Crucible

UPC: 024543108252

Studio: 20th Century Fox

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Adult Situations, Not For Children, Watch With Your Teen]

Summary: When Arthur Miller's play The Crucible was first staged in 1953, it was widely acclaimed as a metaphor for the recklessness of Joseph McCarthy and his spurious crusade against communism. In its 1996 screen adaptation (scripted by Miller), the tone has been adjusted somewhat and plays as a warning against the dangers of political and religious extremism of all kinds. After a group of young women is accused of witchcraft in the Puritan community of Salem, Mass. in 1692, Abigail Williams (Winona Ryder) is held in suspicion of practicing magic. Abigail in turn levels charges against John Proctor (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his wife Elizabeth (Joan Allen). Abigail has a private grudge against the Proctors; while working as their servant, she had an affair with John, and when John ended the relationship and returned to his wife, Abigail was fired. Now the Reverend Parris (Bruce Davison) is hearing accusations and counter-accusations of misdeeds from all sides of the community in the wake of Abigail's charges, so he brings in Judge Danforth (Paul Scofield) to determine who is guilty or innocent. However, given the moral climate of the time, it seems someone has to be found guilty of witchcraft, even though firm evidence of wrongdoing is becoming hard to come by. This was the second screen version of The Crucible, though it was the first one in English; the previous version, filmed in France in 1956, starred Simone Signoret and Yves Montand. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Supporting Actress – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Features: ccMaking-of featurette
"A Conversation With Daniel Day-Lewis and Arthur Miller" featurette
Theatrical trailer

Crucible

Format: DVD

Release Date: 06/01/2004

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DDS Dolby Digital Surround, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 123 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Main Titles [1:02]
2. A Secret Meeting [1:13]
3. A Sickness [3:22]
4. John Proctor [3:03]
5. Accusations [6:58]
6. The Judges [3:08]
7. Hysteria [3:54]
8. Arrests [6:32]
9. Taking Names [7:07]
10. Mary's Deposition [3:28]
11. Goody Proctor's Testimony [3:40]
12. To Tell the Truth [1:30]
13. The Hangings [2:14]
14. Confessions [6:58]
15. John's Decision [5:26]
16. End Titles [1:22]

Derek Armstrong

Aided by Arthur Miller's script, an adaptation of his own play, Nicholas Hytner's The Crucible captures a palpable sense of the hysteria and circular logic that damned 19 residents of Salem who refused to confess to witchcraft. The film sustains its tension for upwards of two hours, with top-notch acting by such heavy hitters as Daniel Day-Lewis, Joan Allen, and Paul Scofield. But it's Miller's dialogue, memorable for its lyrical precision, that perfectly distills the hopelessness of evading the accusations that spread through that small Massachusetts community. While the film surely condemns the alarmist reactions of the church and courts, it nonetheless outlines the systematic process that led the leaders to their conclusions. Alarmist they may have been, but believe it they did, and they acted on what they felt was the truth, after much internal debate. The film stirs up religious conundrums that are fascinating to contemplate, even for the spiritually disinclined. Scofield is powerful as the dispassionate magistrate whose word could send an accused witch to the gallows. Allen's crumbling stoicism in the role of Elizabeth Proctor earned her a well-deserved Oscar nomination, and Day-Lewis turns in his usual soulful performance, burning silently until a richly emotional denouement. Winona Ryder is a little too showy as the morally compromised Abigail Williams, but the rest of the supporting cast paints a true picture of a town torn asunder. The gorgeous cinematography supports the weighty issues at its core, making The Crucible a profound examination of one of the more disquieting and regrettable periods in American history. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Ken Cheeseman  Actor 
John Griesemer  Actor 
Robert Breuler  Actor 
Lian-Marie Holmes  Actor 
Steven Ochoa  Actor 
Frances Conroy  Actor 
Elizabeth Lawrence  Actor 
Peter Vaughan  Actor 
Kali Rocha  Actor 
June Lewin  Actor 
Jane Pulkkinen  Actor 
Tom McDermott  Actor 
Peter Maloney  Actor 
Anna V. Boksenbaum  Actor 
Michael McKinstry  Actor 
Alexander Streit  Actor 
Mary Pat Gleason  Actor 
Ashley Peldon  Actor 
Sheila Ferrini  Actor 
Carmella Mulvihill  Actor 
Ruth Maleczech  Actor 
Jessie Kilguss  Actor 
Sheila Pinkham  Actor 
Mara Clark  Actor 
Charlaine Woodard  Actor 
Karen MacDonald  Actor 
Simone Marean  Actor 
Mary Reardon  Actor 
Will Lyman  Actor 
Dossy Peabody  Actor 
Michael Gaston  Actor 
Dorothy Brodesser  Actor 
Charlotte Melen  Actor 
Stanely Taylor  Actor 
George Gaynes  Actor 
William Preston  Actor 
Rachael Bella  Actor 
Amee Gray  Actor 
Katrina Nevin  Actor 
David V. Picker  Actor 
Bob Miller  Producer 
George Fenton  Composer (Music Score) 
Nicholas Hytner  Director 
David V. Picker  Producer 
Arthur Miller  Screenwriter 
Robert A. Miller  Producer 
Daniel Day-Lewis  Actor 
Winona Ryder  Actor 
Paul Scofield  Actor 
Joan Allen  Actor 
Bruce Davison  Actor 
Rob Campbell  Actor 
Jeffrey Jones  Actor 
Karron Graves  Actor 

Country: USA