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.
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.