Witchfinder General – 88 Films (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: UK, 1968
Director: Michael Reeves
Writers: Michael Reeves, Tom Baker, Louis M. Heyward
Cast: Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, Rupert Davies, Patrick Wymark, Wilfrid Brambell, Hilary Dwyer

Release Date: March 25th, 2024
Approximate Running Times: 86 Minutes 35 Seconds (UK Version), 86 Minutes 47 Seconds (U.S. Version)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10 (Both Versions)
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English (Both Versions)
Subtitles: English (Both Versions)
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region B (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: £29.99 (UK)

"With the English Civil War raging, Witchfinder Matthew Hopkins uses the fear and confusion caused by the conflict to enact his forms of cruelty and extortion on a small rural community. He and his sadistic assistant John Stearne exploit the uneducated villagers for cash and gold, laying waste to transgressors with their reign of torture and execution. But one man, a young soldier arrives to go after the pair in a fit of bloody revenge." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD - Both Versions), 4.5/5 (Blu-ray - Both Versions)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Brand new 4K Remaster from the Original Negatives".

Witchfinder General comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 60.9 GB

Feature: 55.3 GB

This release uses seamless branching for the two versions. For this release, a brand new 4K source has been created that looks excellent, and when compared to this film’s previous Blu-ray releases, it is vastly superior in every way. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic. Also, this is another exemplary encode from Fidelity in Motion.

Witchfinder General comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 37.4 GB

Feature: 24.4 GB

The Blu-ray uses the same source as the 4K UHD does for its transfer. This release uses seamless branching for the two versions.

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD Mono English - Witchfinder General, DTS-HD Mono English - The Conqueror Worm)

Each version comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, and both versions come with removable English subtitles. Both audio tracks are in great shape; dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Range-wise, ambient sounds are well-represented, and both tracks sound robust when they should. The U.S. version The Conqueror Worm has an alternate score.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include a U.S. theatrical trailer under the title The Conqueror Worm (2 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a UK theatrical trailer (2 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), three alternate scenes from U.S. version (3 minutes 46 seconds, LPCM mono English with removable English SDH) and an audio commentary with Kim Newman and Sean Hogan for the UK version.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a U.S. theatrical trailer under the title The Conqueror Worm (2 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a UK theatrical trailer (2 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), three alternate scenes from U.S. version (3 minutes 46 seconds, LPCM mono English with removable English SDH), a featurette titled The Editing of Witchfinder General featuring interviews with film editor Howard Lanning, assistant editor Marion Curren and assistant sound editor Jonathan Morris (32 minutes 10 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with writer and filmmaker Adam Scovell titled Which Witch is Which? (21 minutes 14 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Ian Ogilvy titled Back on the Horse (22 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with Kim Newman and Sean Hogan for the UK version.

Other extras include reversible cover art, glossy O-ring (limited to the first pressing) and a 28-page booklet (limited to the first pressing) with an essay titled Witchfinder General: An Appreciation written by John Llewellyn Probert and an essay titled The She Beast - A Prelude to Witchfinder General written by Matthew Edwards.

Summary:

Witchfinder General was directed by Michael Reeves, who would die tragically from a drug overdose just a few years after completing the film at the very young age of 25. In his all-too-brief career, Michael Reeves would also direct The She-Beast (1966) and The Sorcerers (1967). The screenplay for Witchfinder General was adapted from Ronald Bassett’s novel of the same name. Being that The Witchfinder General was a co-production with AIP (American International Pictures), it is not surprising that the film’s alternate title of The Conqueror Worm was used for the film’s U.S. release, since AIP had already at that point produced a slew of Edgar Allen Poe-inspired films. 

The cinematographer on Witchfinder General was John Coquillon, whose other notable films as a cinematographer include Curse of the Crimson Altar, Straw Dogs, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and The Oblong Box (a film that Michael Reeves was originally slated to direct).

In lesser hands, Witchfinder General would be nothing more than your standard exploitation yarn about witchcraft. Instead, what emerges is a thought-provoking look into the darkest sides of humanity. Narratively speaking, the Witchfinder General quickly sets the mood with an opening lynching of a witch. After this scene, there is some very brief set-up involving a civil war and a love story between the daughter of a priest and a soldier. Thankfully, both of these things are primarily kept on the back burner. With the scenes revolving around the Matthew Hopkins character (aka the witchfinder general).

Content-wise, there are many elements in Witchfinder General that one would associate with the horror film genre, and yet to merely classify it as a horror film would be doing it a great disservice. Notable in terms of the unflinching and often gruesome violence depicted in Witchfinder General. 

Another area in which Witchfinder General excels are the performances from its entire cast, especially Vincent Price (The Last Man on Earth), who gives his most restrained performance of his career. Reportedly, Vincent Price and director Michael Reeves disagreed on how he should portray Matthew Hopkins. Michael Reeves insisted on Vincent Price's performance being more detached than his usual hamming it up. Another performance of note is Hilary Dwyer (The Oblong Box) in the role of Sara Lowes, this film's only fleshed-out female character. With the film's finale, in which her character is being tortured by Matthew Hopkins, being its most horrific moment.

Though the breadth of his cinematic cannon is limited to three films, Michael Reeves' journey as a filmmaker has been truly remarkable. And while it is undeniable that Witchfinder General is his crowning achievement as a filmmaker, knowing that this was a cinematic swan song only emphasizes how tragic his death was for the world of cinema.

Witchfinder General gets a phenomenal release from 88 Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of insightful extras, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer