The Witches was adapted into the 1990 film starring Anjelica Huston as the Grand High Witch.
Roald Dahl’s novel The Witches was published in 1983. It follows a young boy who discovers that witches secretly gather to plan the elimination of children. His grandmother, who knows the witches’ habits, helps him resist them and survive their scheme.
Nicolas Roeg directed the 1990 film, and Anjelica Huston played the Grand High Witch. The production used elaborate makeup, costumes and puppetry to turn Dahl’s frighteningly comic creatures into a dark fantasy spectacle.
The film is famous for its unsettling transformation effects and for its differences from the book’s ending. A later film adaptation, released in 2020, was directed by Robert Zemeckis. Both versions derive from Dahl’s novel, but the 1990 film remains especially associated with Huston’s performance.