Three Sovereigns for Sarah
by Philip Leacock
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Actor: John Dukakis, Kim Hunter, Patrick McGoohan, Vanessa Redgrave, Will LymanDirector: Philip Leacock
Brand: PBS
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 171 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-06-07
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: PBS
DVD Reviews of Three Sovereigns for Sarah
DVD Review: 4 Cheers to Redgrave
Summary: 4 Stars
Three Sovereigns for Sarah is arguably the best dramatic account of the infamous Salem Witch Trials. It certainly has an outstanding script that provides the perfect creative material for legendary actress Vanessa Redgrave. Indeed, Redgrave is outstanding as one of three sisters condemned by the mass hysteria-vendetta-land grab that lay at the center of the deadly accusations & fantasies.
The story is told in flashback by Redgrave and details aren't pretty.
It is a story of inhumanity, conformism & greed.
The course of the persecutions paralleled the witch trials in Europe (referred to as The Burning Times by some people.) Most victims were elderly, unmarried women with little or no property; people on the fringe, like the homeless today. In Europe there were both Protestant and Roman Catholic inquisitors. Their primary goal was to use indefensible claims against people in order to impress the need for religious conformity. There were also elements of sexual sadism involved and the unconscious need for individuals & the community as a whole to feel superior at the expense of somebody else: a social pecking order gone homocidal.
However, in the American Colonies there was the added element of financial & property gain.
Near the end of the film Redgrave's character, Sarah, needs to prove the property angle to a sort of "Witch Commission" in order to exonerate her sisters after their death. She does this by showing a map she had drawn of the township that clearly delineated the property lines of the accusers and their victims. By this time the imperial authorities intervened because 100's of people were being targeted by the "possessed" girls who were clearly out of control. It had mushroomed beyond the Salem township and threatened the highest social circles. In fact, the final incident that put a definitive stop to the madness was when the wife of the Governor was added to the ever longer Witch List.
Playwright Arthur Miller similarly utilized this theme of financial gain in his play "The Crucible." In his play Miller was deliberatly drawing parallels between the McCarthy Era, and that prosecutor's demand that one victim name another if they were going to have any chance of personally get off the hook.
A more recent suggestion by a researcher played down the financial aspect, replacing it with a psychedelic interpretation. According to this theory the bread in the township had turned moldy, producing ergot, the organic & potentially lethal ingredient of LSD. Children were more adversely affected than adults--and this is why the "afflicted" victims, with one exception, were children. However, this theory fails to explain why ALL the victims were female. There should have been boy hysterics too--or at the very lest very energetic boys bouncing off highly colorful & melting walls.
Although veteran actress Kim Hunter (from Streetcar Named Desire to Planet of The Apes) is particularly effective as the elder & pious sister of Vanessa, the rest of the cast, although quite good, don't quite shine or match Redgrave's performance. It's an awesome act to follow.
So I debited 1 star from the overall production rating.
Incidentally, after seeing this film it can only be hoped that people playing at being witches (including those making money in today's Salem at the original victim's expense) will have a flash of clarity & find something more socially relevant to do.
There was nothing "fun" or "romantic" about being condemned as a witch.
Watch this film, you'll see...
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Haxan (Witchcraft Through the Ages) - Criterion Collection
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Description of Three Sovereigns for Sarah
Studio: Pbs Release Date: 05/06/2009 Run time: 180 minutesBestsellers in DVD
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