Three Sovereigns for Sarah (1985)

Salem: A Lesson We Still Need To Learn

Three Sovereigns for Sarah is, without doubt, the best dramatic presentation of the horrific events of 1692. Without melodrama and remaining true to history this captivating DVD shows how politics mixed with fear leads to persecution and the public sanction of the suspension of civil rights. A poignant message and warning.

"Yes, the devil is here, have no doubt. But it is those accused that are his victims." (Paraphrasing Sarah Good - victim of the Salem Witch Trials)

June 23, 2008

Three Sovereigns For Sarah

This is a true story of a most astounding woman that survived the Salem
witch trials. You learn the truth as to why people mainly women were hanged
as witches. It's an old tale that rings true today. June 5, 2008

Three Sovereigns for Sarah is an excellent film

I have watched Three Sovereigns for Sarah because Vanessa Redgrave one of my favorite actress is in it. I also was curious about the Salem Witch Trials. The only thing I knew about it was from the play The Crucible. The film was very realistic and it really showed the victims as people and the impact their executions had on their families. This movie is an excellent case why religion and the law do not mix and should be kept seperate and also how bad blood and land disputes can escalate into an unimaginable horror. I think the film really showed how the adults instead of stopping the children helped encourage them for their own gain and feed into what they were doing. Sarah Cloyce played by Vanessa Redgrave was an amazing, courageous woman. She fought for her sisters, and herself, and did not back down. I thought what she did in clearing her sisters name was so courageous and moving. Through it all she never sunk to the accuser's level and showed such courage- that to me really stood out. So, I would recommend this movie to anyone for the excellent acting and for the lessons it teaches us. But fair warning it is graphic in that they show the victims being executed and one man that is pressed to death. April 21, 2008

"3 Sovereigns" way beyond 5 star entertainment! A MUST-SEE!

Lord,have mercy on us all!!

This film came recommended by a friend and I am writing this review angry,incensed,upset,sad and still in disbelief at what I just saw in American Playhouse's PBS DVD release of the 1985 "Three Sovereigns for Sarah." Not only is this story totally true,based from the original transcripts of the horrific Salem Witch Trials of 1692,but the acting done by legends Vanessa Redgrave,Kim Hunter and Phyllis Thatcher as the three accused sisters, is one of the most impressive bits of female ensemble acting I have ever seen!

If you are familiar with the famous play "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller concerning the havoc that little girls played in 1692 Salem,Massachusetts that resulted in the senseless and unjust death of twenty people accused of witchcraft, then this story will feel quite uncomfortably familiar.I say uncomfortably because Miller's work,though extremely compelling and was made into a successful film,The Crucible starring Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood),was historical fiction."Three Sovereigns" IS NOT! You will be accurately transported to 1692 Salem and you will see and hear the accused and their accusers in a way that Miller could only hint at.

I would love right now to type a ton of SPOILERS, but I won't.I must say, that anyone who feels that religion and politics should be mingled,I would challenge them to view this film to see WHY the two don't mix, no matter HOW strong your belief system is."Three Sovereigns for Sarah" shows us the terrible plight of people living in a Theocratic Rule in Colonial America as Massachusetts was in 1692.This film is not without hope, though, and certain restitutions eventually are made.RENT THIS,BUY THIS,BORROW THIS or STEAL IT (no not really!) in order to see this.

I would also suggest viewing the 2006 documentary Jesus Camp and Deliver Us from Evil to see other films that will boil your blood.Ugh-I'm spent! February 14, 2008

The folly of children,the politics of Church leads to America's most shameful blot

Arthur Miller's screenplay The Crucible and In Search of History - Salem Witch Trials (History Channel) (A&E DVD Archives), as good as they are, cannot hold a candle to a witch's teet when it comes to THREE SOVEREIGNS FOR SARAH. I still hold this PBS special film to be the penultimate when it comes to exposing the complete truth behind "the Salem Witch Trials" of 1692.THREE SOVEREIGNS FOR SARAH concerns the 1711 mission of one Sarah Cloyse,(Vanessa Redgrave) to vindicate the names and reputations of her two sisters Mary Estey and Rebecca Nurse,both falsely accused and hanged as witches in the hysteria and manipulative deceit of greed,jealousy,land disputes and Church politics nineteen years earlier.What makes this retelling of the madness of the time so compelling, is that all of the characters and dialogue comes from the historical records of the time.I have viewed this film countless times since it first premiered in the '80's and still the amount of anxiety and anger that it produces in me is palpable!
I visited Salem,Massachusetts in 2004 and stood in the Memorial Garden where the "hanging tree" was for 20 innocent people who were hanged or "pressed to death" by the accusations of little girls who were the pawns of manipulative knowing adults.The 'three sovereigns' concerns the three gold coins,each given by an apologetic court,who overturned the verdict for Cloyse,Estey and Nurse.The accuracy of the times,prevailing New England thought,religion and superstition is positively unparalleled for insight and knowledge on this tragic open wound on Early pre-American history.
As A+ as any production can get.2 and 1/2 hours,divided into 2 episodes.Perfect for teachers,dramatists,and essential in understanding why religion and politics were decided to be separated when the 1776 Founding Fathers drew up their Declaration and Constitution.
I once saw a bumper sticker that read," The last time they mixed religion and politics,people were hanged." February 11, 2008

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