andy-53200 "A masterful work..."? Who wrote that? Kirstie Alley in a masterful work about the Salem witch trials. Got to be worth a watch. I bailed after an hour and 25 minutes of my life that I bitterly regret wasting on this. If I hadn't had a pizza delivered and had my hands full, I might have had the will to turn it off.I've tried to bear in mind that it's 32 years old but that's really no excuse.The acting is truly awful. Accents that put Dick Van Dyke as the chimney sweep in Mary Poppins in a good light. Terrible cinematography, sets like a 1950s B movie. Plot devices and direction on the same level as a local am dram production.Sorry, but I can't find a single redeeming thing to say about this. The one star I've given was for Kirstie Alley's acting which was pretty good.

Rainey Dawn This is a made for TV movie... apparently in two parts when aired judging by the length of it. This could have been easily cut down to a one part film - or one that aired in one night instead of in two parts. There are unnecessary and drawn out scenes to create more drama I guess.I have my own beliefs of the real Salem Witch Trials WITCH I will not discuss here (pun intended) but I can say this is a good film, even though it is overly and unnecessarily long. I did enjoy this movie because I love stories (real and fake) about witches.If you want a solid film on what happened at Salem then I do recommend giving this one a watch.8/10

dspires-71-592232 First and foremost, this is a well-told, historically accurate tale, with the title telling the entire plot. This masterful work accurately details the current consensus of what exactly occurred to prompt the colonial witch-trials, to spread the witch-fears to surrounding communities, what factor halted these trials, these heinous tortures, these executions, and the shallow, self-righteous politics involved. A remarkable performance by all involved, with Kirstie Alley, as Ann Putnam, leading the way, supported by Peter Ustinov, as Reverend William Stroughton, and Shirley MacLaine, as the pious Rebecca Nurse. Excellent. Nothing more need be said.--footnote-- If you are aware of Salem history, then my above entry contains spoilers, simply because of the accuracy of the film.

orcagurl I thought this was a very interesting mini series, definitely not holding back on the gruesome side of the 'old life'. They had tons of good actors and actresses stuck in and it's half the fun pointing to the people and saying, "Hey I saw them somewhere!" Even when, dissapointingly, they only have a few seconds screen space or have no name at all. (A good example is May's father)It's horrible how the people reacted to whatever excuse they could think of first to explain the terrible deeds happening, and so much they said was Satan's or God's punishment! And how the children would target certain people, yes, you will see what I mean. Feeling important now that they are recognized.And here's a scene to look out for. I near cried, it being so powerful, of strength and unity still within a dank prison. When Goody Nurse is in prison and praying and all the prisoners shout out what they would find God in. I wanted to join them (well, not really), and feel the first ray of light that touched their hearts in many a day.