Purely Joyful Movie!

Excellent, a Must See

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Based on the 1953 play by Arthur Miller who adapted it for the screen, this is an excellent historical drama with a clever political allegory. I have to say that I have never been a huge fan of Miller's work but I love "The Crucible". Admittedly, this may be because I have always been very interested in both the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy era. The parallels between the events of the 1690s, as depicted in the play, and those of the early 1950s are many and obvious. In adapting his play, Miller wisely stuck closely to the source material and the film consequently has a first-rate and powerful script. Although all of the characters involved were based on real people, both the play and the film takes numerous liberties in the manner in which the Salem witch trials and the surrounding events are portrayed. It is extremely well directed by Nicholas Hytner, who shows a great deal of flair in his handling of the often very intense scenes. Rather appropriately, the film was shot in Massachusetts.The film stars the playwright's future son-in-law Daniel Day-Lewis in a brilliant performance as John Proctor, a prosperous farmer who had an affair with his former servant Abigail Williams nine months before the accusations of witchcraft commenced. This is the most notable and effective fabrication on Miller's part as no such relationship ever took place. In reality, Abigail was only 11 or 12 in 1692 but she is depicted as being in her late teens in the play for obvious reasons. While this is not exactly admirable behaviour, John is a good and decent man who regrets his affair and tells Abigail that it cannot happen again for the sake of his marriage. His wife Elizabeth, played by the always wonderful Joan Allen, is understandably resentful. In spite of the fact that she has seemingly forgiven his indiscretions, she feels that she cannot trust him and keeps a close eye on him. John becomes resentful himself as he has promised that it will never happen again and feels that such scrutiny is unwarranted. As a result, their relationship is often tense but it is shown that they love each other completely when Elizabeth becomes the latest in a long line of innocent residents of Salem to be accused of witchcraft. Abigail, played by an uncharacteristically antagonistic Winona Ryder in one of her best performances, levelled this accusation as she wanted Elizabeth dead in the hope that she will be able to continue her relationship with John. Amazingly, it doesn't work. John confesses his adultery but Elizabeth denies it in order to protect his reputation, unknowingly damning them both. John is himself accused of witchcraft on the basis that he bewitched Mary Warren into claiming that she, Abigail and the other girls were only pretending to have seen the accused consorting with the Devil and his familiars. Mary told John the truth in an attack of conscious but she "admits" to the court and the people of Salem that she was lying in order to save her life.As regards the McCarthyism allegory, there are two characters who are seemingly intended to represent the senator himself. The first is the hateful Abigail, who sees witches everywhere and enjoys tormenting the Salem townsfolk with her accusations, and the second is the chief magistrate and deputy governor Thomas Danforth. In one of his final roles, Paul Scofield is fantastic as the silky smooth Danforth, who is depicted as being a harsh and cruel judge and a cold, callous man. He does not say so openly but he is clearly believes that the accused are guilty until proved innocent and believes that he must cleanse Salem of every trace of the Devil. Danforth presides over the trials with a sort of eerie calm, seldom raising his voice and handing down death sentences without a second thought. There is one moment when it seems that he is open to reason but that hope is quickly dashed as the film draws closer to its inevitable and tragic conclusion. Reverend John Hale, played not terribly well by Rob Campbell, serves as a very effective contrast to Danforth. He was called to Salem by Reverend Samuel Parris in order to investigate the claims of witchcraft and essentially got the ball rolling as far as the trials are concerned. However, the sheer scale of the injustice and brutality on display shocks him and he is shown to be a far more just and reasonable man that he first appeared. George Gaynes, who sadly died last month, has a nice supporting role as Judge Samuel Sewall, who is less vocal in his condemnation of the trials but nevertheless realises their folly.Peter Vaughan is very good as the elderly Giles Corey, who was famously pressed to death and refused to plead either innocent or guilty. His last words were, "More weight." It's one of those instances where I would think that something was completely unbelievable if I did not know that it were true. Bruce Davison, who excels at playing extremists, gives a great performance as Reverend Parris, Abigail's uncle and the owner of the slave Tituba who is the first person in Salem to be accused of witchcraft. Although he claims that every defence is an attack on the court, there are several hints towards the end of the film that even he has grown tired of all of the deaths and accusations. Perhaps he has just had enough by that stage. The film also feature strong performances from Mary Pat Gleason as Martha Corey, Karron Graves as Mary Warren and Elizabeth Lawrence as Rebecca Nurse.Overall, this is a marvellous depiction, in terms of drama if not historical accuracy, of an infamous miscarriage of justice. Unlike most works about the Salem witch trials, however, it does not make the mistake of depicting the accused as being burned at the stake.

The Crucible is a drama and a 1997 film adaptation of Arthur Miller's play of the same name. The play (and the movie, by extension) is set during the Salem Witch Trials and is an allegory for the Red Scare. Being a victim of the Red Scare, it's natural that this story was personal to Miller, and it really shows in how polished and well written the play and movie are. And before you misconceive anything, the movie was actually still written by Arther Miller and he basically adapts it very accurately. The only differences tend to be new scenes added in to update the play and improve it.The first thing I have to talk about is the acting. Everyone here does a fantastic job, especially Winona Ryder, who really owns her character. When they are supposed to be deceptive, they feel deceptive. When they are supposed to feel melancholy, they do. When they are supposed to be happy, they are. This cast really runs the gamut of amazing performances, and as I said, I absolutely love Winona Ryder in this.The characters are all incredibly interesting or likable. Daniel Day-Lewis's John Proctor (arguably the main character) isn't some white bread dude. He's made his mistakes, he's failed, but at the end of the day you can still tell he's a good guy and understand his actions, even if you don't always agree with them. Outside of Abigail Williams and maybe John Proctor, I also adored Giles Cory for his personality and stubbornest. The dialogue fits the time period, making it feel authentic. And it's still wittily written and can get a few laughs here and there.As far as the costumes and sets go, they are wonderfully well done. It all fits the time and looks authentic. It still looks great regardless too, and there is no CGI or any bullshit to ruin the look of this film. The atmosphere is incredibly dark and tense, though I wouldn't say on Deathtrap levels of intensity.The plot is incredibly well written and makes sense from beginning to end. The characters never feel like they're changing just because the plot needs them to. Instead, they evolve and develop rather naturally, and it's really believable when you see some guy who was naive at the beginning to understanding exactly what's going on at the end. I also have to give massive props to the romance in the film. It's not often that I ever praise romance in a film, as I inherently tend to dislike the element as it's not often particularly well done, but the Crucible goes the whole nine yards. While couples like the Proctors undeniably have chemistry between one another, they still fight and they still have to deal with other problems with their relationship the whole way through, and the fact that it never feels forced deserves massive kudos.The musical score isn't amazing, but it's definitely fine. It's your standard, sweeping orchestral soundtrack with nothing really new to spice things up. Surely serviceable, but it's also surely worth mentioning.It's not often that I bother to mention cinematography, but this film is beautifully shot.The Crucible is undeniably one of the greatest drama films I've seen-- it's up there with V for Vendetta, it's that good. I truly have no real criticisms to level at the Crucible. It's just an amazing ride and kept me interested the entire two hours. If you see it around sometime and you like some good drama in your films, definitely check it out. The Crucible gets a 10/10.

Arthur Miller is gone now, but he lived long enough to see his master work The Crucible finally on the big screen. Back when it was on Broadway it was deemed too controversial in those paranoid days of the Fifties. The Crucible was Miller's answer to the witch hunting House Un-American Activities Committee and the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee of Joe McCarthy. He saw parallels between the Salem Witch Trials where several people were put to death in that sad town for the elusive crime of witchcraft. Miller even got to adapt his work to the screen and did it so well that the stage origins aren't even noticeable.One of the things I marveled when viewing the film was Miller's mastery of the Puritan culture. He must have done some heavy research into it to capture so well the spirit of those times and how they paralleled the McCarthy Fifties.But I would take a different tack in talking about The Crucible. It is a wonderful condemnation of a religious based society as the Puritans were in those days. These people came to the new world to seek freedom of conscience to worship the Creator/Deity in their own way. No sooner do they get here than a society is built by them excluding others who don't buy into their view of things. It would be another century before the novel idea was seriously raised about having NO established religion. It hasn't taken fully hold yet as witness by the Moslem theocratic states like Iran or the newly found influence of the Russian Orthodox Church in some of the former Soviet Union. Not to mention here where after thirty or so years the influence of bible beaters in the body politic seems finally to be receding.Daniel Day-Lewis plays John Proctor the farmer who is by no means an ideal hero is the man forced into martyrdom simply because he won't denounce his neighbors as witches and warlocks. Joan Allen is magnificent as Mrs. Proctor who pays for her husband's indiscretions with teenage flirt Winona Ryder. All of this gets started when Ryder and several of her peers go out to dance in the moonlight, strictly forbidden in the Puritan society. Who led them into this is Charlayne Woodard, an African slave and recently over from Africa where she remembers her customs from her tribe. The girls get spotted and all that follows come from some young girls who rather than face punishment for breaking their strict code say the devil made them do it and start naming friends and neighbors as witches. This whole business gives the girls an opportunity to escape punishment and settle some personal scores. And it spreads to the adults who ought to know better.I've also thought that Arthur Miller might also have been influenced by Lillian Hellman's These Three which is also about tattle tale young girls and the harm they cause. The parallels are too obvious to ignore.Though it took half a century to make it to the screen, The Crucible was worth every second of the wait.

The Crucible**** (out of 4)124 mins/ 12Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Joan Allen, Paul Scofield, Bruce Davison, Rob Campbell, Jeffrey Jones, Peter VaughanDirector: Nicholas HytnerPlot: Abigail Williams, a puritan teenager in the times of the Salem Witch-Trials, accuses her ex- lover's wife of compacting with the devil.JJ's Verdict: Based on a true story, The Crucible is a thrilling and emotional take on the Salem Witch-Hunt and the consequencing trials and hangings. Arthur Miller, adapting the story from his own play, received an Academy Award nomination. The film's hero is John Proctor, a sinful but respected farmer living in Salem, who comes into the story when his ex-lover accuses Proctor's wife of witchcraft. Of course, being set in the 17th century, the film gives a highly realistic look and view of the time. The American-British accents from the whole cast are fully complete as are their performances. Daniel Day-Lewis, who portrays Proctor, once again completely transforms into his character (no doubt he lived in the conditions of the times and wore the clothes for months to prepare for his role.) His character has a certain charm, reluctancy and silent, brooding confidence – and all these attributes are superbly picked up Day- Lewis. Winona Ryder, playing Abigail, is just incredible in a ruthless and superbly dramatic performance. Her character really only starts with all her accusing to get back at John, and Ryder plays the spitefulness of her character very well. Paul Scofield is also good as Thomas Danforth, a judge, and Joan Allen is suitably dramatic in an Oscar nominated role as Proctor's struggling wife. Although the entire feature is emotionally driven, one scene really sticks out in my mind when looking back on this very underrated classic. This scene in which all the town's girls start to name people they saw with the devil is very dramatic. Forced into 'admitting' by Bruce Davison's Reverend Parris, all of the actresses let themselves go and just let the lines flow through their mouths. Similar scenes like this occur throughout the film and it is times like these when 'The Crucible' moves more towards a black comedy. However, the last half an hour is anything but. Emotionally depressing, it helps give the film an epic status. The beautiful cinematography and a deep score from George Fenton help to make the final few moments a good time to get the box of tissues out.All in all, a brilliant cast (which also includes Peter Vaughn, Rob Campbell and Jeffrey Jones) gives 'The Crucible' a super lift from a good historical drama, to an emotion filled mini-epic.