The Witch Hunt
Category
filmGenre
historical, thrillerTypology
featuretheatrical distributionlongOriginal title
Kladivo na čarodějniceCzech title
Kladivo na čarodějniceEnglish title
The Witch HuntSummary
Medieval witch trials provided the story for a 1963 book by Václav Kaplický that Otakar Vávra and Ester Krumbachová used as the basis for the screenplay of the outstanding historical drama Kladivo na čarodějnice (The Witch Hunt) (1969). The renowned director and multi-talented costume designer also took inspiration from the court records of witch trials held between 1678 and 1695. Both book and film borrowed the title from Malleus maleficium (1486), a medieval manual for fighting witchcraft. While the plot centres on the fate of actual people convicted in witch trials it also consciously reflects the 1950s show trials of Milada Horáková and Rudolf Slánský, details of which started to emerge in the 1960s. The narrative’s dark protagonist is Jindřich František Boblig of Edelstadt (1612–1698), an imperial lay inquisitor who helmed witch trials in Šumperk and was responsible for the burning to death of over 100 people, including the Šumperk dean Kryštof Lautner and the young servant Zuzana (Soňa Valentová). The inquisitor was not inspired by religion: he divvied up most of the property of his victims with the local nobility… Vávra’s Boblig, played by Vladimír Šmeral, is a sadistic fanatic who used torture and intimidation to force confessions out of dozens of innocent people. The inquisitor’s antithesis is the humanist Launter (Elo Romančík), a prototype of the modern intellectual who despite his moral convictions inevitably falls victim to absurd violence and hatred… In reaction to the political liberalisation of the period, Vávra, who was 58, created an enduring, expressive picture that ranks among his best. The Witch Hunt, which naturally was none too popular with normalisation period censors, brought an end to the interesting, unrestrained 1960s period in the director’s filmography.
Synopsis
The time is the seventeenth century. The beggar Maryna Schuchová hides the Host in her scarf at the Communion. She admits to the parish priest Schmidt that she intended to give it to the midwife Groerová to heal her ailing cow. The young priest declares her a witch and convinces the Šumperk countess de Galle to summon the inquisitor Boblig from Edelstadt. This failed student of law sees the offer as a great opportunity. He uses torture and threats to force the women from the to testify to their meetings with the devil and learn by heart the lies he has made up for the inquisition tribunal. Boblig accuses the wealthy burghers of witchcraft as well, and so wants to seize their possessions. Dean Lautner, who has stood in the way of Boblig's misdoings, is also accused as the devil's partner. Lautner requests the help of the bishop of Olomouc and other members of the clergy, to no avail. Terror spreads throughout the region, and even the countess fears Boblig. Horrified, Schmidt witnesses the consequences of his religious zeal. Lautner and many others are imprisoned and tortured. At first, Lautner is convinced that truth will prevail, but he remains entirely alone. Other burghers are broken and in a delirium-like state keep repeating the parts they learnt by rote. The stakes are burning in the Šumperk region, and the dean himself is finally burnt at one of them. Fear gives Boblig power over everyone. The inquisitor continues to enjoy a peaceful and opulent life to the ripe old age, and even marries late in life.
Film online
Photos
Cast
Elo Romančík
šumperský děkan Kryštof Alois Lautner
Vladimír Šmeral
inkvizitor Jindřich František Boblig z Edelstadtu
Soňa Valentová
děkanská kuchařka Zuzana Voglicková
Josef Kemr
inkviziční písař Ignác
Lola Skrbková
žebračka Maryna Schuchová
Jiřina Štěpničková
porodní bába Dorota Groerová
Marie Nademlejnská
kořenářka Dorota Davidová zvaná Davidka
Miriam Kantorková
lazebnice Dorota Tobiášová
Lubor Tokoš
barvíř Kašpar Sattler
Blažena Holišová
Marie, Sattlerova žena
Jaroslava Obermaierová
Alžběta zvaná Lízl, dcera Sattlerových
Jiří Holý
losinský farář Tomáš König
Rudolf Krátký
bývalý soudce Kašpar Hutter
Čestmír Řanda
mohelnický děkan Jiří Vojtěch Winkler
Blanka Waleská
hraběnka Angelia Anna Sybila de Galle, rozená Žerotínová
Martin Růžek
biskup olomoucký hrabě Karel II. z Lichtenštejna
Josef Bláha
hrabě Ignác Karel Matyáš Šternberk, státní rada apelačního soudu
Eduard Cupák
sobotínský farář Eusebius Leandr Schmidt
Ilja Prachař
rychtář František Ferdinand Gaup, přísedící
Gustav Opočenský
biskupský sekretář Eliáš Isidor Schmidt, farářův bratr
Václav Lohniský
mnich
Štěpán Zemánek
zámecký hejtman Adam Vinarský z Křížova, přísedící
František Holar
kat Jakub Hay zvaný Jokl
Zdeněk Kryzánek
lesmistr Kryštof Zeidler, přísedící
Miloš Willig
biskupský notář JUDr. Jiří Bernard Mayer
Josef Mixa
děkanský sluha Florian
Josef Elsner
hejtman Karel Julius Kotulínský z Mírova
Miloš Hájek
mydlář Jan Přerovský
Zdeněk Hodr
důchodní František Václav Vraný, přísedící
Jiří Lír
sekretář apelačního soudu Jan Jakub Weingarten
Karel Bělohradský
biřic
Karel Čížek
biřic
Zdeněk Dohnal
biřic
Eduard Pavlíček
biřic
Jan Pohan
biřic
Marie Cingrošová
matka s dítětem
Ladislav Gzela
žebrák
Zbyněk Jirmář
mnich páter Crescentius
Zbyněk Bruthans
mnich Carolus
Jiří Hurta
mnich
Vladimír Navrátil
lokaj
Jan Prokeš
dozorce Umlauf
Boleslava Svobodová
lazebnice
Vladimír Švabík
sluha
Alois Vachek
kostelník Jindřich Bittner
Martin Kapoun
ministrant
Ivana Horká
cechmistrová
E. Lázničková
cechmistrová
Yvona Odehnalová
cechmistrová
M. Svoboda
starý dozorce
Jiřina Hautová
žebračka
J. Umlauf
mrzák
I. Bobková
tanečnice
Zdeněk Derka
tanečník
J. Janovcová
tanečnice
Oldřich Mazůrek
tanečník
Vladislav Šebesta
tanečník
M. Ždánská
tanečnice
Karel Engel
pomocník kata
Otakar Rademacher
pomocník kata
J. Bartoš
pomocník kata
L. Kot
pomocník kata
Zuzana Rumlová
nahá žena
Yvonne Kodoňová
nahá žena
L. Divišová
nahá žena
E. Maragnová
nahá žena
S. Procházková
nahá žena
R. Propperová
nahá žena
L. Šindlerová
nahá žena
Crew and creators
Director
Second Unit Director
Assistant Director
Milan Klacek, I. Krkošková, Dagmar Nováková
Based on
Václav Kaplický (Kladivo na čarodějnice – román)
Screenplay
Shooting Script
Director of Photography
Second Unit Photography
Production Designer
Assistent Production Designer
Art Director
Set Designer
Stanislav Krejča, Karel Lukáš, Karel Smrž
Costume Designer
Costumes
Make-Up Artist
Jiří Šimon, Libuše Švejdová, J. Novák
Film Editor
Assistant Film Editor
Sound Designer
Production Manager
Unit Production Manager
František Jaderník, Ludmila Tikovská
Unit Production Manager
Milan Štěch
Consultant
prof. PhDr. Ing. arch. Václav Mencl, DrSc., František Spurný
Cooperation
Irena Hrušková (klapka), Jitka Bylinská (fotografka)
Music
Music Composed by
Selected Music
Music Performed by
Songs
Vojenská píseň
Song Composer Jiří Srnka
Writer of Lyrics Ester Krumbachová
Singer Pražští madrigalisté
Production info
Original Title
Kladivo na čarodějnice
Czech Title
Kladivo na čarodějnice
English Title
The Witch Hunt
Category
film
Typology
featuretheatrical distribution
Genre
historical, thriller
Origin country
Czechoslovakia
Copyright
1969
Production Year
1969
Production specifications
literary Screenplay approved 9 October 1968
technical Screenplay approved 30 January 1969
start of filming 30 March 1969
end of filming 18 July 1969
the first film copy approved 24 October 1969
projection approval 30 October 1969
withdrawal from distribution 31 March 1988
Premiere
gala premiere 21 January 1970 (kino 64 U Hradeb, Praha)
premiere 22 January 1970 /unsuitable for youths/ (kina Světozor /9 týdnů/ a Veletrhy /1 týden od 2. 4./, Praha)
premiere 23 January 1970 /unsuitable for youths/ (celostátní)
renewed premiere 1 April 1989 /unsuitable for youths/
Production
Copyright Holders
Studio
Distribution
Ústřední půjčovna filmů (původní 1970 a obnovená 1989)
Creative Group
Tvůrčí skupina Šebor – Bor, Vladimír Bor (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Jiří Šebor (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skupiny)
Technical info
Duration typology
feature film
Duration in minutes
103 min
Original length in metres
2 929 meters
Distribution carrier
16mm, 35mm
Aspect ratio
1:1,66, 1:2,35
Colour
black & white
Sound
sound
Sound system/format
mono
Versions
Czech
Dialogue languages
Czech, Latin
Subtitles languages
without subtitles
Opening/End credits languages
Czech
Awards
Vítěz
Festival: 4. festival českých a slovenských filmů FINÁLE Plzeň
1990
Plzeň / Czechoslovakia
Vítěz
Festival: 10. mezinárodní filmový festival Mar del Plata
1970
Mar del Plata / Argentina
Otakar Vávra
Vítěz
Festival: 10. mezinárodní filmový festival Mar del Plata
1970
Mar del Plata / Argentina
Otakar Vávra
