Taglines: Arthur Miller’s timeless tale of truth on trial.
The Crucible movie storyline. A small group of teen girls in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts caught in an innocent conjuring of love potions to catch young men are forced to tell lies that Satan had invaded them and forced them to participate in the rites and are then forced to name those involved. Thrown into the mix are greedy preachers and other major landowners trying to steal others’ land and one young woman infatuated with a married man and determined to get rid of his innocent wife.
Arthur Miller wrote the events and the subsequent trials where those who demanded their innocence were executed, those who would not name names were incarcerated and tortured, and those who admitted their guilt were immediately freed as a parable of the Congressional Communist witch hunts led by Senator Joe McCarthy in 1950’s America.
The Crucible is a 1996 American historical drama film written by Arthur Miller adapting his play of the same title, inspired by the Salem witchcraft trials. It was directed by Nicholas Hytner and stars Daniel Day-Lewis as John Proctor, Winona Ryder as Abigail Williams, Paul Scofield as Judge Thomas Danforth, Bruce Davison as Reverend Parris, and Joan Allen as Elizabeth Proctor. Much of the filming took place on Choate Island in Essex, Massachusetts.
Despite the film’s lacklustre box office performance, Arthur Miller was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and Joan Allen received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The performances of Day-Lewis, Scofield, and Ryder were also the subjects of critical praise.
The Crucible (1996)
Directed by: Nicholas Hytner
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield, Joan Allen, Bruce Davison, Rob Campbell, Peter Vaughan, Karron Graves, Frances Conroy, Charlayne Woodard
Screenplay by: Arthur Miller
Production Design by: Lilly Kilvert
Cinematography by: Andrew Dunn
Film Editing by: Tariq Anwar
Costume Design by: Bob Crowley
Set Decoration by: Gretchen Rau
Art Direction by: John Warnke
Music by: George Fenton
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense depiction of the Salem witch trials.
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: November 27, 1996
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