Season of the Witch
Encyclopedia
Season of the Witch, also known as Hungry Wives, and Jack's Wife, is George A. Romero
's third horror film. Filmed in 1971 and released in 1972, the film is about a housewife
who becomes involved in witchcraft
. The film was shot in Pittsburgh and the suburb of Forest Hills, Pennsylvania
while most of it was shot in the home of the parents of Christine Forrest, a crewperson and actress whom Romero later married.
Romero has said that shooting the film was very trying, as they ran out of money during the production. He also did not like the performances. The director has expressed that this is the only one of his films that he would like to remake.
with their 19-year-old daughter Nikki (Joedda McClain), a student. Joan is unhappy and bored with her housewife
role. Jack is busy, embarking on long business trips every week. Joan has been seeing a psychotherapist because of her recurring dreams about her husband controlling her.
Joan and her friends learn about a new woman in the neighborhood named Marion Hamilton (Virginia Greenwald) who practices witchcraft. Prompted by curiosity, Joan and one of her friends, Shirley (Anne Muffley), drive over to Marion's house one night for a Tarot reading. Marion is the leader of a secret witches' coven
.
Joan and Shirley drive home to Joan's house, where they meet Gregg (Raymond Laine), a student teacher at Nikki's college (with whom Nikki has a very casual sexual relationship). The four drink and talk. Gregg shows an interest in Joan, who rebuffs him. Joan throws Gregg out of her house after he cruelly tricks Shirley into believing that she has smoked pot. After taking Shirley home, Joan returns home to hear Nikki and Gregg having sex. Turned on, she quietly goes to her bedroom and begins touching herself until Nikki walks in on her.
The next day, a furious Nikki leaves without telling anybody where she is going, and soon afterward Jack leaves for a one week business trip, with Joan feeling more lonely than ever. Joan buys a book about witchcraft. She conjures a spell to make Gregg attracted to her, and soon they are engaged in an affair. She also has increasingly terrifying nightmares, in which she is attacked by an intruder wearing a Satan
ic mask.
Believing that she is a witch, Joan's grip on reality blurs, leading to tragedy. The police tell Joan they have found Nikki in Buffalo, New York
and that she will be coming home in three or four days. After one last sexual encounter with Gregg, Joan tells him she does not want to see him again.
After another terrifying nightmare involving the masked intruder, Joan accidentally shoots and kills her husband, who has unexpectedly returned home early from his trip.
Joan joins Marion's coven. Cleared of her husband's death which was ruled an accident, Joan resumes attending parties with her friends, where she quietly introduces herself as a witch. But Joan still remains lonely when people around her still refer to as "Mrs. Mitchell", or simply "Jack's wife".
appears in the film's soundtrack.
Season of the Witch was the original title of the Martin Scorsese
film Mean Streets
(1973), in which the main character, referring to their bar hangout, says, "And I wouldn't call it Tony's Place or Charlie's Place…I'd call it something like Season of the Witch… get it?"
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
's third horror film. Filmed in 1971 and released in 1972, the film is about a housewife
Housewife
Housewife is a term used to describe a married woman with household responsibilities who is not employed outside the home. Merriam Webster describes a housewife as a married woman who is in charge of her household...
who becomes involved in witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
. The film was shot in Pittsburgh and the suburb of Forest Hills, Pennsylvania
Forest Hills, Pennsylvania
Forest Hills is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,518 at the 2010 census, as compared to 6,831 in 2000, and 7,335 in 1990.-Geography:Forest Hills is located at...
while most of it was shot in the home of the parents of Christine Forrest, a crewperson and actress whom Romero later married.
Romero has said that shooting the film was very trying, as they ran out of money during the production. He also did not like the performances. The director has expressed that this is the only one of his films that he would like to remake.
Plot
Joan Mitchell (Jan White) is the 39-year-old wife of a businessman, Jack Mitchell (Bill Thunhurst). They live in suburban PittsburghPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
with their 19-year-old daughter Nikki (Joedda McClain), a student. Joan is unhappy and bored with her housewife
role. Jack is busy, embarking on long business trips every week. Joan has been seeing a psychotherapist because of her recurring dreams about her husband controlling her.
Joan and her friends learn about a new woman in the neighborhood named Marion Hamilton (Virginia Greenwald) who practices witchcraft. Prompted by curiosity, Joan and one of her friends, Shirley (Anne Muffley), drive over to Marion's house one night for a Tarot reading. Marion is the leader of a secret witches' coven
Coven
A coven or covan is a name used to describe a gathering of witches or in some cases vampires. Due to the word's association with witches, a gathering of Wiccans, followers of the witchcraft-based neopagan religion of Wicca, is also described as a coven....
.
Joan and Shirley drive home to Joan's house, where they meet Gregg (Raymond Laine), a student teacher at Nikki's college (with whom Nikki has a very casual sexual relationship). The four drink and talk. Gregg shows an interest in Joan, who rebuffs him. Joan throws Gregg out of her house after he cruelly tricks Shirley into believing that she has smoked pot. After taking Shirley home, Joan returns home to hear Nikki and Gregg having sex. Turned on, she quietly goes to her bedroom and begins touching herself until Nikki walks in on her.
The next day, a furious Nikki leaves without telling anybody where she is going, and soon afterward Jack leaves for a one week business trip, with Joan feeling more lonely than ever. Joan buys a book about witchcraft. She conjures a spell to make Gregg attracted to her, and soon they are engaged in an affair. She also has increasingly terrifying nightmares, in which she is attacked by an intruder wearing a Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
ic mask.
Believing that she is a witch, Joan's grip on reality blurs, leading to tragedy. The police tell Joan they have found Nikki in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
and that she will be coming home in three or four days. After one last sexual encounter with Gregg, Joan tells him she does not want to see him again.
After another terrifying nightmare involving the masked intruder, Joan accidentally shoots and kills her husband, who has unexpectedly returned home early from his trip.
Joan joins Marion's coven. Cleared of her husband's death which was ruled an accident, Joan resumes attending parties with her friends, where she quietly introduces herself as a witch. But Joan still remains lonely when people around her still refer to as "Mrs. Mitchell", or simply "Jack's wife".
Release
For its original distribution the studio edited Romero's cut from 130 minutes to 89 minutes, and this was the only print available for many years. In 2005 Anchor Bay Entertainment released an extended version running 103 minutes.Title
The film was originally released in the U.S. as Hungry Wives and in the U.K. as Jack's Wife. It was also issued under the title Season of the Witch because the 1966 song of the same name by DonovanDonovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
appears in the film's soundtrack.
Season of the Witch was the original title of the Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
film Mean Streets
Mean Streets
Mean Streets is a 1973 drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Scorsese and Mardik Martin. The film stars Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro. It was released by Warner Bros. on October 2, 1973...
(1973), in which the main character, referring to their bar hangout, says, "And I wouldn't call it Tony's Place or Charlie's Place…I'd call it something like Season of the Witch… get it?"