Legend of the Witches (1970)

Legend of the Witches: Directed by Malcolm Leigh. With Alex Sanders, Maxine Sanders, Guy Standeven. A visual exploration into the origins of witchcraft in the UK and in particular the demystification of symbolism still embedded today within many modern religious artefacts and rituals.

“This 1970 movie is a dramatised documentary on the cult and practice of witchcraft since pre-Christian times in Britain. Featuring tales of Pagan gods and goddesses mingling with artful landscape shots, pictures of wildlife, Stonehenge and other images, narrated in typically 1970s droning voice over by Guy Standeven, it tries to sell itself as a serious investigation into witchcraft in the modern world, but is just an excuse for copious amounts of female nudity. The whole thing just comes across as a titillating exploitation flick (director Malcolm Leigh went on to make the British Sex film, Games that Lovers Play in 1971), and is a really slow paced film which is pretty boring despite its far out subject matter. It does however feature a pretty mesmerising soundtrack which changes intensity throughout the film, and is also notable for including the only known footage of Alex Sanders, dubbed the King of Wicca.”