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The Witch's Mirror | 
| Director: Chano Urueta
Actors: Rosa Arenas, Armando Calvo, Isabela Corona, Dina De Marco, Carlos Nieto
Studio: Casanegra Ent
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.95
Buy Used: $8.99
You Save: $10.96 (55%)
New (33) Used (11) from $8.99
Rating:  9 reviews
Format: Black & White, Dvd-video, Original Recording Remastered, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D649001D
UPC: 883164900191
EAN: 0883164900191
ASIN: B000FI8MM0
Theatrical Release Date: 1962
Release Date: June 27, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: dvd has minor scuffs, case has slight wear.
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Description
AKA El Espejo De La Bruja. A Masterpiece of the Mexican Horror Movement! A poetic tale of madness and horror from director Chano Urueta. The Witch's Mirror is one of the landmark films of the Mexi-horror genre. A benevolent witch (Isabela Corona) enchants a magic mirror to protect her adopted daughter Elena (Dina de Marco) from her cruel husband (Armando Calvo). When the incantation fails and the girl is murdered, the witch vows revenge using every unholy principle of the supernatural that she can conjure.
Special Features: • Original Uncut Version
• Completely Re-Mastered Picture & Sound from Newly Restored Vault Elements
• Bilingual Menus in English & Spanish
• Audio Commentary by Founder of IVTV, Frank Coleman
• Exclusive CasaNegra Loteria Game Card
• Essay: Chanovision: The Films of Mexican Cult Moviemaker, Chano Urueta
• Cast Biographies
• Poster and Stills Gallery
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL WHO'S THE.............. October 25, 2007
CLINT BRONSON (las vegas,NV.)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Thank you Casanegra for putting The Witch's Mirror
out and restored the way it should be. I have never
seen a better print than this. This is a Mexican HORROR
about a witch murdered by her unfaithful husband whose
second wife is disfigured by the first's vengeful GHOST!
The husband,who's also a surgeon,than turns to radical
face transplants to restore her lost looks. Touches of
DIABOLIQUE and EYES WITHOUT A FACE...This Mexican HORROR
is a beautiful example of how all over the world HORROR
movies are really treasured (don't you just LOVE it) this
movie has great atmospheric direction and is quite SPOOKY!
I'm still waiting for my HORROR from ICELAND!
Great Gothic Horror -- true to the word August 7, 2007
W. Koenigsmann (Northern Hemisphere)
I love these old Mexican Gothic Horror movies; so much style, substance, and they don't leave you feeling horrified afterwards due to feeling as if you've just wasted your time for a few hours watching them. This film, "The Witch's Mirror," really is another great gem. I loved the spooky scenes of sorcery and magic; the mad scientist theme is great too, even though I've never been a big fan of that sort of thing; the crisp black and white, quite baroque and even chiaroscuro in some ways, is sensational. This truly is a great Gothic horror film, and I am glad that Casanegra is getting these forgotten classics out there in such pristine beauty and form.
Unheralded 60's Gothic Horror Classic from Mexico August 2, 2007
Nick Tropiano (Havertown, PA United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
When people think "Mexican Horror" over the top insane, poorly dubbed, high-camp movies featuring masked wrestlers come to mind. Not so with this flick. This is a well acted, directed, very cinematic, beautifully photographed and quite the graphic little low-budget shocker that's quite a lot of fun.
Since re-viewing this (this is perhaps the only flick that scared the bejezus out of me as a little kid who watched it last time decades ago in the 70's on a Saturday afternoon on "UHF" TV) recently, I concluded that this is really one of the many European "takes" on "Eyes Without a Face", a classic French horror film made a few years earlier. However, Eyes Without a Face really didn't contain any horror elements - it's a straight ahead story of an insane doctor who was obsessed with restoring the face to his daughter who was horribly disfigured in an accident.
See the parallels? Except here, the Mexicans took a look at that film and decided to add elements of occult to the proceedings. Rather than being a mishmash, The Witches Mirror is quite original and effective in its own right. I really love the elements of surrealism that appear through out the film, little scenes like that "thing" (what was that?) that dances in the witch's mirror through the fog in the very beginning of the film, and that bandaged mummy ghost-thingy who the witch converses with that is suspended on the wall mid-way through the proceedings.
The director, Chano Urueta, was a staple of Mexican cinema and later bacame a character actor who appeared in a shot in Mexico Sam Peckinpah film (mentioned in the "extras" on the DVD) - as a tribute perhaps? ...studied under Sergei Eisenstein in the 30's, and his skill is displayed here in spades.
The 1960 low-budget Mexican effects work "overreaches" and includes some obvious and unfortunate gaffes but by the time they show up at the end, this film has already won you over. They actually add in a way to the charm.
Fine Gothic Chiller From Mexico October 12, 2006
Darrell Heath (Little Rock, AR USA)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
Wow!! Viewing this film was a real kick. Like another reviewer here I have seen and loved many of the old school gothic style horror films from Universal, Hammer, AIP, AMICUS and many of the early Italian horror films from Mario Bava and others. Well, I thought that I had seen just about all the genre had to offer and would probably never see anything new from this area of horror film again; for as the saying goes..."they just don't make films like that anymore". Fortunately I've been ignorant of Mexican horror cinema all these years. Oh sure I had heard about films from Mexico that featured masked wrestler heroes fighting vampire devil robots from Mars but I, quite ignorantly, thought that was about it for Mexican horror flicks. All I can say is I was wrong and am more than glad to admit it.
"The Witch's Mirror" is a worthy gothic horror film effort that fits quite snugly in among the old Hammer and Universal films. In fact it borrows quite liberally and shamelessly from many of those old classics. While watching it I kept seeing elements from all kinds of sources including: "Rebecca", "Frankenstein", "Mad Love", traditional ghost stories, revenge plots, etc. Now you might think that such a hodge podge could never work well together but director Chano Urueta pulls it together seamlessly, giving those of us who love this kind of thing an hour and a half of thrills and chills.
I'm not good at summarizing plots but here is a quote from the product description: "A poetic tale of madness and horror from director Chano Urueta. The Witch's Mirror is one of the landmark films of the Mexi-horror genre. A benevolent witch (Isabela Corona) enchants a magic mirror to protect her adopted daughter Elena (Dina de Marco) from her cruel husband (Armando Calvo). When the incantation fails and the girl is murdered, the witch vows revenge using every unholy principle of the supernatural that she can conjure" This barely does the story justice but to reveal more would, in my opinion, rob you of many of the joys I had of watching this film. I would just like to comment on how the film positively drips atmosphere. Director Chano Urueta had an excellent directorial style and he employs the black and white cinematography to good effect. And while the special effects don't always work when they do they are spot on and will raise a goose pimple or two even among many jaded horror fans. Also the film has a great music score as well and it reminded me of Bernard Herrmann at times.
In summary this is an excellent gothic period piece thriller and if you are looking for good old fashioned horror thrills you could do a lot worse than "The Witch's Mirror". This would be an excellent film to curl up with by your self or with someone you love on a chill October evening. So, I say go ahead and purchase it or rent it if you can and settle in for some good creepy fun.
Classic Horror never gets old. September 6, 2006
Don Cheeto (Bakersfield, CA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I vaguely remembered watching this movie as a child, so when I saw it on DVD I had to pick it up. There is something about black and white movies that never gets old. The movie is about a surgeon that murders his wife to marry another woman. The womans Godmother is a witch and foresees this, but she is told by the spirits that she can not stop what is already bound to happen. So she bows to help Elena seek revenge from beyond the grave. I watched the movie in spanish, but it also comes dubbed in english, and the dubbing is pretty good. If you are a fan of classic horror cinema, or horror in general, this is one you have got to pick up. It will be a worthy addition to any horror collection.
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