The title Burn, Witch, Burn makes more sense since one of the characters says it when she is burning the tarot cards in one scene. Why did they name it Night of the Eagle...the only eagle in the movie is the one at the end...doesn't that title confuse more than say what the film is about?
shareWelcome to the weird world of movie distribution. I guess somebody in Britain decided it sounded better than the truly stupid "Burn, Witch, Burn". Don't get me wrong, Scarlet; I hate BOTH titles, though I love the movie. I wish they had called it "Conjure Wife", which was the name of the novel it was based on (one of my all-time favorites, incidentally, and truly scary!)
shareThe bigger question is, Why is this movie so under-appreciated????
I read about it recently in Jeremy Dyson's (yes, a writer from "League of Gentlemen") book, Bright Darkness. It's about supernatural horror films. I highly recommend it.
Foo
Yes, I'm disappointed that it's not even shown on TMC. I remember watching the movie when I was a child. SCARY! Check out the price of this movie on Amazon ... From about $30 used to about $80 brand new!!!
shareLook for a copy in excellent condition from SinisterCinema.com - it's a DVD-R, but the quality of the print is excellent.
shareThe film is an adaption of a novel called Conjure Wife.
It was originally called Tormented during pre-production but then the title was changed to Night of the Eagle to avoid confusion with the Bert I Gordon film of the same name which was released in 1961.
I think it was probably called Night of the Eagle because of the eagle at the end the same as Night of the Demon was called that (in the UK) because of the Demon at the end. It was released in the UK as Night of the eagle.
The film was a UK/US financed co-production with financing split between Anglo Amalgamated (UK) and AIP (US). It was filmed in the UK by the same writing/producing/directing team that earlier did Circus of Horrors. For the US release, AIP decided that the title wasn't exploitative enough and changed it to Burn Witch Burn (although no witches get burned in the film). They also added the paul Frees voice over narration.
The eagle is certainly the highlight, but it's always cool when the movie's title gets mentioned by a central character in a memorable scene.
shareTCM does show the film. In fact, it's on right now! I do wish that they would show a letterboxed version. I videotaped it before but certainly would tape again if it was shown WS.
*** The trouble with reality is there is no background music. ***
Wide screen is not always letterbox as was the case with this film.
Paramount used to use Vista-Vision which looks like and is a full screen on modern TVs. My DVD of The Ten Commandments is like that.
See some stars here
http://www.vbphoto.biz/
SPOILER!!!
The main male character is attacked at night by an eagle statue transformed by black magic into a real eagle.
The villianess is killed when the eagle statue then falls on her -- that same night.
Matthew
I also love the first film version of the novel, Weird Woman, altho the two films are really quite different and Night of the Eagle/Burn, Witch, Burn is definitely the better film.
Matthew
I do wish that they would show a letterboxed version. I videotaped it before but certainly would tape again if it was shown WS.The print that was aired on TCM in April of 2013 was letterboxed, so keep your eyes peeled for it to show up again. Maybe they will schedule it in October?
A letterboxed version is being shown right now, and i'm taping it=} It's such a good movie!
*** The trouble with reality is there is no background music. ***
A giant stone eagle comes to life after a spell is cast. In the novel, it's a dragon.
More on Imdb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056279/trivia/?ref_=tt_trv_trv
American International Pictures insisted on playing up the horror-occult themes of the film when marketing it. As part of this, the film's original title was changed to the more ominous "Burn, Witch, Burn" - a line that Margaret Johnston speaks in the film. Also, the voice-over opening where a spell is cast upon the audience was added for setting the tone.
America has a way of re-titling films, usually with laughable results. I mean, City of the Dead was changed to Horror Hotel in America, for goodness sake! If they felt the need to re-title the film, a better choice would have been Night of the Witch.
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I am not a fan. I just happen to enjoy movies. Fans are embarrassing.
Actually "Horror Hotel" isn't a bad name and is a fitting description: The initial protagonist -- the curious college gal (Venetia Stevenson) -- vacations in the remote village of Whitewood to investigate its infamous roots in witchcraft/satanism and stays at the town hotel where horror ensues. Her brother and her boyfriend come to find out what happened to her and visit the same hotel. More horror. Hence, "Horror Hotel."
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Idk, but I really enjoyed it
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