At a crossroads near Pendle, Alizon Device, a beggar, is given short shrift by a passing soldier, resulting in her having a nasty gash at the back of her head, her anger apparent she seems to put a spell on the now distant soldier. While she waits for the next traveller along the lonely highway, she has discussions with her friend Jim Crow, a normal practice one might think, except that Jim is in fact a crow. Alizon spies an elderly local peddler, John Law watching her, she begs him for a pin to fix her torn dress, he laughs at her, they exchange insults, again Alizon screams abuse at the man and fantasizes about violent retribution. Not long after, John Law is struck down in the street with what seems to be a stroke, Law points the finger of blame at her, but Alizon who is present, pleads she had nothing to do with it. Frightened she returns to her home, where she is castigated by her family for returning empty handed, for it would seem it was her daily job to bring home money either through begging or "other" ways.
Meanwhile Abraham Law, (James Laurenson) son of John Law accuses Alizon Device of witchcraft and gathers evidence and testimony from other locals all of whom have had some bad luck or tragedy in recent times. Roger Nowell (John Stratton) the local justice of peace is the man who must decide if the charges have merit and warrant a court case. At first he sees no harm in the girl, but after the angry protestations of Abraham Law, he agrees to investigate further. He is surprised to hear directly from her that she believes in her powers, she willingly gives him details of her past deeds and those of her family, including the boiling down of her two dead children for fat, both children being aborted by her mother, due to the incestuous relationship with her brother James. Alizon seems possessed, she pleads for help and collapses to the ground in convulsions, fearing Satan himself possesses her, Nowell flogs her. A usually tolerant man Nowell sees no alternative under the present strict rule of King James than to bring them all to justice or fear losing his job.
Pendle Hill was a small town in Lancashire England, The trials of the witches of Pendle 1612, are some of the best recorded and relate in detail the goings on in a turbulent time, that saw huge unemployment, failing crops and a general malaise. Whether or not the eleven women and two men involved were indeed witches is open to conjecture, as for a time it was the custom for some to admit the fact, for monetary benefit, through begging or selling their potions for healing purposes. Looking at it from a modern perspective, its hard not to think of it all as baloney, a time where witches were hanged because they had a birthmark because it was deemed to be the mark of Satan. Alizon could have been an epileptic or had some mental issues and with incest being rife amongst the "Witch" community portrayed, that would hardly be a huge surprise. There's also the issue that other families with such business could easily remove their opponents by making a complaint of witchcraft against them. The Witches of Pendle was adapted by the BBC from a work by Barry Collins, it plays for the most part like a docu-drama but it also has a very strong feel of a play adapted for the TV screen, with a lot of the dialogue having a high brow sentiment that also at times borders on soliloquy, it also has a strong earthy feel, with forces of nature, the countryside and wildlife to the fore, which given the subject matter, is a satisfactory and suitable style to add atmosphere to what otherwise is a very slow moving piece. The trials aren't given that much air time, but its no big deal as the build up to them is given plenty of time and character development seems to be the main aim of the piece with most of the main characters given room to develop on screen.
The film does have its failings though, the language of the time with plenty of Thy's and Thou's added to the strong local accents, do add an air of authenticity, but at times its hard to hear or understand what exactly is going on plot wise. The docu drama stylings also add a coldness to the proceedings, there is little warmth to any of the characters, that may turn away fans of the genre. Some of the elderly witches are also prone to cackling in an annoying way, their histrionics again more suitable to a stage play of Shakespearean provenence. The extant print quality is also tinged with a pink hue throughout which is infuriating at first, but those used to such bad prints will soon forget it if they are drawn in to the story. That said, The Witches of Pendle isn't as bad as its made out to be, as a fan of witchcraft themed films, i found it interesting, but i'm sure there is a better adaptation waiting to be made
Meanwhile Abraham Law, (James Laurenson) son of John Law accuses Alizon Device of witchcraft and gathers evidence and testimony from other locals all of whom have had some bad luck or tragedy in recent times. Roger Nowell (John Stratton) the local justice of peace is the man who must decide if the charges have merit and warrant a court case. At first he sees no harm in the girl, but after the angry protestations of Abraham Law, he agrees to investigate further. He is surprised to hear directly from her that she believes in her powers, she willingly gives him details of her past deeds and those of her family, including the boiling down of her two dead children for fat, both children being aborted by her mother, due to the incestuous relationship with her brother James. Alizon seems possessed, she pleads for help and collapses to the ground in convulsions, fearing Satan himself possesses her, Nowell flogs her. A usually tolerant man Nowell sees no alternative under the present strict rule of King James than to bring them all to justice or fear losing his job.
Pendle Hill was a small town in Lancashire England, The trials of the witches of Pendle 1612, are some of the best recorded and relate in detail the goings on in a turbulent time, that saw huge unemployment, failing crops and a general malaise. Whether or not the eleven women and two men involved were indeed witches is open to conjecture, as for a time it was the custom for some to admit the fact, for monetary benefit, through begging or selling their potions for healing purposes. Looking at it from a modern perspective, its hard not to think of it all as baloney, a time where witches were hanged because they had a birthmark because it was deemed to be the mark of Satan. Alizon could have been an epileptic or had some mental issues and with incest being rife amongst the "Witch" community portrayed, that would hardly be a huge surprise. There's also the issue that other families with such business could easily remove their opponents by making a complaint of witchcraft against them. The Witches of Pendle was adapted by the BBC from a work by Barry Collins, it plays for the most part like a docu-drama but it also has a very strong feel of a play adapted for the TV screen, with a lot of the dialogue having a high brow sentiment that also at times borders on soliloquy, it also has a strong earthy feel, with forces of nature, the countryside and wildlife to the fore, which given the subject matter, is a satisfactory and suitable style to add atmosphere to what otherwise is a very slow moving piece. The trials aren't given that much air time, but its no big deal as the build up to them is given plenty of time and character development seems to be the main aim of the piece with most of the main characters given room to develop on screen.
The film does have its failings though, the language of the time with plenty of Thy's and Thou's added to the strong local accents, do add an air of authenticity, but at times its hard to hear or understand what exactly is going on plot wise. The docu drama stylings also add a coldness to the proceedings, there is little warmth to any of the characters, that may turn away fans of the genre. Some of the elderly witches are also prone to cackling in an annoying way, their histrionics again more suitable to a stage play of Shakespearean provenence. The extant print quality is also tinged with a pink hue throughout which is infuriating at first, but those used to such bad prints will soon forget it if they are drawn in to the story. That said, The Witches of Pendle isn't as bad as its made out to be, as a fan of witchcraft themed films, i found it interesting, but i'm sure there is a better adaptation waiting to be made