US MGM unrated DVD edition
Masterful pitch-black dark Revenge Drama Horror Classic from
an England in Civil War. It's the Evil year of 1645 and
the battle stands between the usurper of power, Oliver Cromwell and King Charles
royalists. The times are dark and the
Witchhunter, The Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price in his maybe
finest role portrayal of his career)
is harassing the already by war destroyed countryside by practising torture
and murder in the name of the State.
(Many countries and also my country Sweden at this time in history was plagued
by the witch craze, besides being in
a military alliance with Cromwell's England).
The film starts nasty of a woman being brutally lynched and
hanged as a supposed witch, and then we get to follow the
Cromwellian army soldier Richard Marshall (Ian Ogilvy). Back home his marital
bliss with his wife Sara (Hilary Dwyer)
is disturbed when the cruel and sadistic Witchfinder arrives and starts torturing
until the soldier explodes in hatred and
revenge. The film is very atmospherically shot and you get a claustrophobic
feeling of the dark will of Man when
watching this depressing Feel Bad film. Vincent Price is magnificent but Evil
in a restrained performance and portrayal
of the historical person Matthew Hopkins. This film is considered a genre masterpiece,
and tragically the very talented
director Michael Reeves died shortly after making this film only 25 years old.
Film ratio is widescreen 1.85:1, english mono audio, with an audio commentary
with film historian Steve Haberman,
co-producer and actor Ian Ogilvy, "Witchfinder General: Michael Reeves
Horror Classic"- a documentary 24 minutes