Secret Rites
Film titles
Directed byDerek Ford
Produced byMorton M. Lewis
StarringAlex Sanders
Penny Beeching
Tony Barton
Jane Spearing
Shirley Harmer
Narrated byLee Peters
CinematographyRoy Pointer
Edited byIvor Gleek
Music byBryn Walton
Release date
  • 18 October 1971 (1971-10-18)
(USA)[1]
Running time
47 min.
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Secret Rites is a 1971 British documentary film directed by Derek Ford.[2][3][lower-alpha 1] It concerns the study of witchcraft and black magic, with a rare appearance by real-life occultist Alex Sanders. The film's music was composed by Bryn Walton and played by The Spindle.[4] This film should not be confused with the 1970 Italian film Riti segreti directed by Gabriella Cangini.

Cast

  • "King or the Witches" Alex Sanders
  • Penny Beeching
  • Tony Barton
  • Jane Spearing
  • Shirley Harmer
  • Jane Spearing
  • Wendy Tomlinson
  • Lee Peters (narrator)

Critical reception

Monthly Film Bulletin said "An unusually sympathetic and selective addition to the recent spate of witchcraft documentaries. After a spoof opening sequence to illustrate some popular misconceptions, with a screaming girl victim rescued from "unmentionable obscenities" by a crucifix-wielding hero, the film concentrates almost entirely on ritual as performed by Alex Sanders' now famous coven. An initiation ceremony for an aspiring witch is followed by a re-enactment of the 'mythical rite' on which it is founded; a marriage ceremony (binding for a year and a day) is followed by a 'union of souls' ritual which has its basis in the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Though some of the other rituals illustrated inevitably contain an erotic element, there is no black magic, no wax images and pins. Instead, the film presents witchcraft as another religion, allegedly the oldest, stressing its spiritual significance to those who embrace it."[5]

Notes

  1. ↑ This film should not be confused with the 1970 Italian film Riti segreti directed by Gabriella Cangini.

References

  1. ↑ "Secret Rites". kinopoisk.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "Secret Rites". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "Witch reports: unearthing two occult films of the hippie era". bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  4. ↑ "Secret Rites - BFI Player". bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "Adventures of a Taxi Driver". Monthly Film Bulletin. 39 (456): 58. 1972 – via ProQuest.


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