the Witches at 30

i was an aficionado of Roald Dahl for a long time before Nic Roeg proposed we do The Witches,” reveals the Grand High Witch herself, Anjelica Huston, talking to Total Film in 2020. In the late ’80s, Hollywood royalty Huston had already taken the industry by storm with a range of head-turning performances culminating in an Academy Award win for 1985’s Prizzi’s Honor, a twisted crime comedy directed by her father, John Huston. With a new decade looming, she was about to embark on a completely different kind of role - one that would cast a spell on a generation of young viewers, and wouldn’t be easily forgotten. “I loved Dahl’s short stories,” continues Huston with a smile. “I loved ‘Pig’ and ‘Royal Jelly’. They’re subversive, mean and weird - and on the surface, you certainly wouldn’t say, ‘This is the ideal thing to read to my child!’”

Published in 1983, Dahl’s book continued in this audience-splitting sandbox, telling the story of a young boy (played in the film by Jasen Fisher) and his witch-hunting Grandma (Mai Zetterling) does.”