5. Haxan
One of the most bizarre additions to Criterion would have to be Benjamin Christensen's 1922 Swedish/Danish film Haxan - Witchcraft through the Ages. After finding a copy of the Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches) the book describing the persecution of witches and the ill-advised notion that they do indeed exist, Christensen needed to translate the arcane depictions of witch hunting in what would become the most expensive silent film produced in Scandinavia. Told in 4 parts with varying techniques, Christensen eerily and graphically displays the persecution of witches and the religious superstition and repression of the people by the church in the middle ages. It's no wonder that this film was banned virtually everywhere when it was released. The entire film is righteously blasphemous and even for today's standards disturbing; the cooking of infants and the birthing of the devils children come to mind. Christensen himself played the devil and his execution as the pot bellied, tongue wagging fallen angel is mesmerizing. Presentation is what you would expect from a film made in '22 but Criterion's digital 'speed-corrected' transfer is superb. A 5.1 Digital Dolby surround score of the original Danish premiere by the Czech Film Orchestra is the way it's 'meant' to be heard or you can opt for the alternate and equally strange 76 minute version narrated by the eccentric William S. Burroughs with a hypnotic jazz score by Jean-Luc Ponty.
There are several supplemental features for Haxan but nothing too tantalizing. The commentary by Danish silent film scholar Casper Tybjerg is interesting but dry. There is a still gallery and outtakes (unfortunately not as fun as it sounds) as well as something called Bibliotheque Diabolique which are photograph's from Christensen's source material. It's actually the most entertaining feature on the disc as it even includes references to Pazuzu, our good friend from William Friedkin's Exorcist.