Hexenjagd

While the setting and the historical source of the movie is that of the late 17th century, don't be fooled, this is a movie about communism. More accurately, about the wretched logic the communist justice system has used to imprison and kill hundreds of people in the Czechoslovakian 50s. The forced confessions, self-accusal, torture and naming of innocent accomplices were all part of communist processes in which such as Milada Horáková perished.

There are plenty of analogies in the movie which I don't intend to spoil. The atmosphere is crafted masterfully, giving the film a bleak and dark look and amplifying the effects of its story. The performances are very good, however I don't know how well does the original czech translate into the subtitles. What keeps this from being a 10 out of 10 is the pacing. In a certain point of the movie, the end becomes obvious and the rest is just a hammer that drives the nail of absolute despair into your brain.

The persecution of witches is a rather popular cinematic topic; the best film on the topic undoubtedly being 1968's Witchfinder General. This Czech effort follows a similar plot line to the earlier film, though the result is much artier and less graphic and while I preferred the older film - this one has its merits and will be of interest to people who find this topic interesting or who enjoy arty foreign films. The style of the movie rather reminded me of Ingmar Bergman's work (though less 'deep') and fans of his (a group of people that doesn't include me) will probably like this film too. The film begins with a sequence that sees an old woman take something from a church in order to help a cow give birth. Naturally, the powers that be aren't amused and after being caught, she is put before them to explain her actions. The council agree that she is involved in witchcraft, but other people are also implicated during the trial; and after she is put to death, the 'town cleanser' goes on a crusade to rid the town of all "witchcraft".

The film features very stark black and white cinematography and this helps the film in terms of atmosphere as it feels very dark and unpleasant, which bodes well with the plot. The film is not very graphic - especially not compared to other films on this topic and not in its own right either; only a scene that sees three people burned alive could really be considered graphic. Most of the plot line is made up of debate between the lead characters and while it's fairly interesting, the film did start to grate on me after a while and I would have preferred it to be a bit more visceral. Witches' Hammer is very well acted and the ensemble cast all fit into their roles well. This is the first (and probably last) film I've seen from director Otakar Vávra but clearly he's a director that pays attention to detail as every frame of the film feels carefully crafted. Overall, I won't say that this is a favourite of mine and if you're looking for a film about the witch trials, I would recommend Witchfinder General first; but Witches' Hammer is an interesting film and may be of interest to some people.

Whether we are talking about the real "witch trials" of the past, or alluding to more recent government (or other) uses of torture to advance or "prove" their causes, we quickly drift into very murky territory, IMHO. Even when used by a "good guy" such as Jack Bauer (in "24") to expedite things there's an inherent concern that, if people will say anything to escape the pain, then what's the point, and what is "proved"?

As this film well illustrates - whether it's about Communism or Witches - the wider issues of power, greed and societal control can provide ample cause for those willing to go down that path. Personally, I found it a tough (and somewhat depressing) watch, even though there is sparing use of graphic violence - but enough to get the point and add to the escalating mood of oppression.

Not for children, but otherwise recommended.

Courtesy of AIP Studios' Witchfinder General (1968), everyone knows of the exploits of British witch-hunter Matthew Hopkins (as portrayed by Vincent Price) and his fictionalized counterparts in Count Christian von Meruh and Lord Cumberland (as portrayed by Udo Keir and Herbert Lom) in Mark of the Devil (1970) and Mark of the Devil II (1973). And now you'll learn of the even bloodier exploits of Witchfinder Inquisitor Boblig von Edelstat.

Born in Austria-Hungary, Czech Republic filmmaker Otakar Vavra's lone foray into the horror genre is this historical-drama concerned with the brutal inquisition of witches during the medieval era-a film that won several awards at Argentina's Mar del Plata International Film Festival in 1970. One of those wins was for cinematographer Josef Illik who, after watching Witchhammer: you'll wonder why Illik's name is not as revered in international film circles as Hungarian-American cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond (Deliverance, Close Encounters of the Third Kind).

Based on a best-selling Czech history novel (1963) by Vaclav Kaplicky, the 17th century tale chronicles the real-life, human rights atrocities of the North Moravia Witch Trails of the 1670s by Witchfinder Inquisitor Boblig von Edelstat in which 100 people were murdered. The book's main protagonist, Priest Josef Lautner, is a cleric who tries to help his people, but soon falls victim to the trails for opposing "God's Law." The book is heralded as an important to literary lesson of man's ills in political-based paranoia and political prosecution on-level with Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953) (required high school reading for many years).

The resulting film adapted by Vavra was banned, ironically, not for its graphic nature, but for Vavra adapting the film as an acidic allegory to the Communist show trails that rocked Czechoslovakia in the 1950s. While the film was banned from showing by the Czechoslovakian government, it was accepted by the international marketplace as a cinematic masterpiece.

I won't sugarcoat: Witchhammer, as was Pier Pasolini's Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975), isn't pleasant (Pasolini's film even more so), but it is an exquisite example of perfection in cinema.

Watch this movie. Then watch it again.

You can find my more expansive review -- as I get into Vavra's resume -- under "Critic Reviews" for B&S About Movies.

I have just seen the movie and I liked it more than any other movie about catholic persecution of witches. The last one I saw (and I think last one made) was The Crucible - that one wasn't bad, but I could not feel as much despair, corruption and that fear to speak up your mind as in this one. Kladivo na Carodejnice - with all the brutality, torture and all that injustice is real and very hard to forget. It is very well played and made. "Kladivo na Carodejnice" is a movie, that definitely catches your attention even when it's nearly 40 years old (not as if it was a bad thing)...that pathetic way in which some movies were made in 60's (I think it is about the lightning in these black&white movies) makes it look so threatening, so dark and sad....and so beautiful.