The Crucible by Director Nicholas Hytner - 1182 Words

When Arthur Miller published â€Å"The Crucible† in 1953, the play’s audience was a nation of Americans seized in the grip of McCarthyism. The Communist â€Å"witch hunt† has long since ended, but the public’s fascination with this shameful piece of American history has not. The original play unfolded over the course of 4 acts that mainly consisted of dialogue. As a result, the creators of the 1996 movie adaptation had an ample degree of creative latitude to update the narrative for a modern audience. Director Nicholas Hytner utilized a host of cinematic techniques that enabled the moving images to tug the heartstrings of the audience just as effectively as the book had done before. Given the temporal limitations of a film, several scenes were†¦show more content†¦Parris declared that he had been educated at Harvard, to which Giles energetically replied that he himself knew arithmetic. This separation of reasons to be tense into different scenes w as important because it made the movie easier to understand than the book. Another scene that the director modified was the conclusion of the testimony of Mary Warren against the other girls. The setup for this scene in both the book and the movie was the questioning of Elizabeth Proctor about whether her husband was a lecher. Hale’s immediate defense of Mrs. Proctor’s false lie was played as the camera zoomed in on Abigail’s worried face. Danforth might have considered Hale’s logic more carefully if Abigail had not distracted him by beginning to shriek. Abigail pretended that Mary Warren was â€Å"possessing† her body and tormenting Abigail by appearing in the form of a yellow bird. The dialogue in the movie and the play was consistent- it alternated between queries from Proctor and Danforth to Mary, as shown here: â€Å"Danforth: You have seen the Devil, have you not? Proctor: God damns all liars!† (p. 119). After a couple questions, the soundtrack is filled with the soul-wrenching sound of girls screamin g in sheer unadulterated terror. The movie took a turn from the book and increased the severity of Mary Warren’s power by having Abigail and her fellow â€Å"possessed† friends run screaming into the pond outside the church. In this way, the scope of the trial involved theShow MoreRelatedComparison Of The Movie The Crucible827 Words   |  4 PagesThe Crucible, a movie directed by Nicholas Hytner, was critically acclaimed and earned several awards. It received an Academy Award nomination for best screenplay based on material previously produced or published, a BAFTA award for best-adapted screenplay, and Golden Globe awards for supporting actor and actress in a motion picture. In Empire’s review, they say, â€Å"In this almost perfect screen adaptation, the lingering question is the most important one: what caused such madness?† This movie adaptationRead MoreThe Effectiveness of the Closing Scene of Arthur Millers The Crucible973 Words   |  4 PagesTh e Effectiveness of the Closing Scene of Arthur Millers The Crucible Arthur Miller was born in 1915 and was only fourteen years of age at the time of the Wall Street crash, this clearly affected his life. His plays often concentrated upon contemporary society and problems it may face. This is why at first sight The Crucible seems to break this mould, instead of a play showing contemporary society; it concerns a study in the mass hysteria which led to the 1692 Salem witchcraft Read MoreThe Crucible, Directed By Nicholas Hytner Essay2664 Words   |  11 PagesThe movie I chose to research was The Crucible, directed by Nicholas Hytner but written by Arthur Miller. This film starred a young Wynona Ryder along with Daniel day-Lewis and Paul Scofield. Originally released on November 27th 1996, the film was well received even being nominated for an Oscar in 1997, along with 26 additional academy awards that year, sadly it only won 4. Of course a film about witchcraft, an affair, and people being hanged would spark controversy especially since it was ratedRead MoreThe Crucible By Nicholas Hytner Essay2598 Words   |  11 Pages The movie I chose to research was the crucible, directed by Nicholas Hytner but written by Arthur Miller. This film starred a young Wynona Ryder along with Daniel day-Lewis and Paul Scofield. Originally released on November 27th 1996, the film was well received even bei ng nominated for an Oscar in 1997, along with 26 additional academy awards that year, sadly it only won 4. Of course a film about witchcraft, an affair, and people being hanged would spark controversy especially since it was rated