The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

Three single women in a picturesque village have their wishes granted, at a cost, when a mysterious and flamboyant man arrives in their lives.

Director:

George Miller

Writers:

John Updike (novel), Michael Cristofer (screenplay)

Stars:

Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Nicholson	...	Daryl Van Horne
Cher	...	Alexandra Medford
Susan Sarandon	...	Jane Spofford
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Sukie Ridgemont
Veronica Cartwright	...	Felicia Alden
Richard Jenkins	...	Clyde Alden
Keith Jochim	...	Walter Neff
Carel Struycken	...	Fidel
Helen Lloyd Breed	...	Mrs. Biddle
Caroline Struzik	...	Carol Medford
Michele Sincavage	...	Ridgemont Child
Nicol Sincavage	...	Ridgemont Child
Heather Coleman	...	Ridgemont Child
Carolyn Ditmars	...	Ridgemont Child
Cynthia Ditmars	...	Ridgemont Child

Storyline

All three previously married but now single, best friends sculptress Alex Medford, cellist Jane Spofford and writer Sukie Ridgemont are feeling emotionally and sexually repressed, in large part due to the traditional mores overriding their small New England coastal town of Eastwick. After their latest conversation lamenting about the lack of suitable men in Eastwick and describing the qualities they are looking for in a man, mysterious Daryl Van Horne and his equally mysterious butler Fidel arrive in town. Despite being vulgar, crude, brazen and not particularly handsome, Daryl manages to be able to tap into the innermost emotions of the three friends, and as such manages to seduce each. In turn, the three women blossom emotionally and sexually. After an incident involving one of the town's leading citizens, the ultra conservative Felicia Alden, the three women begin to understand how and why Daryl is able to mesmerize them so fully. The three decide to experiment with some powers ...

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Plot Keywords:

male objectification | windstorm | sculptress | writer | teacher | 

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Taglines:

Something wicked this way comes.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 June 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Las brujas de Eastwick

Filming Locations:

Abbott Hall - 188 Washington Street, Marblehead, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$63,766,510

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., The Guber-Peters Company, Kennedy Miller Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kim Cattrall auditioned for the role of Jane.

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Goofs

A wire controlling the movement of the tennis ball is visible in subsequent shots while the witches and Daryl are playing tennis.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Carol Medford: You don't have to come today, you know, I mean, if you don't want to.
Alexandra Medford: No, sweetheart, I want to, it's just that I have a million things I have to do first.

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Connections

Referenced in The Witches of Breastwick (2005)

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Soundtracks

Cello Concerto in B minor (Allegro)
Written by Antonín Dvorák
Performed by Susan Sarandon

User Reviews

The songs Witchy Woman (women) meets Sympathy for the Devil, combined for a comic fantasy

George Miller (Mad Max) creatively sets the stage for a story of three witches and one Lucifer, who are in regular human form, in a small, uptight New England town. Of course, for a tale like this one can try to suspend disbelief, and it has to be when dealing with the supernatural. Thankfully, Miller has great casting tastes- Cher, Sarandon, and Pfieffer are wonderful in their roles, each with an acute, potent sexuality that was at their peaks in the late 80's. And then there's Mr shark grin himself, Jack Nicholson, who gives another superb layer to the performance of the dark prince. There are other actors who have portrayed the man downstairs- Al Pacino in Devil's Advocate was the devil as lawyer, Billy Crystal was himself in the Woody/Dante sequence in Deconstructing Harry, even Elizabeth Hurley in Bedazzled.

But rarely have they had this much outright fun and charm with the role, enough to almost make me, a man in his 20s, charmed too. Maybe it's the eyebrows. Nicholson gives one of his best over-the-top performances as the "horny-little devil" Darryl, who comes into town during a storm and cooks up more than that for his avid female guests. Of course, he doesn't have control for long, when the girls find they have powers of their own. When the movie gets overly fantastic (which is a number of times) it gets a little hard to take, yet the acting is above par, and the special effects are a delight.