A celebration of pittsburghs horror master, george a. It definitely isnt perfect, but it does manage to demonstrate a. Romero, and starring jan white, raymond laine, and anne muffly. Romero, topics ranging from survival of the dead, to zombi. Heralded as one of the most terrifying films ever made, it was an early triumph from the. 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. In cloverfield, it was something large with an antipathy toward manhattan landmarks. Explicitly and uncompromisingly feminist, it takes jan whites bored housewife as the locus of its culture. Season of the witch is romeros film about feminism in its womens lib phase. 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in witchcraft after meeting a local witch described by romero himself as a feminist film, season of the witch was originally made. Jan white, an east coast soap actress and commercial model sought. Its loaded with references to the occult, but owes as much to betty friedan as anton lavey. Season of the witch bluray disc, 2018 for sale online. Staring virginia greenwald, joedda mcclain, anne muffly and ray laine. Jacks wife and hungry wives is a feminist thriller which shares more than just a time period with last years the ice storm. However, it is a very good movie that has finally received the release that it deserves. 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.
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. With jan white, raymond laine, ann muffly, joedda mcclain. Furthermore, romeros film is much less accomplished than lees, and a step down from his own work. This lost film of george romero mixes sex, violence, gardnerian wicca and humor into a great blend. This version cut the original minute cut to 89 minutes. 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. A neglected, unhappy suburban housewife with gets mixed up in. Donovans song season of the witch is in one scene as well, good stuff. 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 witch partially found directors cut of. George romeros 70s feature season of the witch might feature. Ill never live long enough to arrive at some sort of peaceful coexistence of some kind. Season of the witch is a 1973 horror film directed by george a. Ive watched it several times and havent gotten bored yet. Some were hits, some were misses, and some, like season of the witch, were never even released. 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. February 4, 1940 july 16, 2017 was an american filmmaker, writer, and editor. For starters, the ice storm features no witches, unless im missing something buried deep in the subtext. Season of the witch dvd, 2005 for sale online ebay.
Looking back, theres a lot to love in this very odd homage to feminism and witches. Season of the witch is an american horror film of the witchcraft and occult genres. It was first released theatrically under the title hungry wives in may, 1972 at. 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. George romeros 70s feature season of the witch might. Romero february 4, 1940 july 16, 2017, creator of night of the living dead 1968, died at age 77. Also makes quite a statement about the bored housewife trope. Find release information for season of the witch 1972 george romero on allmovie. Romero citywide tribute, the warhol presents a screening of george a. Billed as romeros feminist film, season of the witch stars joan mitchell as an unhappy, suburban housewife. 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. Season of the witch on dvd 010092 from starz anchor bay. Romero produced the atmospheric, creepy and fiercely feminist season of the witch.
On the surface, joan mitchell has it all family, friends, and a beautiful home equipped. 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. Most of legendary filmmaker george romeros movies have had wide exposure over the years, due to their worldwide appeal and popularity. 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. Season of the witch is a 1973 american drama film written and directed by george a. Season of the witchtheres always vanilla dvd drivein. He had trouble finding distributors for the film, and was eventually distributed as a softcore pornography film called hungry wives. Romeros diary of the dead, as you have probably gathered by now, it is the meateating undead. 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 originally released as hungry wives is a 1973 american drama film written and directed by george a. 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. Our own jimmyo recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk to horror legend george a. For the zombie film or comic book, or cable tv drama, that boilerplate was struck by george a. Season of the witch is george romeros film about feminism in its womens lib phase.
Frustrated by her home life, with an uncommunicative businessman husband and a distant 19. Romero citywide tribute, we present a screening of george a. Films from the american genre film archives this month of october are womens themed horror titles. Featured in george romero between night and dawn order in the uk. The current video version runs 104 minutes which is the original overseas version titled jacks wife. After changing the face of horror with the zombie classic night of the living dead, george a. Perhaps the most unclassifiable of filmmaker george a. Romeros all too short body of work was born between night and dawn. But in between romeros maiden masterpiece night of the living dead and the returntoformula outing the crazies, he directed. In the time between night of the living dead and dawn of the dead, george romero made some very strange films. 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. George romeros season of the witch 1972 horror movie legend george a. On the surface, joan mitchell has it all family, friends, and a beautiful home equipped with all the latest appliances. 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.
The film takes place during the 1970s in a predominantly white, upper middle class, california suburb. Season of the witch is a 1972 movie written and directed by george a. George romeros season of the witch filming locations. 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. This film is often considered a progenitor of the fictional zombie of modern culture. George a romero from the early 70s, looks cheap as hell, but it comes off pretty good, and entertaining. 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. 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. After night of the living dead, master of horror george a. Romeros season of the witch is part horror film, part statement on gender roles of the mid20th century. An overtly experimental stage composed of four films out of. Most of it was shot indoors but some exterior street shots seemed very familiar.
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