The Crucible

When Arthur Miller's play +The Crucible was first staged in 1953, it was widely acclaimed as a metaphor for the recklessness of Joseph McCarthy and his spurious crusade against communism. In its 1996 screen adaptation (scripted by Miller), the tone has been adjusted somewhat and plays as a warning ...more

Aided by Arthur Miller's script, an adaptation of his own play, Nicholas Hytner's The Crucible captures a palpable sense of the hysteria and circular logic that damned 19 residents of Salem who refused to confess to witchcraft. The film sustains its tension for upwards of two hours, with top-notch acting by such heavy hitters as Daniel Day-Lewis, Joan Allen, and Paul Scofield. But it's Miller's dialogue, memorable for its lyrical precision, that perfectly distills the hopelessness of evading the ...more