The Witch (1966)

From my favorite movies..

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This one seems to pick up on the Bavaesque idea to stage a psychothriller in a lavish but rundown Roman villa—a terrific set with a labyrinthan Orson Wellesian quality--and includes some chase scenes reminiscent of Bava too. The plot involves Sergio answering a want ad for a scholar to reorganize an old library (as in the Hammer Dracula), by an old women and her here-one-minute-gone-the-next, and extremely beautiful daughter. The main problem is it took me about five minutes to figure out what was going on, then I had to sit through another 90 minutes of Richard Johnson not being able to figure what it all meant. Let's see, a reclusive old woman, rare flowers, magic tea, dead cats, a daughter who only appears now and then, then mimics the gestures of the old woman. And yet he just doesn't get it. It's OK when horror movie characters are a bit dumb, but to be utterly clueless stretches one's patience. This movie also blundered badly by trying to fill up a horror movie framework with psychological thriller soap-opera argumentations ad infinitum and, some of which, involving a male librarian already trapped in the old women's employ, are unwatchably tedious (had to hit the fast forward button a few times). Here and there, some sequences work, like when Johnson has to remove Aura's dress no hands allowed, or a very weird bathing sequence or the final scene, but generally a fatal case of genre confusion. Not watchable except for spelunkers after Italian movie witches (but this one is far downhill from Argento's Suspira and even the fairy tale witches in movies like Lucifera).

I had just recently revisited Wise's The Haunting, starring Richard Johnson in a role as dedicated, wonderfully humane "ghost hunter", so I realized just what kind of talent the man really has seeing him in a completely different role as a successful ladies' man, always moving from one sexual relationship to another, being pursued by a batty old former beauty, Consuelo(Sarah Ferrati)living within a ramshackle mansion which seems modeled after her..both setting and owner have lost their luster, beauty now deteriorating. Johnson is Sergio, a "historian"(..he has a profession, but it plays second fiddle to his ongoing duties chasing tail)sought by Consuelo for more than his skills at translation and setting her husband's old library, falling to waste and crawling rats, in order. Sergio is the kind of male used to getting what he wants until growing tired of whoever he's dating. But, Sergio, who doesn't seem that interested in the job, and less so with Consuelo who is hideous and ugly to him, finds a reason to remain when he meets Aura(Rosanna Schiaffino; a stunning Italian beauty of the 60's, with perfect curves and soft skin)who seduces him by merely walking and moving around a room..she has that effect on people, and would me as well. Sergio would be taking the position of Fabrizio(Gian Maria Volontè), a slightly off-kilter man who seems a little distraught, absolutely obsessed with Aura, almost to the point of quiet madness. Very protective of her, Fabrizio wishes for Sergio to leave, but seems awfully distracted with her designs to perhaps release him for the new man who presents a threat to their relationship. Sergio, quite a caveman desiring to snatch Aura away and have her for himself, will soon come to blows with Fabrizio, with tragic results. With a cover-up ensuing thanks to Aura and Consuelo's threatening not to absolve him for an accidental murder, Sergio will find himself at the mercy of them..he desires Aura to the point that he'd do anything to embrace her, a blissful passionate union results, but Consuelo doesn't wish for their happiness to last. Sergio finds that Aura is controlled by Consuelo, a form of witchcraft she uses to enslave men and he is caught in her web. Will Sergio ever get to have Aura when that horrifying wretch controls her comings and goings? Or, will he remain in an emotionally tortured state awaiting Aura's return, at the mercy of Consuelo? I watched a rather bad quality print, and believe the film is definitely worthy of a proper transfer. To see this in a pristine form, with quality sound and properly enhanced visual quality, "The Witch" might capture a wider audience. Director Damiano Damiani(Amityville-The Possession)crafts quite a tale of obsession and desire with quite a cast at his disposal. Johnson delivers in spades regarding a direct change during this film going from confident, manipulative male, quite able to conquer the beautiful supply of female populating the city, to a shriveling worm, weak-in-the-knees and pleading for his Aura..completely controlled and under his paramour's spell. Ferrati looks like a witch, and has all the right features at creating an older jealous woman yearning to have the looks that would attract the men that were once cowering at her feet, making life miserable for those who now wish for Aura, a goddess manifested from her dark power to bring those like Sergio to a place of disquiet and agony. Interesting idea that Schiaffino's beauty is used as a weapon against men for they are overwhelmed by her outer qualities than the person herself which might just be the moral of the story..being eclipsed by a Helen of Troy and willing to go to any lengths to inherit her, we find ourselves heading for a downfall. The film like Schiaffino's character is quite a tease, not giving us what we truly desire. That in itself also works within the story, men want Aura, but never truly *have* her. Volontè has a much smaller role, but he is incredibly vital to the story because he represents what Sergio will soon become once he has taken Aura to bed. He's our example of what Aura's power will slowly do to any man who finds themselves in her trap, swept away by lust. I think this is where Damiani's true strength lies, establishing Schiaffino as a ravishing creature, only available to the men in her circle when Consuelo decides so. Schiaffino is often shown disrobing(..Damiani never shows her nude flesh to my chagrin)with the director just giving us a taste of her smooth skin, the camera often moving away as her clothes come off. We are carried away like Sergio because Schiaffino has that kind of on screen allure that draws you to her. Damiani wisely often closes his camera in on Aura as she works her magical grip over her victims. Schiaffino has that kind of face that enchants and a body to match. The film is what I'd definitely call a sleeper, probably will often be discovered either by chance or word-of-mouth. The director takes his time so this film might not work for everyone, but the use of darkness(..for which Aura often appears in and out of)within the dying setting and the psychological elements within the story might just compel those willing to hang in there. My favorite scene would have to be when Aura makes Sergio unbutton/undress her with his teeth, no touching with the hands. This is a good example of achieving an erotic response without divulging actual sexual occurrences.

When my pal at the DVD store told me that he had ordered Damiano Damiani's THE WITCH, I admitted that I had never heard of it before - although, on looking up the film under its original Italian title, I had the notion that it may have been shown on late-night TV without my realizing what sort of film it was! In any case, having now watched it for myself, THE WITCH has proved to be one of the most pleasant film-viewing surprises I've had since the beginning of the year! Ostensibly a horror film, it doesn't easily fit into the genre since Damiani approaches it, for the most part, as if it were a Kafkaesque art-house flick (with an undeniable erotic charge, which was as unexpected in this kind of film as it was effective)! This isn't in itself a bad thing, since THE WITCH has a very elegant look to it - in direct contrast to the endless spate of undistinguished low-budget productions being churned out by the Italian film industry during this time - extending to the production design (its excellent use of locations is a major asset) and the inspired use of shadowy lighting (coming as it did at the tail-end of black-and-white horror-film production) which is comparable to the work of Mario Bava. As a matter of fact, it reminded me quite a bit of the latter's KILL, BABY...KILL!, made the same year (albeit shot in color) and also largely set in a decrepit mansion; besides, Rosanna Schiaffino's hypnotic beauty and wonderful performance can stand proudly alongside Barbara Steele's iconic showcase in BLACK Sunday (1960) and especially that of Daliah Lavi in THE WHIP AND THE BODY (1963) - both of which, incidentally, were also directed by Bava! The rest of the cast features Richard Johnson (fresh from another subtle horror piece, Robert Wise' THE HAUNTING [1963]) as the bewildered love-struck hero, Sarah Ferrati (here in only her second film and which also proved to be the last!) as the creepy-looking old "lady" who sets the complex plot in motion - and who has an unexplained predilection towards torturing cats (loving animals as much as I do, I found these scenes somewhat disturbing!), Gian Maria Volonte' (excellent as Schiaffino's distraught former lover who still resides in the doomed mansion) and Ivan Rassimov (who is set to take over Johnson's double duties at the house, until the latter resolves to put an end to the whole charade in the fiery climax). Apart from the latter scene (and, of course, the sexy bits), perhaps the film's best moment is when Schiaffino goes - convincingly - into convulsions (years prior to THE EXORCIST [1973]) and discloses her "true" identity to a horrified Richard Johnson.From the few comments I've managed to find about the film, most have described it as being slow and pretentious. While I wasn't bothered by the film's deliberate pace (and I usually am in this type of film!), I must say that I am prone to appreciate intelligence in a horror film even more than in virtually any other genre - since it's the one that has suffered most at the hands of untalented film-makers and exploitative producers who go for the easy buck and are content to follow the current trend without "putting their mind to it", as it were. The DVD I watched, unfortunately, was a full-frame affair, fuzzy-looking (possibly sourced from a 16mm print) and poorly dubbed (which, coupled with the rather muffled audio, made the dialogue hard to understand at times!). I do hope that a more deserving edition of this gem eventually surfaces but, if not, I'll be on the look-out for it in the event that it turns up (again) on late-night Italian TV...Damiano Damiani was just one of many Italian film-makers who made their mark on Italian "cult" cinema during the 60s and 70s and while he isn't among the more celebrated of the bunch, from what I've seen of his work - ARTURO'S ISLAND (1962), THE WITCH, A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL (1967), HOW TO KILL A JUDGE (1974) and THE INQUIRY (1987) - he more than holds his own; this reminds me that I have Damiani's IL GIORNO DELLA CIVETTA (1968) and THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN (1975) lying in my ever-increasing "Unwatched Films on VHS" pile...not to mention 2 starring lovely Schiaffino and 9 with Volonte' (surely one of Italy's most versatile and important actors)!!

Had an opportunity to view a 16MM print of the English-dubbed version. Dubbing is often a distraction, but this is one of the better dubbed films of its era. Stylistically, this is a very slow European modern witch tale, not likely to appeal to the 'Creature Feature' crowd (which is surely why it bypassed US theaters and landed on late-nite TV). The acting, camera-work, direction and music (by IL POSTINO Oscar-winner Luis Bacalov) are all moody and well-done. Unfortunately, the slowness of the yarn (which builds the erotic tensions so well during the first half), minimizes the impact by the climax. Still, this is an intelligent, ADULT, and erotic piece which is worth searching out for high-minded horror fans.