The Witches (1990)
The Witches was the link movie connecting Hook and Hidden Agenda.
Linked through Jasen Fisher and Mai Zetterling.
Both Jasen Fisher and Mai Zetterling appeared in The Witches.
About The Witches
"Saving the world from witches is a tall order for a boy they've turned into a mouse!"
While staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga, a young boy named Luke inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch reveals a plan to turn all children into mice via a magical formula. When they discover the eavesdropper, the witches test the formula on him. Now, with the help of Helga and hotel manager Mr Stringer, Luke the mouse must fight back against the witches.
Directed by Nicolas Roeg
Written by Allan Scott
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Behind the camera
Box office
Awards
Anjelica Huston received widespread critics' awards, winning Best Actress from the Boston Society of Film Critics, Los Angeles Film Critics Association and National Society of Film Critics. The film earned multiple nominations including several Saturn Award nods, a BAFTA makeup nomination, a Fantasporto film nomination and a Hugo nomination.
Soundtrack
Score by Stanley Myers
Stanley Myers composed the score; no soundtrack CD has been released and the complete score remains obscure. The score repeatedly incorporates the Dies irae motif, noted as highly reminiscent of Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, Movement V, "Dream of a Witches' Sabbath."
Movie trivia
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1
The Witches was the final film project Jim Henson personally worked on; Jim Henson Productions co-produced the picture and Jim Henson's Creature Shop designed prosthetics and built animatronic rats and mice used interchangeably with real mice.
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2
Principal photography ran from April 11 to mid‑August 1988, with the early portion shot in Bergen, Norway, and much of the rest filmed on location in England, including Cookham, Berkshire and the Headland Hotel in Newquay, Cornwall.
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The film's theatrical release was delayed after the dissolution of distributor Lorimar Film Entertainment; it was test‑screened in nine theaters (Orlando and Sacramento) on February 10, 1990, before opening in London on May 25 and the U.S. on August 24, 1990.
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4
During the shoot Rowan Atkinson left his bath taps running, causing a flood that wrote off much of the production team's electrical equipment below, while Anjelica Huston was dating Jack Nicholson, who frequently phoned the hotel and sent large bouquets.
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5
Anjelica Huston's Grand High Witch makeup required six hours to apply and another six to remove; the prosthetics included a full face mask, a hump, mechanized claws and a withered collarbone, leaving her exhausted and uncomfortable during long scenes.
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6
Roeg cut scenes he felt were too scary for children after seeing his young son's reaction, and he insisted the Grand High Witch maintain a sexual allure—choosing a 'sexy' costume and telling Huston the character should have sex appeal despite grotesque prosthetics.
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