One of the things that always made george romeros zombies so potent was the way the director paralleled their behavior with the mechanical routines many people perform day to day in real life. Billed as romeros feminist film, season of the witch stars joan mitchell as an unhappy, suburban housewife. Season of the witch bluray disc, 2018 for sale online. Romeros season of the witch is part horror film, part statement on gender roles of the mid20th century. A celebration of pittsburghs horror master, george a. Also makes quite a statement about the bored housewife trope. Season of the witch is a 1973 horror film directed by george a. This version cut the original minute cut to 89 minutes. Season of the witch is not a film for casual moviegoers. Barely released in theaters and almost impossible to find on video until now, both films are gripping and accomplished, if uneven, additions to romeros body of work.
Staring virginia greenwald, joedda mcclain, anne muffly and ray laine. Our heroine has an abusive boring husband, and is in need of empowerment. The film follows a housewife in suburban pittsburgh who becomes involved in witchcraft after meeting a local witch described by romero himself as a feminist film, season of the witch was originally made. George romeros 70s feature season of the witch might feature. Most of it was shot indoors but some exterior street shots seemed very familiar. Romero citywide tribute, we present a screening of george a. This lost film of george romero mixes sex, violence, gardnerian wicca and humor into a great blend. In the time between night of the living dead and dawn of the dead, george romero made some very strange films. George romeros 70s feature season of the witch might. George romeros season of the witch 1972 horror movie legend george a. Im a fan of george romero movies and after watching one called season of the witch i decided to try and track down where it was filmed. George romeros season of the witch filming locations. Heralded as one of the most terrifying films ever made, it was an early triumph from the.
The film takes place during the 1970s in a predominantly white, upper middle class, california suburb. Season of the witch dvd, 2005 for sale online ebay. On the surface, joan mitchell has it all family, friends, and a beautiful home equipped with all the latest appliances. With jan white, raymond laine, ann muffly, joedda mcclain. Joan mitchell is an unhappy, suburban housewife pushing 40, who has an uncommunicative businessman husband, named jack, and a distant 19yearold daughter, named nikki, on the verge of moving out of the house. This film is often considered a progenitor of the fictional zombie of modern culture. For the zombie film or comic book, or cable tv drama, that boilerplate was struck by george a. Films from the american genre film archives this month of october are womens themed horror titles. Ive watched it several times and havent gotten bored yet. A neglected, unhappy suburban housewife with gets mixed up in.
Season of the witch originally released as hungry wives is a 1973 american drama film written and directed by george a. Looking back, theres a lot to love in this very odd homage to feminism and witches. George a romero from the early 70s, looks cheap as hell, but it comes off pretty good, and entertaining. Season of the witch on dvd 010092 from starz anchor bay. Its one of romeros most difficult films to classify, as it walks the line between drama and thriller without fully committing to any one genre. He had trouble finding distributors for the film, and was eventually distributed as a softcore pornography film called hungry wives. Does have moments of pure genius, it is george romero after all and while it is pretty cheesy overall, there is some definite good stuff here. Most of legendary filmmaker george romeros movies have had wide exposure over the years, due to their worldwide appeal and popularity. In cloverfield, it was something large with an antipathy toward manhattan landmarks.
He is best known for his series of gruesome and satirical horror films about an imagined zombie apocalypse, beginning with night of the living dead 1968. Romero s works, 1972 s season of the witch sees the night of the living dead filmmaker returning to the realm of the supernatural for this bewitching tale of a housewife driven to an interest in the dark arts. After night of the living dead, master of horror george a. Season of the witch is an american horror film of the witchcraft and occult genres. Missing altogether from the anchor bay dvd release of the film is the directors. For anyone interested in georges career outside of straight horror movies, season of the witch is an interesting look at his interest in the subject matter at hand. After changing the face of horror with the zombie classic night of the living dead, george a. Frustrated by her home life, with an uncommunicative businessman husband and a distant 19. Season of the witch is george romeros film about feminism in its womens lib phase.
Season of the witch released theatrically as hungry wives follows the exploits of joan mitchell a housewife who seeks to escape the confines of her humdrum suburban existence through a. Romeros works, 1972s season of the witch sees the night of the living dead filmmaker returning to the. But in between romeros maiden masterpiece night of the living dead and the returntoformula outing the crazies, he directed. Jan white, an east coast soap actress and commercial model sought. Perhaps the most unclassifiable of filmmaker george a. However, it is a very good movie that has finally received the release that it deserves. Romero february 4, 1940 july 16, 2017, creator of night of the living dead 1968, died at age 77. On the surface, joan mitchell has it all family, friends, and a beautiful home equipped.
It was first released theatrically under the title hungry wives in may, 1972 at. The crazies, which followed season of the witch into theaters, drew specifically on images of protest and social unrest. Thats probably the only way you could end it on a note of promise, which would mean the zombies would learn how to eat spam or chicken livers, instead of your. Filmed in 1972 under the title of jacks wife, and released theatrically as hungry wives, this surreal film follows joan mitchell jan white, an unhappy suburban housewife with an abusive husband. Romeros first film was the independent horror film, night of the living dead, and it remains the film for which he is most known. Romero romeros first explicitly feminist film, season of the witch is the story of a disaffected housewife being tempted by pagan mysticism in pittsburghs norther. It is a dark satire that works when it focuses on nightmarish imagery but fails when it takes narrative sideroads that detract from its core thrust. Furthermore, romeros film is much less accomplished than lees, and a step down from his own work. Romero s successful release of creepshow in 1982, jacks wife was released on home video as season of the witch with the running time trimmed further to 89 minutes.
Its loaded with references to the occult, but owes as much to betty friedan as anton lavey. Romero, and starring jan white, raymond laine, and anne muffly. Romero citywide tribute, the warhol presents a screening of george a. The current video version runs 104 minutes which is the original overseas version titled jacks wife. Joan, our protagonist, is a woman in her 40s, who is married to a successful businessman. An overtly experimental stage composed of four films out of. Although ostensibly a very different film, season of the witch also explores the horror of such routines, this time from a feminist perspective. Season of the witch partially found directors cut of.
Romero produced the atmospheric, creepy and fiercely feminist season of the witch. Jacks wife and hungry wives is a feminist thriller which shares more than just a time period with last years the ice storm. Season of the witch is romeros film about feminism in its womens lib phase. Season of the witch is a 1973 american drama film written and directed by george a. Romero, topics ranging from survival of the dead, to zombi. Romeros works, 1972s season of the witch sees the night of the living dead filmmaker returning to the realm of the supernatural for this bewitching tale of a housewife driven to an interest in the dark arts. George romeros 1972 film hungry wives was retitled season of the witch when halloween iii was released on home video and is the only one of the. Season of the witchtheres always vanilla dvd drivein. Ill never live long enough to arrive at some sort of peaceful coexistence of some kind. Our own jimmyo recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk to horror legend george a. Romeros all too short body of work was born between night and dawn. Some were hits, some were misses, and some, like season of the witch, were never even released. Donovans song season of the witch is in one scene as well, good stuff. It definitely isnt perfect, but it does manage to demonstrate a.
For starters, the ice storm features no witches, unless im missing something buried deep in the subtext. A film that could only have come from the early 70s, george romeros season of the witch has an ice stormlike quality to it, exploring the at once liberating and tragic implications of the 60s counterculture as its impact spilled belatedly into the suburbs. February 4, 1940 july 16, 2017 was an american filmmaker, writer, and editor. The season of the witch print currently streaming on shudder comes courtesy of an arrow video restoration, released in a boxset with romeros lone romantic comedy theres always vanilla and the aforementioned crazies.
Find release information for season of the witch 1972 george romero on allmovie. Season of the witch is a 1972 movie written and directed by george a. Featured in george romero between night and dawn order in the uk. Romeros diary of the dead, as you have probably gathered by now, it is the meateating undead.
1389 1425 151 876 1039 495 480 1474 674 1449 1210 357 341 269 347 1350 474 853 1543 947 949 318 1000 1397 728 395 860 911 285 241 1487 80 1170 1038 3 1301 278 1449 613 1447 248 372 884 328 707