At the time my only experience of English witchcraft had been in a pantomime, and the three witches in Macbeth, so The Witches was a very interesting challenge for me. Together with the writer, Nigel Kneale, I first worked on improving the script before turning my mind to who would play the male role opposite Joan. In the end, it was not a difficult choice; I had been deeply impressed with the subtle acting ability of Alec McCowen in Waiting for Godot and I was certain he would be ideal to play opposite Joan. They worked well together, though Joan later joked to me: ‘You should have cast a tall handsome man!’

So with the cast in place, and the beautiful village of Hambleden in Buckinghamshire found as the setting, shooting began in April 1966. During this time, I was fortunate enough to meet with Maharishi; he introduced me to a mantra and I began to meditate regularly. This discipline helped me enormously when tensions erupted on set and I needed to calm people down. In this way, I like to think I was practicing witchcraft myself during the filming.

The whole experience of directing The Witches was remarkable. Starting with my production of Man of Africa and firsthand experience of witchcraft amongst the natives, leading to meeting Joan, studying with Maharishi, and filming in the English countryside, it was a once in a lifetime experience.

Seeing the film again after so many years I am surprised how compelling it is but it is Joan’s performance that holds the whole thing together. She floats onto the set and expresses the emotions of each scene almost entirely through the movement of her eyes. It is enchanting to watch.

An interviewer once asked Joan which were the best reviews she had received. She answered without hesitation: ‘The best reviews were for The Witches and later a stage performance in Austria, also directed by Cyril Frankel.’ I like to think we brought out the best in each other.

Man of Africa has yet to be shown in England though it has been featured in several film festivals around the world. I understand that a release of the film is planned to coincide with the publication of my memoir, Eye to Eye, later this year.

London, January 2011

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