The Witches

"Saving the world from witches is a tall order for a boy they've turned into a mouse!"

1990 1h 31m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

🔥

94%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 1,435🍅94%Rotten Tomatoes●78Metacritic★6.8IMDB · 58,478

FantasyFamilyHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

While staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga, a young boy named Luke inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch reveals a plan to turn all children into mice via a magical formula. When they discover the eavesdropper, the witches test the formula on him. Now, with the help of Helga and hotel manager Mr Stringer, Luke the mouse must fight back against the witches.

“Saving the world from witches is a tall order for a boy they've turned into a mouse!”

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Cast

Jasen Fisher
Luke Eveshim
Mai Zetterling
Helga Eveshim
Anjelica Huston
Miss Eva Ernst
Charlie Potter
Bruno Jenkins
Rowan Atkinson
Mr Stringer
Bill Paterson
Mr Jenkins
Brenda Blethyn
Mrs Jenkins
Jane Horrocks
Miss Irvine

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Nicolas Roeg
Writers: Allan Scott
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

36 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Nicolas Roeg, shot by Harvey Harrison. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Stanley Myers. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Tony Lawson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jasen Fisher and Mai Zetterling and Anjelica Huston carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Saving the world from witches is a tall order for a boy they've turned into a mouse!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0100944 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Nicolas Roeg directs. Harvey Harrison behind the camera. Stanley Myers scores. Tony Lawson cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

136 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
3Directed by Nicolas Roeg, shot by Harvey Harrison. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Stanley Myers. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Tony Lawson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jasen Fisher and Mai Zetterling and Anjelica Huston carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Saving the world from witches is a tall order for a boy they've turned into a mouse!".
8IMDB entry: tt0100944 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 10 themes, including "hotel", "witch", "based on novel or book", "grandparent grandchild relationship".

The technical file

Cinematography: Harvey Harrison
Original score: Stanley Myers
Editing: Tony Lawson
Production design: Andrew Sanders
Costume design: Marit Allen
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $11,000,000
Box office: $15,363,748
Return: 140% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Witches (1990)
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 78/100
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 58,478 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award3 wins & 8 nominations total

Also by

Nicolas Roeg

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-10-21
★ 6/10
Young "Luke" (an enthusiastic Jasen Fisher) lives with his grandmother "Helga" (May Zetterling) after being mysteriously orphaned. His grandmother has made him worldly wise to the ways of witches, and so he is alert to the antics of "Eva" (Angelica Huston) when he and his ever-hungry new friend "Bruno" (Charlie Potter) meet in a seaside hotel. Overhearing her evil grand design as she addresses a convention of hags and crones, both he and his friend are turned into white mice - but can he get back to his grandmother and warn her before all the children in the world are gone? It's quite a quickly paced and fun adventure this, with plenty of escapades as the boys/mice have to steal the potion and thwart the witches. Jim Henson has provided some suitably grizzly effects and the supporting cast - especially the rather supercilious Bill Paterson as the father of "Bruno" help keep the film flow effortlessly for ninety minutes before an ending that might put you off pea soup for quite a long a while. It has dated a little, but is still an enjoyable piece of family cinema that I did quite enjoy.

Production companies