Salem 1692. The young Abigail, seduced and abandoned by John Proctor, accuses John's wife of being a witch in revenge. It will be the beginning of a series of witchcraft trials and a dark mo... Read allSalem 1692. The young Abigail, seduced and abandoned by John Proctor, accuses John's wife of being a witch in revenge. It will be the beginning of a series of witchcraft trials and a dark moment in American history.Salem 1692. The young Abigail, seduced and abandoned by John Proctor, accuses John's wife of being a witch in revenge. It will be the beginning of a series of witchcraft trials and a dark moment in American history.
- Won 1 BAFTA Award
- 3 wins & 2 nominations total
Aribert Grimmer
- Gilles Corey
- (as A. Grimmer)
Gerd Michael Henneberg
- Herrick
- (as Henneberg)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
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- TriviaThe film was almost impossible to find for nearly sixty years due to Arthur Miller blocking the film from being screened or released in any way. This was, according to different accounts, either so that the film didn't steal the spotlight from an English-language adaptation of his play he was working on, and which eventually came out as The Crucible (1996), or as an act of revenge on star Yves Montand, who had an affair with his wife Marilyn Monroe. Actress Mylène Demongeot begged Miller on several occasions to allow the film to be shown again, both before and after the newer adaptation came out and bombed at the box office, but in vain. French company Pathé finally acquired the rights and restored the film in 2016 and released it on Blu-ray and DVD on March 29th 2017, twelve years after Miller's death.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Mémoires pour Simone (1986)
Featured review
A hanged man does not bleed
Everybody knows Arthur Miller's "the crucible" ;few people outside France know that,long before the excellent version starring Daniel Day-Lewis,the play was filmed in France.One should note that it was first performed on stage ,featuring roughly the same actors,directed by Raymond Rouleau ,a man who was primarily a theatre man (and also a good actor :"Falbalas" "L'Assassinat du Père Noel") So "Les Sorcières de Salem " was the French title (= Salem Witches).Critics were divided on the Montand /Signoret's performance;historian Jean Tulard goes as far as to write that it was their fault if the film was not successful.But Jean Tulard is a right-wing writer whereas Signoret and Montand were at this time securely under the influence of communism.This film was for them a political gesture.
But Miller's play was so strong it survived the dated events it actually depicted (McCarthyism).It has become the symbol of personal freedom,freedom of thought.Informing and signing papers abound along the drama and could not fool the audience about what Miller was actually saying.
Yves Montand's performance was somewhat dwarfed by Day-Lewis ' sensational portrayal of Proctor.But on the other hand,Mylene Demongeot is dazzlingly talented as Abigail .Sensual,maleficent,she steals every scene she is in;she should have become one of the greatest French actresses but it was not to be :she got lost in mediocrities such as OSS 117 or Fantomas.Too bad .
As the precedent user has pointed out,Rouleau's directing was influenced by Dreyer and particularly "Dies Irae".Rouleau plays the part of judge Danforth.
But Miller's play was so strong it survived the dated events it actually depicted (McCarthyism).It has become the symbol of personal freedom,freedom of thought.Informing and signing papers abound along the drama and could not fool the audience about what Miller was actually saying.
Yves Montand's performance was somewhat dwarfed by Day-Lewis ' sensational portrayal of Proctor.But on the other hand,Mylene Demongeot is dazzlingly talented as Abigail .Sensual,maleficent,she steals every scene she is in;she should have become one of the greatest French actresses but it was not to be :she got lost in mediocrities such as OSS 117 or Fantomas.Too bad .
As the precedent user has pointed out,Rouleau's directing was influenced by Dreyer and particularly "Dies Irae".Rouleau plays the part of judge Danforth.
- dbdumonteil
- Feb 20, 2008
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Details
- Runtime2 hours 25 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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By what name was Les sorcières de Salem (1957) officially released in Canada in English?
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