Product Description

From the great Muppet creator Jim Henson comes this classic bursting with enchantment and adventure. Academy Award winner Anjelica Huston stars as the Grand High Witch in this exhilarating tale.Year: 1990

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11940 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 1999-06-22
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
This splendid adventure-fantasy from 1990 was adapted from Roald Dahl's book and directed by maverick British filmmaker Nicolas Roeg, who turned out to be a perfect (if seemingly unlikely) interpreter of Dahl's fiendishly clever tale of witchcraft in contemporary England. Scary, funny, and wildly entertaining, it's all about a young boy named Luke (Jasen Fisher) whose parents have died in a tragic accident, and whose grandmother (Mai Zetterling) takes him to a posh hotel in England, where a secret coven of witches is holding its annual convention. The Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston, in a scene-stealing performance) has decreed that all children in England be turned into mice, and Luke and his pal Bruno (Charles Potter) are the first victims on the list. That's when the movie magicians from Jim Henson's creature shop have their work cut out for them, turning Luke and Bruno into clever little rodents and The Witches into a dazzling display of imaginative special effects, using a seamless combination of real mice and superb animatronic puppets. Director Roeg doesn't compromise the sinister edge of Dahl's story, but comedy gets equal time from the brilliant cast including Brenda Blethyn (from Secrets and Lies and Little Voice), Rowan Atkinson (of Black Adder and Mr. Bean fame), and Jane Horrocks (Little Voice) as the Grand High Witch's beleaguered assistant. Although it was largely neglected during its brief theatrical release, this wonderful movie has since enjoyed a thriving appreciation on video--see it and you'll understand why. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Not Quite for Children, Not Quite for Adults
"The Witches" is one of my favorite films. The film combines the substantial filmmaking talents of Nicholas Roeg with the wonderworking of Jim Henson and an unforgettable performance from Angelica Huston. Every time I watch this film, I find something new to like about it.

Since I have seen the film numerous times, I was a bit disappointed that the DVD did not contain any special features, such as a commentary from the filmmaker or one of the actors. Other than the most basic chapter selection, the DVD does not offer any of the bonuses that one would like to see. Fortunately, the film itself is so good that it is worthwhile to buy this disc in spite of the substandard packaging.

From the very beginning of the film, we are thrown into an imaginative world where witches reside in literally every small village and where no child is safe in any country. As the credits roll across the screen, Roeg treats us to a ride on a broomstick, to a witch's-eye view of the frozen Scandinavian countryside.

The film then introduces us to Luke and his grandmother, the protagonists of this tale. We learn that the grandmother has long been fighting the witches and even has lost part of her finger in the struggles. After tragedy strikes the young boy's parents, the pair travel to England, which is literally infested with witches. Fortunately, Luke has been well-warned how to recognize them and can play safely in his tree house when other children would be in grave peril.

The delicious irony compounds when the grandmother takes Luke to a seaside resort hotel for her convalescence. It is the precise time when all the witches of England are meeting under the cover of the Royal Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Children. In a closed-door session, the witches remove their wigs and uncomfortable, yet practical, shoes, letting us see them in all their repulsiveness. The Grand High Witch (played to perfection by Angelica Huston) reveals her plan to turn all the children of England into mice. Of course, the witch's plan goes astray, and tables are turned on all the witches in one of the most delightful scenes in all of modern cinema. Every time I watch it, I think to myself how much fun it would be to make a film like this one.

This is a charming, delightful film with enough diversions to keep children fascinated, told with enough skill to keep adults interested. It is a keeper, worth watching many times.

.....and they lived happily ever after?
That woman with the purple eyes
and ugly square-toed shoes
The one who's scratching at her scalp
is certainly bad news!

Does she look faint when kids draw near
or hold her nose and run?
If women like this roam the world
God bless us, everyone

Convention time at the hotel
we goggle at the sight
of Grand High Witch Angelica
whose wig is on too tight

Her followers cheer gleefully
as she takes off her mask
revealing all her ghastly warts
and gives them one big task

"Quit your jobs," the Chief Witch says
"and open candy shops,
free chocolate should do the trick
we'll pull out all the stops"

The witches have an evil plan
to rid the world of brats
those stinky, smelly rotten kids
will now be meals for cats

But all bad deeds must have a hitch
their plan's been overheard
a clever boy is eavesdropping
and has heard every word

Soon he's crawling through the kitchens
and dropping in the cress
too many cooks DO spoil the broth
and make an awful mess

The ending differs from the book
it's really very sappy
I'm sure Dahl's rolling in his grave
because they made it happy


Rated: 3.5 stars



Amanda Richards, July 29, 2006


PS - The sound quality on this DVD is not up to standard, and you'll need to watch it with remote in hand to make volume adjustments. There are no sub-titles or closed-captioning, and the packaging is of the cheaper variety.

The Witches
Roald Dahl, best-known for his "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory", also penned this dark little tale, which is brought to vivid cinematic life by gifted director Nicolas Roeg ("Walkabout", "Don't Look Now"). The late Jim Henson's distinctive talents are on display in some of the rodent and witch representations, and the film also boasts broadly amusing turns by Anjelica Huston (as The Grand High Witch) and Brits Brenda Blethyn and Rowan Atkinson in supporting roles.