LEGEND OF THE WITCHES (1970) + SECRET RITES (1971) / CERT: 18 / DIRECTORS & SCREENPLAY: MALCOLM LEIGH, DEREK FORD / STARRING: ALEXANDER SANDERS, MAXINE SANDERS, PENNY BEECHING | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
The latest release from the BFI’s Flipside label is the very definition of a mixed bag. The main attraction – a feature-length, black and white dramatised documentary from 1970, which promises to reveal the mysteries of the history of witchcraft – is joined by a supporting short; a short, quasi-mondo invitation to witness the secret initiations and other rites of a coven of witches in Notting Hill in 1971.
On the surface, these two complement each other well, and the buyer of this Blu-ray package could well expect to be fully up-to-speed on witchcraft, or at least how the practice stood at the back end of the 1960s, but in reality, they couldn’t be more different. Legend of the Witches is dry, with archive footage enhanced by docudramatic set pieces, and its X rating (that’s an 18 for you youngsters) was probably earned as much for the grainy nudity on show as the sacrilegious content. The voiceover, uncredited at the time but since attributed to genre (and everything else!) everyman Guy Standeven, is informative but monotonous, and if Legend of the Witches were presented on its own, without its co-attraction, then this would not be a recommended purchase at all.
Thankfully, then, Secret Rites races to the rescue! Centred on a coterie of witches led by Alexander Sanders (who also participated in the dramatised scenes in Legend of the Witches), Secret Rites is delightful, and very, very English. We are introduced to Penny, a hairdresser’s receptionist, who wants to be initiated into the Notting Hill coven that Sanders runs, for reasons best known to herself. The film, which never outstays its welcome at 47 minutes, follows Penny as she and a fellow initiate are brought into the mystic circle, and given the once over by high priest Sanders.
We also get to witness a Wiccan wedding, and the beginnings of a sacred sex rite, and it’s all very titillating, which belies the usual fare of director Derek Ford, best known for The Wife Swappers, Sex Express, and Keep It Up, Jack. The extra commentary track for Secret Rites, by Flipside founders William Fowler and Vic Pratt, is illuminating and funny, and if you haven’t bought their book – The Bodies Beneath, which has a chapter on these films – yet then you need to remedy that.
This is one of those rare occasions when the extras included on the Blu-ray are every bit as attractive as the main feature, especially the charming documentary Getting It Straight In Notting Hill Gate, which details how that small corner of Kensington and Chelsea became a hangout for bohemians and immigrants alike, and the melting pot that resulted from that heady mix. Also included is a clip from the rarely-seen Out of Step documentary series, in which Dan Farson interviews ‘the father of Wicca’, and two other shorts.
Legend of the Witches is something you’ll watch once and barely remember, but the rest of the package is something to cherish and watch again and again, especially with friends, and initiating new acolytes into the cult of Secret Rites will be as thrilling as Penny’s journey into naked witching. This is a Britain that used to be (and probably still is, behind the curtains somewhere) and we should cherish that it was captured by such prurient documentarians as Derek Ford.
