The second segment of the film is a series of vignettes that theatrically demonstrate medieval superstition and beliefs concerning witchcraft, including Satan tempting a sleeping woman away from her husband's bed before terrorizing a group of monks. In addition, several large scale models are employed to demonstrate medieval concepts of the structure of the Solar System and the commonly accepted depiction of Hell. This geocentric model of the universe, similar to a model used in the film, depicts the Earth at the universe's center, surrounded by layers of air and fire, the Solar System, the stars, and finally God with choirs of angels.Ī scholarly dissertation on the appearances of demons and witches in primitive and medieval culture, the first segment of the film uses a number of photographs of statuary, paintings, and woodcuts as demonstrative pieces. 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. The original Swedish-language version of Häxan has undergone three restorations by the Swedish Film Institute, carried out in 1976, 20. This version includes an English-language narration by William S. In 1968, Metro Pictures Corporation re-edited and re-released Häxan in the US under the title Witchcraft Through the Ages. 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. 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. Häxan is a Swedish film produced by AB Svensk Filmindustri, but shot in Denmark in 1920–1921. 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. Consisting partly of documentary-style storytelling as well as dramatized narrative sequences, the film charts the historical roots and superstitions surrounding witchcraft, beginning in the Middle Ages through the 20th century. Häxan ( Swedish:, "The Witch" Danish: Heksen 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.
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