Taglines: Something wicked this way comes.
The Witches of Eastwick, a memorable comedy with a dark edge, is based upon a novel by John Updike. On Thursday nights three female friends — Alex (Cher), Sukie (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Jane (Susan Sarandon) — meet to chug martinis, learn Chinese aphrodisiac cooking and lament the scarcity of eligible men. As they sit around, they fantasize about and describe their idea of the ideal male.
Arriving in town the following day is Satan, disguised as mysterious stranger Darrell Van Horn (Jack Nicholson). One by one, Van Horne seduces each of the women. Then, strange things begin to happen. When the town matriarch Felicia (Veronica Cartwright) publicly denounces Van Horne, she sustains a nasty compound fracture. When she forces her editor husband to publish a story about Van Horne’s sexual antics, Darrell gets his revenge with revoltingly large amounts of cherries. The women now see that they may be in danger and begin to plot their escape.
The Witches of Eastwick is a 1987 American dark fantasy-comedy film directed by George Miller and starring Jack Nicholson as Daryl Van Horne, alongside Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Susan Sarandon as the eponymous witches. The film is based on John Updike’s novel The Witches of Eastwick (1984).
The Witches of Eastwick was originally set to be filmed in Little Compton, Rhode Island but controversy erupted in Little Compton over whether or not its Congregational church should be involved with the film’s production. Warner Bros. instead turned to locations in Massachusetts. Principal photography began on July 14, 1986, and took place over the course of six weeks in Cohasset and nearby Massachusetts towns, such as Marblehead and Scituate. Castle Hill in Ipswich, Massachusetts, was used for the exterior of the Lenox Mansion, while the lobby of the Wang Center in Boston stood in for the main hall. Other interiors were filmed at the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, though the swimming pool and Daryl’s library were sets built on the Warner Bros. backlot.
Prior to filming, a small carving shop led by woodcarver Paul McCarthy was commissioned to hand-carve all the wooden signs for the businesses shown in the movie, including the newspaper where Michelle Pfeiffer’s character worked – The Eastwick Word.
About the Story
Alexandra Medford (Cher), Jane Spofford (Susan Sarandon), and Sukie Ridgemont (Michelle Pfeiffer) are three dissatisfied women living in the picturesque town of Eastwick, Rhode Island. Alex is a sculptor and single mother of one daughter; Jane is a newly divorced music teacher unable to have children; while Sukie has six daughters and works as a columnist for the Eastwick Word, the local newspaper. The three friends all have lost their husbands (Alex’s died, Jane’s divorced her, and Sukie’s abandoned her). Unaware that they are witches, the women unwittingly form a coven where they have weekly get-togethers and share their fantasies about ideal men.
A mysterious man (Jack Nicholson) arrives in town and stirs up trouble by buying the town’s landmark property: the Lenox Mansion. The arrival of this enigmatic stranger fascinates the townsfolk, all except for Felicia Alden (Veronica Cartwright), the devoutly religious wife of newspaper editor Clyde Alden (Richard Jenkins), Sukie’s boss. Felicia senses that this man (whose name is easily forgotten) is up to no good.
One night, at one of Jane’s music recitals, the strange man appears and makes a spectacle of himself, which leads to more gossip. After the recital, Jane receives a bouquet of flowers with the initial D written on it. This sparks Sukie’s memory, finally revealing the man’s name as Daryl Van Horne. However, as chaos over the name spreads through the crowd, Sukie’s bead necklace inexplicably breaks and falls to the floor, causing Felicia (who had mocked Daryl’s name) to trip down a large staircase and break her leg.
The following day, Daryl sets out to seduce Alex. As he converses with her, he says insensitive, disgusting, and rude things every time he speaks. Appalled, she tells him off, refuses his amorous advances, and begins to walk out. Before she opens the door, he speaks to her, manipulating her emotions until she eventually agrees. The next morning, Daryl visits the shy and insecure Jane. As the two sit down and share polite conversation, Jane explains that the Lenox Mansion was built on a site where alleged witches were burned at the stake.
Later that night, Daryl encourages Jane to play her cello with wild abandon, never before achieved, playing faster and faster while accompanied by Daryl on the piano, until finally the strings emit smoke, the cello sets on fire, and Jane flings herself upon Daryl with passion. The following week, Daryl invites all three of the women to his mansion, his sights now on Sukie. Later, as envy and rivalry emerge among the women, they inadvertently levitate a tennis ball. Finally aware of their magical abilities, the women agree to share Daryl.
The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
Directed by: George Miller
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, Veronica Cartwright, Richard Jenkins, Carel Struycken, Helen Lloyd Breed, Caroline Struzik, Michele Sincavage, Heather Coleman
Screenplay by: Michael Cristofer
Production Design by: Polly Platt
Cinematography by: Vilmos Zsigmond
Film Editing by: Hubert de La Bouillerie, Richard Francis-Bruce
Costume Design by: Aggie Guerard Rodgers
Set Decoration by: Joe D. Mitchell
Art Direction by: Mark W. Mansbridge
Music by: John Williams
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: June 12, 1987
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