The Witches

A joint project of the late Jim Henson and avant-garde filmmaker Nicolas Roeg (Track 29, Insignificance) this adaptation of a story by Roald Dahl--although ostensibly for children--is likely to find more appreciation from adults. In true fairy-tale style, the story opens in Norway, where a knowing grandmother (Mai Zetterling) tells her nine-year-old grandson Luke (Jason Fisher) about witches: they don't like children (especially good children, who have an odor of doggie doo to witches). When a freak accident claims the lives of Luke's parents, the boy and his grandmother journey to England to recover at a seaside hotel. Unfortunately, a coven of witches, led by the Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston) is holding its annual convention there and, in short order, turns Luke and another boy named Bruno, into mice. Henson's puppetry and Roeg's stylistic camerawork complement each other well, as the "puppet" mice Luke and Bruno try to thwart the witches' plan to turn all of England's children into mice. Even better than the imaginative look of the film, however, is Huston's Hitler-like portrayal of the Grand High Witch--as wonderful a villain as has appeared in recent films. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman) [Blu-ray Review—Sept. 10, 2019—Warner, 92 min., PG, Blu-ray: $21.99—Making its debut on Blu-ray, 1990’s The Witches features a great transfer and a DTS-HD 2.0 soundtrack, but no extras. Bottom line: Nicolas Roeg’s inventive fairy-tale film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s offbeat story sparkles on Blu-ray.]