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(aka 'The Witches" or "Witchcraft Through the Ages')

directed by Benjamin Christensen
Sweden 19
22

 

Grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath: Benjamin Christensen’s legendary silent film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the Middle Ages and early modern era suffered from the same ills as psychiatric patients diagnosed with hysteria in the film's own time. Far from a dry dissertation on the topic, the film itself is a witches’ brew of the scary, the gross, and the darkly humorous. Christensen’s mix-and-match approach to genre anticipates gothic horror, documentary re-creation, and the essay film, making for an experience unlike anything else in the history of cinema.

***

Danish filmmaker Benjamin Christensen's obsession with bizarre lighting effects reached its apotheosis with his 1922 masterpiece Häxan. Beginning in a deceptively sedate fashion with a series of woodcuts and engravings (a technique later adopted by RKO producer Val Lewton), the film then shifts into gear with a progression of dramatic vignettes, illustrating the awesome power of witchcraft in the Middle Ages. So powerful are some of these images that even some modern viewers will avert their eyes from the screen. Though obviously a work of pure imagination, the film occasionally takes on the dimensions of a documentary, a byproduct of the extensive research done by Christensen before embarking on the project (incidentally, the director himself can be seen in the film in a dual role as Satan and the Doctor). Häxan marked a parting of the ways for Christensen and the Danish film industry; thereafter, he confined his activities to the German cinema, before answering Hollywood's call in 1928. A separate version of this film exists, with a shorter running time, retitled Witchcraft Through the Ages and released in 1968. It features narration by the legendary Beat writer William S. Burroughs (Naked Lunch) and a score by Jean-Luc Ponty.

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: October 21st, 1994

Reviews                                                                                                       More Reviews                                                                                       DVD Reviews

 

Comparison:

Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

  

Bonus Captures:

Distribution Criterion Collection - Spine # 134 - Region 0 - NTSC Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:45:04         1:45:45.005 
Video 1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 5.71 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 46,996,282,152 bytes

Feature: 30,625,898,496 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.45 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio Music: (Dolby Digital 5.0), (Dolby Digital 2.0) 

DTS-HD Master Audio 1984 kbps 5.0 / 48 kHz / 1984 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

Subtitles English, None English, None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: Criterion / Home Vision

Aspect Ratio:
Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1

Edition Details:

• Häxan (1922):
• New digital, speed-corrected transfer of the Swedish Film Institute’s tinted restoration
• Music from the original Danish premiere, arranged by film music specialist Gillian Anderson and performed by the Czech Film Orchestra, presented in Dolby Digital 5.0
• Commentary by Danish silent film scholar Casper Tybjerg
• Benjamin Christensen’s introduction to the 1941 re-release
• A short selection of outtakes
• Bibliothèque Diabolique: a photographic exploration of Christensen’s historical sources
• Stills gallery
• New English translation of intertitles
• Witchcraft Through the Ages (1968): The 76-minute version of Häxan, narrated by William S. Burroughs, with a soundtrack featuring Jean-Luc Ponty

DVD Release Date: October 16th, 2010

Keep Case
Chapters: 22

Release Information:
Studio:
Criterion

 

1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 46,996,282,152 bytes

Feature: 30,625,898,496 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.45 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Audio commentary from 2001 featuring film scholar Casper Tybjerg
• Witchcraft Through the Ages (1968), a seventy-six-minute version of Häxan narrated by author William S. Burroughs, with a soundtrack featuring violinist Jean-Luc Ponty (1:16:4)
• Director Benjamin Christensen’s introduction to the 1941 rerelease (8:12)
• Outtakes (4:34)
• Bibliothèque diabolique, a photographic exploration of Christensen’s historical sources, created in 2001 (15:05)
• PLUS: An essay by critic Chris Fujiwara, remarks on the score by Anderson, and (with the Blu-ray) an essay by scholar Chloé Germaine Buckley


Blu-ray Release Date:
October 15th, 2019
Transparent Blu-ray Case iChapters 21

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (September 2019): Criterion have transferred Benjamin Christensen's Häxan to 1080P Blu-ray. via a "New 2K digital restoration". As you can see most of the tints are gone - sticking with a sepia hue for indoors and blue for outdoors. The 1080P seems to have resolved the 20 fps 'combing' we could occasionally see on the older SD transfer. Although frames are duplicated to counter the original production frame-rate - it is seamless in-motion. Detail, especially later in the film, is highly remarkable (you can plainly see the make-up) in close-ups. I never would have though Häxan could have looked this stunning. The HD presentation is significantly more immersive.  

NOTE: 28 more full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray captures for Patrons are available HERE.

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a DTS-HD Master 5.0 channel track (24-bit). On the score: "Silent films were seldom seen in actual silence—and huge "cinema palaces" often featured chamber orchestras. For the Criterion Collection's 2001 release of Haxan, film music specialist Gillian Anderson attempted to recreate the music played at the movie's Danish premiere at the Palads Teatret theater on November 7, 1922, basing her score on a list of musical cues printed in the theater's weekly program notes. For this recording, she conducted the Czech Film Orchestra in Prague in June 2001." Criterion offer optional English subtitles for the Swedish intertitles (that have changed from the DVD - see sample below) on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Criterion Blu-ray has the same extras as their DVD from 2010. Repeated are the excellent commentary from Danish silent film scholar Casper Tybjerg who covers so much in the films 1 3/4 running time especially interesting is the details on Benjamin Christensen’s life. It was still fascinating to revisit it. Another major supplement is the seventy-six-minute version of Witchcraft Through the Ages; a version of Haxan released in 1968, representing one of several cinematic collaborations between avant-gardists Antony Balch, Brion Gysin, and William S. Burroughs, who performed the voiceover narration on the film. Daniel Humair composed the jazz score, which features, among others, Jean-Luc Ponty on violin. There is an 8-minute introduction by director Benjamin Christensen from the 1941 rerelease. Repeated are the 5 -minutes of Outtakes and the 15-minute Bibliothèque diabolique, created in 2001 by film scholar Casper Tybjerg, a collection of images that elucidate some of the historical sources director Christensen drew on to make Häxan. The package has liner notes with an essay by critic Chris Fujiwara, remarks on the score by Anderson, and an essay by scholar Chloé Germaine Buckley.

Häxan is unique and brilliant. It exports like an epic document of demonology with impressive effects, shocking visuals and a marvelous, unforgettable, conclusion. Not only 'Silent-Era' solid gold - but the primordial-soup of cinema horror. Our absolute highest Blu-ray recommendation. 

***

ON THE DVD (2010): The Swedish Film Institute’s restoration of Häxan began with the creation of a fine-grain master made from the original camera negative. The intertitles, most of which had been lost, were replaced with new film titles. Then, the SFI recreated the tinting that had originally been present in theatrical prints of Häxan, bringing this version much closer to what audiences might have seen at the time of its original release.

Criterion's new digital transfer was made from a 35mm low-contrast print, at the Swedish Film Institute’s recommended speed of 20 frames per second. During shots of rapid motion, there is a “tracer” effect; this is present in the original film image. If not for this knowledge I would have said that this was the first non HD-sourced Criterion DVD I had ever seen, but the "combing" that I saw is the 'tracer' effect due to the frame speed noted above.

You can't really have any fault with the image once you become aware of the detail and effort that went into producing this print. It shows damage - yes, but at time it looks remarkable as evidenced by the screen captures below.
The audio 5.0 mix makes the experience a truly haunting one and the DVD is rife with extras including the 76 minute 1968 version and a commentary on the feature. Again Criterion goes above and beyond.

Gary Tooze

 


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2) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


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2) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC  TOP

2) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC  TOP

2) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC  TOP

2) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC  TOP

2) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

  


 

 

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Box Cover

  

Bonus Captures:

Distribution Criterion Collection - Spine # 134 - Region 0 - NTSC Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


 


 

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Gary Tooze

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