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Häxan AKA Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922)
R2 - United Kingdom - Tartan Video Review written by and copyright: Jari Kovalainen (22nd January 2008). |
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The Film
 A woman is thrown into the deep water with her hands and legs tied. If she floats, she must be a witch and will be eventually burned at stake - alive. If she drowns, it´s the sign of her innocence and the judges “thank God” that she wasn´t working for the Devil after all. A pretty grim way to die, no matter what happens. Add the hangings, violent torture, and some (of course based on pure superstition) “proofs” of witchcraft and you´ve entered the dark world of witch-hunts, which were at their peak in the 1500-1600’s. There even was a “handbook” for witch-hunters and Inquisitors (“Malleus Maleficarum” - from 1487), also doing its part to keep the mass hysteria and death toll high. Danish director/writer/actor Benjamin Christensen was fascinated by the book - along with the subject, and with the help of Swedish backers he made “Häxan (1922)”, the most expensive silent film ever produced in Scandinavia. It can be argued whether “Häxan” is actually more like a “documentary” than a “film”, but for many it´s both. Due to the subject matter it´s often placed under the “horror”-genre, but it wouldn´t be right to bluntly call it just a silent horror-film. Authorities at the time still thought that it was too much for the “common man” to handle, so it was originally banned in many countries. Fortunately the uncut print was re-discovered in Sweden in 1941, which gave the film another life. That it truly deserved. No matter what category the film is placed, one thing is certain: “Häxan” is still quite a fascinating study of superstition and witch-hunts (mainly) during the medieval times. It´s divided into 7 chapters, from the late 1400s to “present times” (well, to 1922 at that time). The first chapter goes even further into history by stating that the witches, sorcery and mysticism are as old as mankind. Man has always feared the “Devil” in some ways and when man fears something, the solutions are often quite drastic. Thousands of innocent women (and some men) learned that during the days of the witch-hunts. After Christensen has introduced the subject with ancient pictures and paintings, the film moves to its second chapter, including an acted montage of the old sorceress, grave robbing and the Devil appearing to people. The third part gives some history of the witch trials and shows an (acted) example of how the innocent old beggar woman Marie, the Seamstress (Emmy Schønfeld), is wrongly accused of being a witch, mainly because the young maiden resents her appearance. This story continues to chapters four (Marie is interrogated and tortured) and five (Marie will deliver her revenge to her accusers, who are now brought to the front of the monks themselves). Like the film states, during those days it was dangerous to be old and ugly, but it wasn´t safe to be young and pretty either. In chapter five the monks use trickery to get a confession out of the young woman and in the end of this part the monks leave and head for the next town (where the madness continues). “Häxan” generally gives some ideas of how the Inquisitors and judges behaved at that time and how cruel and inhuman their methods were. Chapter six introduces some torture devices and reasons behind different “confessions”, and chapter seven finally brings the witch-hunts to modern times; mental illness - e.g. hysteria, different diseases, deformations and even things like sleepwalking were probably often the reason for the ancient witch accusations. Just to maintain the certain curiosity of the viewer, the film still states how superstitions still live among us in some degree. The actor Emmy Schønfeld (“Marie”) also stated to the director that she has seen the Devil sitting at her bedside. So, who knows… Technically “Häxan” is masterful (despite the Swedish money, it was shot in a studio in Denmark), since there are many inventive, surreal scenes and images of the witches, Devils, satanic masses or just some strange and mystical things. “Hell” itself comes to life in early “animation”, coins in the floor will “fly” out of the room (using reverse technique), witches with broomsticks fly in the night sky over the city (using miniatures and optical effects) and the sinful black rites are in full effect, with scenes of decadence, lust and Devil worshipping. Make-up effects together with lighting really bring the devilish creatures to life and the film´s special effects must´ve been state of the art by 1922 standards. It´s actually no full surprise that “Häxan” was banned in many countries at the time of its release. Images of the naked women kissing the Devil´s behind and the tongue-waving Devil (just to name a few) have probably shocked many “authorities”. While the film has obviously lost some of its momentum over the years (certain scenes feel a bit naïve or even childish), it still holds up remarkably well. At times you have to remind yourself that the film was made in the early 1920s and in the silent era, since everything from the story and actors to visual effects and mood work quite seemingly in the film. “Häxan” definitely belongs to the “must see”-list of the silent era and the word “groundbreaking” is probably not that far from the truth either. “Tartan Video”-release includes also the shorter B&W version “Witchcraft Through The Ages (Häxan) (1968)” of the film, which uses English intertitles and the narration by legendary author William S. Burroughs. While this English sound version - produced by Antony Balch, is a good effort, it´s still inferior to the original one. Granted, Burroughs has a very distinctive voice - adding some dramatic touches, but the film was meant to be seen without any spoken words - with only added music. That´s part of its power. Still, very nice that this alternate version is also included. In the end, it´s actually quite a miracle that this controversial film has survived at all, considering how many early silent films have been lost during the years.
Video
“Tartan Video” presents the film in 4:3 and is using the same digital, speed-corrected transfer (to my knowledge 18-20fps) of the Swedish Film Institute’s tinted 35 mm restoration that was previously released by “The Criterion Collection” (UK-release even has the “Janus Films”-logo before the film). The print is in very good condition, offering good sharpness, contrast and clarity, but obviously there is some wear, dirt and film artifacts, along with grain. I also noticed some compression artifacts, so that probably could´ve been better. The colour-tinted print offers some solid brown/reddish and bluish shades, which look quite natural for this type of silent film. Very good transfer indeed. The film runs 106:39 minutes, which includes the added music score-credits (the actual film runs 105:05 minutes). The film has 16 chapters. The B&W “Witchcraft Through The Ages (Häxan) (1968)” re-release runs 76:38 minutes. Apparently this version is sped-up to 24fps, but it´s still missing some intertitles and the opening has a slightly different structure. This version has more film artifacts and dirt (and it´s not colour tinted), but all in all it still looks fairly good. The “dual layer” disc is coded for “R2”.
Audio
The common practice with the silent films, originally, was that the musical score was played live during each presentation of the film. In the case of “Häxan”, the original score was composed by Danish Launy Grøndahl. Both “Tartan Video” and “The Criterion Collection”-releases include the 2001 recorded score based on the music (list of musical cues printed in the theatre´s weekly program notes were used as a source) played at the film´s Danish premiere at the “Palads Teatret” in Copenhagen on November 7, 1922 (note, that the world premiere was in Stockholm, on September 18, 1922, but the details for that score are not really known). This Dolby Digital 5.0 score was arranged and conducted by the film music specialist Gillian Anderson and performed by the Czech Film Orchestra. The piano and strings-based score is not that downbeat as I probably first expected, but it works very well for the movie. I would say that it should be the first choice to see the film, at least if you want to get the similar experience as the people in 1922. In addition to the “Original Danish Premiere” soundtrack, “Tartan Video”-release includes two alternate musical scores for the film, both recently made in 2007. A soundtrack by the UK based group (essentially a songwriting partnership of Guy Bartell and Nick Talbot) “Bronnt Industries Kapital” is available in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo and a soundtrack by the British composer and performer Geoff Smith is in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. “Bronnt Industries Kapital”-score is quite low key and moody, with strong industrial and ambient influences. Although the track is available in 5.1, the track is quite Stereo-like (with added ambience on the rear channels). Geoff Smith on the other hand is the master of Hammered dulcimer, to which the score for “Häxan” is also based. Compared to the “Original Danish Premiere” soundtrack, Smith’s score is also quite calm, with added dramatic sequences. Note, that the film includes the original Swedish intertitles, with optional English subtitles. The alternate “Witchcraft Through The Ages (Häxan)”-version includes the restless jazz-based soundtrack by the composer and musician (percussion) Daniel Humair in Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono. This version doesn´t include any subtitles (since the intertitles and narration are in English).
Extras
There are no real extras (if you don´t count the additional soundtrack-options), but the 6-page booklet includes liner notes by Jack Stevenson (author of the book “Witchcraft Through the Ages: The Story of Haxan, the World's Strangest Film, and the Man Who Made It”) and David Parkinson, along with the info about composer Geoff Smith and the group “Bronnt Industries Kapital”.
Overall
It´s often said that “Häxan” was the world´s first cult-film and I can´t argue with that. It has surprisingly many layers, from documentary and drama to horror and fantasy, from surrealism to history lesson. It even has some early images of “exploitation”, if you will. Visually it´s ahead of its time, offering many great special effects and photographic tricks. The DVD-presentation has the same, quality transfer as the earlier “Criterion Collection”-release, and while it´s dropping all the extras, film music fans can choose from three soundtrack-options for the main feature. Not bad. For more info, please visit the homepage of Tartan Video (UK).
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