The Witches

A little boy Luke ((Jasen Fisher) is told by his grandmother (Mai Zetterling) all about witches, and of her own childhood experience with these evil creatures, including the mysterious loss of her best friend to their wicked wiles.

When a few months later he goes with his grandmother to a grand old hotel by the seaside in England, he discovers to his dismay that there is witches conference at the hotel, and before he can foil there evil plans to destroy the children of England, he and another boy, Bruno (Charles Potter) are turned into mice at the orders of the Grand High Witch (Angelica Huston)

He and Bruno must now survive while at the same time exposing defeating the witches' evil plans.

A great movie based on the book by Roald Dahl.


Great Movie About Bad Witches   October 12, 2003
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

The great thing about "The Witches" is that it isn't only an exciting, imaginitive fairy-tale, but it's a dark comedy as well. While not completely faithful to the book, its differences are forgivable and likable. It has the same combination of mild scariness and wittiness that Roald Dahl put into his other stories, like "Matilda." The story is mainly about Luke and his Norweigan grandmother, Helga. She tells him stories about Witches, creatures that look like women to fit into society but are really magical monsters that loath children. They are bald, have no toes, have claws for fingernails, among other abnormalities. Helga and Luke go on a vacation to a hotel, where things set off at a bad start as Luke finds himself stuck in a metting of the witches of England. Anjelica Huston gives a great performance as the Grand High Witch, the formiddable leader of the witches, who has grave plans to destroy all the children in the world. When Luke falls prey to them, he and Helga form a plan to destroy all the witches in the hotel. A great thing about this movie is the characters. Helga and Luke are characters that are easy to love and root for. There are funny supporting characters such as the hotel manager, the maid he is in love with, Bruno Jenkins, and the single witch who actually is not evil. Anjelica Huston's witch is scary, but you almost find yourself liking her. It's like when you watch the "Silence of the Lambs" movies and find yourself liking Hannibal Lecter. Of course, this movie isn't too violent or gory like those movies, but there is still the sense of adventure and danger. I reccomend this movie to everyone except small kids, who it might be a little too scary for. It is a wonderful film with great special effects by Jim Henson. There are only a few fairy tales that are as good, like "The Wizard of Oz" and a few Disney movies. Not even "Harry Potter" compares to this one.


Absolutely Fantastic!   September 7, 2003
Christian (Brisbane, Queensland Australia)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

"The Witches" is one of the best movies ever produced. If you have not seen it, see it! If you have seen it, see it again! Nicholas Roeg directed this movie (which is based on Roald Dahl's novel of the same name), and delivers a brilliant film on so many levels.

The visuals are amazing and the story is intriguing. The plot involves a young boy, Luke, and his grandmother going on a vacation to a seaside hotel in England, only to discover that many of its occupants are REAL WITCHES, one of whom is the Grand High Witch. Angelica Houston does a fabulous job as the Grand High Witch, and the make-up which forms her disguised face is both frightening and spectacular.

It is unfortunate that "The Witches" is largely unrecognized, as adults and children alike will adore this movie for its action, suspense and sheer brilliance. There is no doubt in my mind that this film is among the best ever made.


5 star film 0 star DVD!!   September 3, 2003
C. A Baker (Petaluma, CA United States)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

This DVD is a joke. No widescreen, no extras, just the VHS version transfered to a DVD. I won't buy this release and neither should you. Instead send an e-mail to the company that produced this and ask for a decent release of this marvelous film.
I was rather amused at the Pagan comments made here, this film has nothing to do with paganism it is a children's book about fairy tale Witches..period end of story. Anyone thinking this would have anything to do with paganism obviously doesn't understand the difference!
The film is wonderful and brilliantly acted by the entire cast....a happier ending is tacked on than the original book but it is still a wonderful story. And full of humor and wit, well worth renting and waiting for a DECENT DVD release...


DONT GET THIS IF YOU LIKED THE BOOK!   August 7, 2003
Lauren Watkins (Auburn, WA)
4 out of 8 found this review helpful

I loved the book, so when I saw this, I was HORRIBLY disappointed. It *butchered* Dahl's work. The only way someone could get me to watch this again (I had to be forced to watch it after I wanted to get up after the first 15 minutes) is if they strapped me down and forced me to keep my eyes open on pain of death. The entire hotel scene was awful, and the part with his grandmother at the beginning was so... disgustingly off of the book. I would run out of ways to describe my distaste of this movie before I ran out of things to complain about it! Do yourself a BIG favor and get the book instead, you'll be glad you did!