witchhunts for both profit and pleasure. A space odyssey, night of the living dead, rosemarys baby, and psychout that were excessive in imagery and transgressions but massive with ideas and sharp social criticism.
Filmed on location in the countryside of norfolk and suffolk on a modest budget, this portrait of backwoods violence set in 1645, it deals with. For a much stronger, evil, and macabre version, youd be better off with the film mark of the devil. Horror legend vincent price is at his most wicked and restrained in michael reeves gruesome period piece about a sadistic 17th century witchhunter. Aug 31, 2020 2 thoughts on witchfinder general 1968 tensecondsfromnow august 31, 2020 at 5. I sincerely doubt that the film has looked as good since its release in 1968. Witchfinder general full movie eng sub 720p 1080p 4k hd movie watch free online 123. The cruel civil war between royalists and parliamentarians that is ravaging the country causes an era of chaos and legal arbitrariness that allows unscrupulous men to profit by exploiting the absurd. Witchfinder general 1968 hell hang, burn, and mutilate you. Emmys womens history month starmeter awards san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. The australian, uk metrodome, uk anchor bay, and uk prism direct also have 2 versions of the film. Witchfinder general 1968 is a cult classic that tells the true story of the witchhunt conducted by mathew hopkins in east anglia, during the english revolution. Hopkins executes the aged father of a beautiful young womaneven after the young woman had agreed to submit to his sexual advances in the hope of saving her father. Along with his pal tom baker not the actor one, reeves turned bassetts novel into a screenplay, making quite a few changes along the way, but keeping the essential characters that would appear in the film. Witchfinder general 1968, known as the conqueror worm in america, was directed by michael reeves and occupies a unique place in british cinema.
The film follows matthew hopkins vincent price, the proclaimed witchfinder general, as he travels through east anglia during the english civil war on the hunt for supposed witches. Michael reeves only had a short life, but creating witchfinder general will be his legacy and the filmmaking world is all the better for it. He is the abominable and muchfeared witchfinder general the tireless spotter of witchesand no soul is safe from his wrath when he thirsts for a confession. Witchfinder general debuted in britain in may of 1968 and in the u. Apr 19, 2020 simply put, witchfinder general is a disturbing, brutal film that destroys everything good. With vincent price, ian ogilvy, rupert davies, hilary heath. Witchfinder general full movie online 1968 free hd. A witch is dragged to the gallows in witchfinder general. Witchfinder general ian cooper oxford university press.
John lowes rupert davies was the priest at brandeston, ten miles northeast of ipswich, who really was tried by water and executed for witchcraft. Rent witchfinder general 1968 on dvd and bluray dvd. From the late 1950s until nearly the end of the 1960s, hammers films were helmed. Witchfinder general 1968 complete soundtrack by paul ferris genre. During the witchhunting craze of the english civil wars, he and his followers terrorized. Witchfinder general 1968 remake in development with nicolas. Witchfinder general, known in the usa as the conqueror worm, starred horror icon vincent price as the notorious seventeenthcentury fanatic matthew hopkins, the eponymous selfstyled witchfinder general. They were named after the 1968 british horror film witchfinder general. Directed by 1 writing credits 5 cast 44 produced by 6 music by 1 cinematography by 1 film editing by 1 casting by 1 art direction by 1 makeup department 2 production management 1 second unit director or assistant director 2 art department 6. Witchfinder general 1968 is a cult classic that tells the true story of the. With its dark plot and relentless focus on cruelty and brutality, its bleak conclusion and general sense of futility in the. Witchfinder general tells the story of matthew hopkins played by price, the reallife 17thcentury puritan lawyer and witchfinder.
In about 100 films, most of them dreadful, price cleverly detracted. Vincent price has one of his finest and most effective roles ever as matthew hopkins in this 1968 british classic. He directed four films in his life time before he died of a drug overdose a couple of months after witchfinder general was completed. Witchfinder general the conqueror worm 1968 britain 88 mins. Witchfinder general 1968, 20 shocking facts you never knew. Michael reeves witchfinder general fits nicely into the 1968 catalog of counterculture films like 2001. Well, the so called digitally restored special edition dvd of witchfinder general odeon entertainment odnf 329 arrived today friday, october 11th, 2019 from an amazon market place seller, two days late for it to have arrived on the 51st anniversary of my going to see the film at the now long gone alhambra, normacot, in 1968. An air of myth and mystery hangs over the film, partly due to its subject matter, and partly, too, because its 25 yearold director, michael reeves, died of a drug overdose just weeks after completing it. The violence and the sex have been ramped up compared to horror films in the past, yet thankfully, these features are here to enhance what would be a very good film without them, not the main features in and of themselves. Sep 27, 2019 witch finder general titled the conqueror worm in the u. Witchfinder general were an english heavy metal band from stourbridge. This week mike is joined by film producer jen handorf to discuss the original two folk horrors in spoilerific detail.
The film follows matthew hopkins vincent price, the proclaimed witchfinder general. Ferris, paul witchfinder general original soundtrack. Witchfinder general is a 1968 britishamerican historical horror film directed by michael reeves and starring vincent price, ian ogilvy, hilary dwyer, robert russell and rupert davies. The witchfinder general 1968 film was based on a novel by ronald bassett. In each town and village he visits, mass panic is whipped up in order to justify the interrogation, torture and eventual execution of innocent people, mostly women. Witchfinder general, british horror film, released in 1968, that is noted for vincent prices sinister portrayal of its main character. He had one of his earliest film acting roles in the early bird 1965 alfie 1966, starring academy awardwinner michael caine, and his other film appearances include press for time 1966, poor cow 1967, witchfinder general 1968, before winter comes 1969, in search of gregory 1969, villain 1971, nobody ordered love 1972, and adolf hitler. The first completed script was sent to the bbfc for appraisal, in advance of production. Witchfinder general 1968 complete soundtrack by paul ferris. Considered by many to feature one of vincent prices best performances, 1968 s witchfinder general is getting remade as a new film produced by nicolas winding refn the neon demon.
Michael reeves, died of a drug overdose just weeks after completing it. Nothing is nastier than folk and witchfinder general finds horrors that only mortals would choose to create. Later after the movie was completed, another two minutes were lopped. When conducting one of their witch hunts in the village of brandeston, one of the many they accuse of witchcraft is the local priest. Witchfinder general titled onscreen as matthew hopkins. Witchfinder general aka the conqueror worm, 1968 full. Had the film received the same mainstream distribution as rosemarys baby also released in 1968, it quite possibly couldve led to an oscar for price for his brilliant, haunting portrayal of the title character. This film, while successful upon it original 1968 release, was relegated in us cinemas to midnightdrivein screenings like vincent prices edgar allan poe adaptations indeed, its original us title was the somewhatcatchy the conqueror worm, the title of a poe poem. Nov 24, 20 the score for witchfinder general, michael reeves highly regarded 1968 cult horror movie starring vincent price, ian ogilvie, rupert davies, wilfrid brambell and patrick wymark, sees its first ever release.
Available on dvd from is in civil war as the royalists battle oliver cromwells roundheads for control. Although generally labelled a horror film, the film transcends. Vincent price, ian ogilvy, hilary dwyer, robert russell, patrick wymark, wilfred brambell. The screenplay by reeves and tom baker was based on ronald bassett s novel of the same name. Witchfinder general to give the movie its original british name is an. Rather than ghosts, vampires or zombies, or even plants or animals turning against the human race, the real horror is the human race itself. Stream witchfinder general uncut, adfree on all your favorite devices. Matthew hopkins is a witchhunter in england in the 17th century, travelling round investigating cases and punishing those he finds guilty, however we also see that he takes advantage of the situation in his own way. While i found the film to work for the intended subject matter, the witchfinder general even with restored scenes was pretty light fair for witch hunter style films.
David brooks witchfinder general 1968, vinyl discogs. Probably the worst film price ever made, despite his. Witchfinder general was one of the films produced at that time. Witchfinder general 1968 remake in development with.
The german 84 entertainment release has 2 cuts of the film with extensive extras. The most famous film by british 1960s horror studio tigon british film productions even though everyone assumes that it must have been by hammer. As for the film s numerous home video incarnations, the most complete version. Certainly by the time he completed witchfinder general, he had jumped light years. A young soldier seeks to put an end to the evils caused by a vicious. The whole film is unpleasant, and if it werent for its perfectly paced, uncluttered narrative, it would hold little appeal. Matthew hopkins the selfproclaimed witchfinder general of the title was a real man who lived in the first half of the 17thcentury. Witchfinder general aka witchfinder general aka conqueror worm the 1968 hell hang, burn and mutilate you. Both audiences had been privy to the work of the film s masthead star, vincent price, who was at this time enjoying his most varied and widespread renown as a genre actor. The best, and regrettably the last, of too few films directed by michael reeves before his untimely death. The screenplay was by reeves and tom baker based on ronald bassetts novel of the same name. They were part of the new wave of british heavy metal scene and have been cited as a major influence on the doom metal genre.
Witchfinder general film by reeves 1968 britannica. Witchfinder general online free watch a movie online through best free 1080p hd videos on your desktop, laptop, notebook, tablet, iphone, ipad, mac pro and more. In 1645, during the english civil war, the ipswich lawyer turned witchfinder general matthew hopkins, and his servant john stearne, tour the country instigating witch hunts, extracting confessions through torture. In this case, its actress hilary dwyer aka hilary heath who died on earlier this month at age 75. Witchfinder general 1968, directed by michael reeves film. Nov 18, 2008 having said all that, witchfinder general is definitely first and foremost a horror film, just as much as the texas chain saw massacre and henry. Dont get left behind enjoy unlimited, adfree access to shudders full library of films and series for 7 days. Witchfinder general, known in the usa as the conqueror worm, starred horror icon vincent price as the notorious seventeenthcentury fanatic matthew hopkins, the eponymous selfstyled witchfinder. Originally published in 1966 and filmed with vincent price in the title role in 1968, witchfinder general is a good, engaging historical novel. An unexplained suicide, at 24, within a few months of witchfinder general s release, has often been linked to reeves masterpieces blighted release.
Witchfinder general 1968 burnt offerings horror podcast. Even with its banned controversial scenes and edited releases it. Jul 10, 2018 michael reeves witchfinder general fits nicely into the 1968 catalog of counterculture films like 2001. This was one of a handful of films, made in the late 1960s and.
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