Season of the Witch (2011)

Fourteenth century knights transport a suspected witch to a monastery, where monks deduce her powers could be the source of the Black Plague.

Director:

Dominic Sena

Writer:

Bragi F. Schut (as Bragi Schut)

Stars:

Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Claire Foy

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicolas Cage	...	Behmen
Ron Perlman	...	Felson
Stephen Campbell Moore	...	Debelzaq
Stephen Graham	...	Hagamar
Ulrich Thomsen	...	Eckhart
Claire Foy	...	The Girl
Robert Sheehan	...	Kay
Christopher Lee	...	Cardinal D'Ambroise
Kevin Rees	...	Dying Monk
Andrew Hefler	...	Jail Bailiff
Fernanda Dorogi	...	Old Woman (Givaudon)
Rebekah Kennedy	...	Peasant Turk Girl
Matt Devere	...	Sergeant in Arms
Róbert Bánlaki	...	Livery Boy
Barna Illyés	...	Cardinal's Priest

Storyline

A 14th century Crusader returns to a homeland devastated by the Black Plague. A beleaguered church, deeming sorcery the culprit of the plague, commands the two knights to transport an accused witch to a remote abbey, where monks will perform a ritual in hopes of ending the pestilence. A priest, a grieving knight, a disgraced itinerant and a headstrong youth who can only dream of becoming a knight join a mission troubled by mythically hostile wilderness and fierce contention over the fate of the girl. When the embattled party arrives at the abbey, a horrific discovery jeopardises the knight's pledge to ensure the girl fair treatment, and pits them against an inexplicably powerful and destructive force.

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Plot Keywords:

middle ages | knight | monk | witch | 14th century | 

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Taglines:

Not all souls can be saved.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, violence and disturbing content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Netherlands]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Latin

Release Date:

7 January 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Season of the Witch

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,612,375, 9 January 2011

Gross USA:

$24,827,228

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$91,627,228

Company Credits

Production Co:

Atlas Entertainment, Relativity Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bounced from MGM to Columbia and then Relativity on its eleven-year journey to the screen.

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Goofs

The story took place in land Styria (Stajerska, Steiermark) which never has coast! Also town Marburg (today Maribor - Slovenia) is near river Drava and not on the hill.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Peasant Girl: No! No... please! I beg you. I beg you. I'm not a witch.

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Connections

Referenced in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #2.11 (2011)

User Reviews

Not as bad as the critics say it is...Cage seems to care

Season of the witch was a far better film than critics and fellow moviegoers led me to believe. The story is about Cage and Pearlman teaming up to take a witch to a castle where she will be put on trial. Chaos and terror ensue as they treck the mountainside and forest. The film depicts the times very well...and most the accents aren't that bad. But the thing i wasn't expecting was to see Cage actually put some effort into his role. Instead of woodenly walking through the film with terrible hair, Cage shows some true emotion and his hair ain't half bad. Cage is hit or miss, sometimes he's good ("Bad Lieutenant"), sometimes he's bad ("The Knowing"). I think Cage gets an A for effort. It's no his best acting but it's an improvement. Pearlman is great as the sidekick/friend and gets most of the good lines. The special effects are kinda lame and the film drags in certain spots, but overall "Season of the witch" is a decent thriller with some cheesy dialouge. This movie isn't bad as everyone makes it out to be. If you have low expectations like I did, you'll probably get a lot more enjoyment out of it.

Oh, and the priest named De Balzak...pretty hysterical name.