Häxan (1922 film) - Directed by Benjamin Christensen - Full Movie

Fictionalized documentary showing the evolution of witchcraft, from its pagan roots to its confusion with hysteria in Eastern Europe.

Häxan (Swedish: "The Witch") is a 1922 silent horror essay film written and directed by Benjamin Christensen. Consisting partly of documentary-style storytelling as well as dramatized narrative sequences, the film charts the historical roots and superstitions surrounding witchcraft, beginning in the Middle Ages through the 20th century. Based partly on Christensen's own study of the Malleus Maleficarum, a 15th-century German guide for inquisitors, Häxan proposes that such witch hunts may have stemmed from misunderstandings of mental or neurological disorders, triggering mass hysteria.

Directed by: Benjamin Christensen
Screenplay by: Benjamin Christensen
Starring: Benjamin Christensen, Clara Pontoppidan, Oscar Stribolt, Astrid Holm, Maren Pedersen
Cinematography: Johan Ankerstjerne
Edited by: Edla Hansen
Production company: Svensk Filmindustri
Distributed by: Skandias Filmbyrå (Sweden)
Release date: 18 September 1922 (Sweden)
Running time: 105 minutes
Countries: Sweden
Language: Silent film with Swedish intertitles
Budget: SEK 2 million