Grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath: Benjamin Christensens legendary silent film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the Middle Ages suffered the same hysteria as turn-of-the-century psychiatric patients. Far from a dry dissertation on the topic, the film itself is a witches brew of the scary, the gross, and the darkly humorous. Christensens mix-and-match approach to genre anticipates gothic horror, documentary re-creation, and the essay film, making for an experience unlike anything else in the history of cinema.Denmark1922105 minutesBlack & White1.33:1DanishSpine #134SPECIAL FEATURESOn the Blu-ray: New 2K digital restorationMusic from the original Danish premiere, arranged by film-music specialist Gillian Anderson and performed by the Czech Film Orchestra in 2001, presented in 5.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-rayAudio commentary from 2001 featuring film scholar Casper TybjergWitchcraft Through the Ages (1968), the seventy-six-minute version of Hxan, narrated by author William S. Burroughs, with a soundtrack featuring violinist Jean-Luc PontyDirector Benjamin Christensens introduction to the 1941 rereleaseShort selection of outtakesBibliothque Diabolique: a photographic exploration of Christensens historical sourcesNew English translation of intertitlesPLUS: An essay by critic Chris Fujiwara, remarks on the score by Anderson, and (Blu-ray only) an essay by scholar Chlo Germaine BuckleyBlu-ray cover by Glyn Smith