The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

Based on John Updike's novel of the same name, 'The Witches of Eastwick' is A Riot! A fabulously engaging comedy-fantasy flick, that also has terrific direction & some delicious performances working on its advantage.

'The Witches of Eastwick' Synopsis: Three single women in a picturesque village have their wishes granted - at a cost - when a mysterious and flamboyant man arrives in their lives.

'The Witches of Eastwick' is ingeniously done. The narrative is wicked, but at the same time, so funny & profoundly fanatic! Michael Cristofer's Adapted Screenplay deserves distinction marks, for writing a story, full of madness & imagination, without ever going overboard. George Miller's Direction is terrific. He's handled the film exceedingly well. Cinematography is top-notch. Editing is perfect. Special Effects are fine. Art & Costume Design are good. John Williams's Score is tremendous.

Performance-Wise: Jack Nicholson is at his GREATEST as the devil. His spell-binding turn as the seductive & manipulative villain, left me speechless. He owns 'The Witches of Eastwick' from start to end! Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer & Susan Sarandon as the eponymous witches, lend remarkable support & add a lot of weight in the goings-on. Veronica Cartwright is extraordinary in a strong supporting role, while Richard Jenkins leaves a mark, as always.

On the whole, 'The Witches of Eastwick' left me overjoyed by its top-class execution. Two Thumbs Up!

Fmovies: What fun Nicholson must have had with this! He really hams it up here. Very good supporting work by Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfieffer, and Veronica Cartwright. The plot is a little bit impenetrable. The "witches" are at first unaware of their power. I suppose I should read Updike's novel, but the one book of his I did read sucked. Anyway, I recommend the film, for it seems a bit different than normal Hollywood formula.

Jack Nicholson gives his funniest and one of the finest performances as Mr. Darryl van Horn, the mysterious and wicked man who arrives to the quiet and sleepy little town of Eastwick after three women, the Blonde Souki (Pfeifer), the Redhead Jean (Sarandon), and the Brunette Alex (Cher), best friends and witches dreamed him up as a man who can bring some changes and excitement in their lonely lives.

Several great actors have played the Prince of Darkness during their careers but Nicholson was born to play a "friendly" devil that can seduce any woman with no exception by becoming exactly what she wants him to be. The scenes where Nicholson seduces Alex (Daryl Van Horne: Well, if that's how you feel about it, then that's how you feel about it. Is THAT how you feel about it?), Jean, and Souki are among the sexiest I've ever seen.

The movie has too many vomiting scenes for my liking, and the visuals are sometimes too screaming but Nicholson is delightful. I never thought that playing cello could lead to such flaming results – and I used to play it. 7/10

The Witches of Eastwick fmovies. Three lonely New England women (Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer) dream of a man to satisfy their every need as they suffer from isolation with their husbands constantly away. That man---Jack Nicholson (always on a lucky streak it seems). Wicked little comedy with Jack going over the top and having great fun with the helter-skelter material. The women (Cher and Sarandon in particular) match his intensity and the star power makes up for the crazed screenplay and unsteady direction by George Miller. Overall I liked "The Witches of Eastwick". I am not quite sure why I did, but once again Nicholson proves that if there is just enough substance available that he can raise mediocre film-making techniques and share the spotlight with his fellow co-stars. 4 stars out of 5.

I have to admit that this is one of my favorite movies. The two best things about this movie are the things that movies should have-a great plot and a great cast. The plot is original, funny, dramatic, and there is even a bit of horror. The cast is perfect, each person brings something into the movie-especially Jack. The three women characters bring strength, sensitivity, and sexuality, but the movie does not focus on one trait-women have all three, but its funny that this movie has a character for each character trait-the devil needed to have three for himself, when one man would only need one woman-a good man, anyways. But, my favorite thing about this movie is the plot. There is not one boring part to this film, and that's why I have to say that it is one of the greatest.

From the director who brought us Mad Max comes a modern-day fairy tale of sorts that examines the age-old battle of the sexes. Alex (Cher), Jane (Susan Sarandon) and Sukie (Michelle Pfeiffer) are three single women who live in the sleepy New England town of Eastwick. Since all of them lack a man in their lives, and are dissatisfied with the ones who are in town, they wish for a handsome stranger to visit. Miraculously, their wish is granted when Daryl Van Horne (Jack Nicholson) strolls into town and succeeds in turning their lives (and the town's) upside down. For the most part, I thought that the story was very effective in setting up its characters and giving them depth, even Daryl. The three women who are the titular "Witches of Eastwick" were all distinct personalities and had situations that made you care about them. Generally speaking, the performances were all very good, although Jack Nicholson towers above the rest of the cast as he brings his brand of insanity to what is essentially the devil in human form. Even the whole "witch" thing was dealt with rather subtly, as the women only become witches by finding the power within themselves. It is this struggle between male and female power which forms the core conflict of the film, and it is a compelling one even though it has been many times over in various forms. The townspeople are also given some development, although probably not enough to warrant the attention provided them. There are references made to the Salem witch trials, and the wife of the town's newspaper editor (Richard Jenkins...with hair!) acts as the mouthpiece for morality when the the three "witches" start their relationship with Daryl. Despite this interesting aside, I think it detracts a little bit from the main conflict. Moving on, I also thought that John Williams' score was fantastic and had this magical/mysterious quality that really meshed with the story and visuals. It's not his best score, but it was still a very good one. There were also a number of special effects by ILM which I thought were also well-done, especially considering this was made in 1987. Overall, I thought this was a very entertaining and funny movie that presented a well-worn theme in a fresh way. The only detraction, I think, is that there's a bit of a mean streak in regards to the portrayal of the male characters which might turn that half of the audience off. Still, this is a quality film that shows off director George Miller's versatility and the acting talents of its cast.