Häxan (1922)
Häxan (1922)
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently Häxan is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Plex, JustWatchTV, Tubi TV, Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Plex Channel, Amazon Video, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Fandango At Home, Kanopy
Streaming in:🇺🇸 United States
Cast & Crew.
Benjamin Christensen
Devil / Director / Writer
Ella La Cour
Karna, Sorceress
Emmy Schønfeld
Karna's Assistant
Kate Fabian
Old Maid
Oscar Stribolt
Fat Monk
Wilhelmine Henriksen
Apelone, a Poor Old Woman
Elisabeth Christensen
Anna's Mother
Astrid Holm
Anna
Karen Winther
Anna's Sister
Maren Pedersen
Maria the Weaver, a Witch
Johannes Andersen
Pater Henrik, Witch Judge
Elith Pio
Johannes, Witch Judge
Aage Hertel
Witch Judge
Ib Schønberg
Witch Judge
Holst Jørgensen
Peter Titta
Clara Pontoppidan
Sister Cecilia, Nun
Else Vermehren
Flagellating Nun
Alice O'Fredericks
Nun
Gerda Madsen
Nun
Karina Bell
Nun
Tora Teje
Modern Hysteric and Kleptomaniac
Matti Bye
Composer
Poul Reumert
Jeweler
H.C. Nielsen
Jeweler's Assistant
Daniel Humair
Composer
Albrecht Schmidt
Psychiatrist
Barði Jóhannsson
Composer
Knud Rassow
Anatomist
Ellen Rassow
Maid
Frederik Christensen
Citizen
Henry Seemann
Citizen
Karen Caspersen
Unidentified
Holger Pedersen
Unidentified
John Andersen
Chief Inquisitor
Johan Ankerstjerne
Director of Photography
Edla Hansen
Editor
Richard Louw
Art Direction / Set Decoration
Helge Norél
Art Department Assistant
Lise Mathiesen
Art Department Assistant
Ludwig van Beethoven
Music
Launy Grøndahl
Original Music Composer
Media.
Details.
Release DateSeptember 18, 1922
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 45m
Budget$220,000
Genres
Last updated:
This Movie Is About.
Wiki.
Häxan (Swedish: [ˈhɛ̂ksan], The Witch; Heksen Danish: [hɛksən], The Witch; English: The Witches; released in the US in 1968 as Witchcraft Through the Ages) is a 1922 silent horror essay film written and directed by Benjamin Christensen. Consisting partly of documentary-style storytelling as well as dramatized narrative sequences, the film purports to chart the historical roots and superstitions surrounding witchcraft, beginning in the Middle Ages through the 20th century. Based partly on Christensen's own study of the Malleus Maleficarum, a 15th-century German guide for inquisitors, Häxan proposes that such witch-hunts may have stemmed from misunderstandings of mental or neurological disorders, triggering mass hysteria.
Häxan is a Swedish film produced by AB Svensk Filmindustri, but shot in Denmark in 1920–1921. With Christensen's meticulous recreation of medieval scenes and its lengthy production period, the film was the most expensive Scandinavian silent film ever made at the time, costing nearly two million Swedish kronor. Although it received some positive reception in Denmark and Sweden, censors in countries such as Germany, France, and the United States objected to what were considered at that time graphic depictions of torture, nudity, and sexual perversion, as well as anti-clericalism.
In 1968, Metro Pictures Corporation re-edited and re-released Häxan in the US under the title Witchcraft Through the Ages. This version includes an English-language narration by William S. Burroughs. The original Swedish-language version of Häxan has undergone three restorations by the Swedish Film Institute, carried out in 1976, 2007 and 2016. Since its initial release, Häxan has received praise for its combination of documentary-style and narrative storytelling, as well as its visual imagery, and has been called Christensen's masterpiece.