[an error occurred while processing this directive]

---

Critics' Corner Rita Kempley - for Weekend section, "The film's ultimate success depends on the heat between (Winona) Ryder and (Daniel) Day-Lewis, and it simply isn't there." Lloyd Rose - Style section, "Could be subtitled 'Blood-Crazed Teen Bimbos From Inner Space.' " Read a Post feature about the author of "The Crucible" Go to Video Finder

'The Crucible' Set in Salem, Mass., in 1692, the story opens with a girlish escapade that leads to dancing naked by a bonfire in the spooky virgin woods. The girls are rounded up by the pillars of the community and urged to confess their sins, which the terrified children blame on the witches secretly living among them. Abigail Williams, the teenage group's ringleader, turns on her romantic rival, Elizabeth, the long-suffering wife of John Proctor. Though John casts the teen aside in hopes of rekindling his relationship with Elizabeth, Abigail continues to aggressively pursue the affair. And innocent people are sent to the gallows. -- Rita Kempley Director: Nicholas Hytner Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis; Winona Ryder; Joan Allen; Frances Conroy; Paul Scofield; Bruce Davison; Rob Campbell; Jeffrey Jones Running Time: 2 hours Filmographies: Winona Ryder; Daniel Day-Lewis; Joan Allen; Paul Scofield; Bruce Davison