Witchhammer

Witchhammer
Directed byOtakar Vávra
Written byOtakar Vávra
Ester Krumbachová
Based onKladivo na čarodějnice
by Václav Kaplický
StarringElo Romančík
Vladimír Šmeral
Soňa Valentová
CinematographyJosef Illík
Edited byAntonín Zelenka
Music byJiří Srnka
Production
company
Release date
  • 23 January 1970 (1970-01-23)
Running time
103 minutes
CountryCzechoslovakia
LanguageCzech

Witchhammer (Czech: Kladivo na čarodějnice) is a 1970 Czechoslovak drama film directed by Otakar Vávra and starring Elo Romančík. Based on the novel Kladivo na čarodějnice by Václav Kaplický, Witchhammer relates the story of the Northern Moravia witch trials of the 1670s, focusing on the priest Kryštof Lautner, played by Romančík, who falls victim to the witchhunt after opposing the trials. The film contains possible allegory about Communist show trials in Czechoslovakia.

The film had a limited release in Czechoslovakia. Despite this, it won awards at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival in 1970 and is considered one of Vávra's finest films.