Haxan (Witchcraft Through the Ages)

Haxan (Witchcraft Through the Ages)
A literal witches' brew of satanic rituals and imagery make up this oddly defined documentary milestone from Danish director Benjamin Christensen. Told in seven chapters, Christensen uses everything from animation to re-enactments to create a darkly humorous mélange of torture, possession, and orgiastic parties outlining a history of witchcraft. We are proud to present the Swedish Film Institute's tinted restoration of Haxan (1922), along with the 74-minute 1968 version narrated by William S. Burroughs and a soundtrack featuring Jean-Luc Ponty.
Customer Review: A very contemporary treatment
Despite the fact that this movie was made in 1922, its treatment of witchcraft through the ages is remarkably enlightened and contemporary. In two versions -- the original and a modern redub from 1967 -- this movie tells the story of witchcraft through the ages from its unquestioned acceptance by the ancients to a more enlightened and modern view that the supposed signs of the witch are just undiagnosed mental disorders. While if this movie was redone today an additional vignette on thought contagion and suggestability might well be in order, it bears noting that nothing about the existing movie -- including its silent format -- would require a single change. That's because when all is said and done this movie says that the scariest thing about witchcraft was never its supposed practitioners but rather those individuals who shamelessly tried to use the fears of others to enrich themselves at the expense of the innocent. In other words, this movie had the courage to both ask and answer the question of where the real witches could be found.
Customer Review: Häxan
THough this movie is 80+ year old it is one of the best protrayals of witches I've seen. The acting is really quite corny, but how the events are shown is pretty uch in tune with what historians agree actually happened. Witches are not normally the sexy seductress, but instead were the ugly crones who have no way to defend themselves. The inquisition stepped in to help bring about confessions, and without basic civil legal rights, the condemned was usually convicted through confessions. This movie shows the whole gamut of events. The sick child, the succubus, the trials, the temptations, and the trials. There are no real special effects, but it kind of amazes me that no other film has attempted to cover this same subject as this film does. It's a rare find, but worth the time spent watching it.