Häxan (1922) + Extra [The Criterion Collection]

Grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath: Benjamin Christensen’s legendary silent film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the Middle Ages and early modern era suffered from the same ills as psychiatric patients diagnosed with hysteria in the film's own time. Far from a dry dissertation on the topic, the film itself is a witches’ brew of the scary, the gross, and the darkly humorous. Christensen’s mix-and-match approach to genre anticipates gothic horror, documentary re-creation, and the essay film, making for an experience unlike anything else in the history of cinema.



Audio Commentary from 2001 by film scholar Casper Tybjerg

Extra:
– Director Benjamin Christensen’s introduction to the 1941 re-release (8:19)
– Outtakes (4:34)