As Bruxas de Salem

First.... I can't believe this is a made for TV movie... seems too well acted, too many great actors, and set design/period too well done, for a "made for TV stamp" to be on this movie.

I never thought much about Shirley MacLaine.... just as a has-been sex symbol, and fluff actress (like early Natalie Wood). But when I saw this movie....WOW... she sheds all vanity and modesty, and delivers a powerful performance worthy of an (other??) Oscar. Piousness, Humbleness, sympathetic...all the qualities I thought this actress was not (didn't she do a Las Vegas show recently??)... she played all this, so movingly.

Peter Ustinov was at his best, too, playing a villain, yet showing his character as more complex, who feels sorrow at what he does, but still metes out his brand of misplaced judgment.

As high a drama as this was, I noted much of the movie as historically accurate enough, making this a great movie. On par with "Judgment at Nuremburg" (another star-clogged movie, that ended up being a great success).

In this three-hour TV special, the plot is pretty self-explanatory. It's about the Salem Witch Trials. If you're interested in that period of history, this movie is pretty good. If you haven't seen or studied America's famous witch hunts, it might be better to start with The Crucible and ease your way in. This one is pretty intense, and very long, so you might get overwhelmed.

For the historians out there, this is a good representation of the hysteria of the time. With veteran actors like Alan Bates, Peter Ustinov, and Shirley MacLaine to round out the cast, it's a well-acted assault on the senses. There's lots of screaming, lots of accusations, and lots of fear. But after all, there's nothing more American than fear of "different" is there?

I was pleased to finally see Hollywood come out with a more realistic portrayal of the events surrounding one of the darkest periods in American history. The acting is excellent and the events are about as close to reality as you will ever get out of our American movie industry, which is usually incapable of portraying such historical facts without garbaging things up with special effects and their two cents worth of fiction thrown in for the purpose of maintaining the interest of those with IQ's that parallel the range of springtime temperatures. I highly recommend this movie to anyone interested in this period of our history.

Although this version has a few serious historical flaws, "Salem Witch Trials" is a relatively entertaining story. I agree that Part I was slow but I chalked that up to historical/cultural background that made Part II more believable. Two things that bothered me: (a) the trials appeared to be judged by two men from beginning to end when, in reality, a panel of several men was sent to try the accused, and (b) the scene of Rebecca Nurse in prison asserting New Age philosophy seemed out of character for this pious Puritan woman. Still, the overall story was accurate and believable.

I found this version to be more historically accurate (if less entertaining) than "The Crucible," simply because "The Crucible" relied on the premise of an affair between two major characters that most likely did not happen. (In reality, she was only eleven while he was in his sixties.)

Another thing that bothered me in both versions was the absence of Tituba's husband, John Indian. He played a relatively major role in the original trials.

In SALEM WITCH TRIALS, pompous, hyper-religiosity / self-righteousness are combined with ignorance and paranoia, resulting in mass hysteria. This takes place within a culture filled with superstition, rumor, and gossip.

This film shows how any theocratic society operates. The Puritans used their "religious authority" to intimidate, and ultimately eliminate those among them who were deemed to be "unclean". This was said to have been in accordance with "the will of God".

This film is as much a cautionary tale for today as it is an excellent presentation of the real historic events of the 1690's...