The Wicker Man

The politics around the release of The Wicker Man are almost as interesting as the film itself and there are features on this disc about the controversy and the mishandling of the film by British Lion.  Inspired by David Pinner's book Ritual, The Wicker Man flips the fish out of water concept by putting a 'conventional' policeman in an unconventional setting.
 
Sergeant Neil Howie is a pious, virginal and extremely religious man from the mainland who receives a letter from Summerisle, a heathen place that is owned and run by Lord Summerisle and is private property.  The letter tells of a young girl, Rowan, who is missing and Sergeant Howie takes it upon himself to use this as proof that a crime has taken place and that he can use the authority of his station to override the private nature of the island to investigate.
 

 
Flying in and eventually securing a dinghy to the harbour, he finds that no-one recognises the girl in the photograph and Rowan's mother isn't even concerned about the girl as, if she's dead, she will be reborn as a tree, a flower or even an animal.  This attitude doesn't sit well with the deeply Christian policeman whose belief in resurrection is so ingrained that he can't even entertain the notion that others can believe differently.
 
Taking a room at The Green Man inn, he is shocked by the locals' behaviour and lewd singing about the landlord's daughter, Willow.  With this clash of cultures and the island's upcoming May Day celebration, he fears that Rowan may be used as a human sacrifice and is becoming more and more frustrated by the lack of assistance from the islanders and Willow's overtly sexual behaviour tests his faith to the limit.  However, all of this pales into insignificance when the true horror of the Harvest Festival and May Day Celebration dawns on him and he is told to 'meet his appointment with The Wicker Man'.
 

 
Released in a horribly cut form as the supporting feature to Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now in 1973, it has since been restored to the full running time and has had a couple of DVD releases, becoming a firm cult favourite and recognised as one of the finest British films ever made.  The timing was significant, as was the casting, as it brought together two Hammer stalwarts, Christopher Lee and Ingrid Pitt, both playing against type in a challenging and complex investigative structure where there is little horror until the final reel.  This is not a 'blood and guts' Hammer movie where the claret flows freely and often, but an intelligent and extremely well written film about the nature of sacrifice and religion versus traditional beliefs.
 
Also cast against type was Edward Woodward who was then known for playing a hard and uncompromising assassin in Callan but here he is a softer yet equally determined policeman relying more on his faith than brute force.  His performance is at the heart of the film and key to the final confrontation between Pagan ritual and unbending Christian belief.
 

The Disc

 
Extra Features
The first disc contains the theatrical cut and the trailer whereas the second disc has the director's cut and two documentaries, together with a 1973 interview with Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward.  The first of the documentaries, The Wicker Man Enigma is a 35 minute featurette on the cult appeal of the film and the torturous process it went through prior to release.  Complementing it perfectly is Burnt Offering: The Cult of The Wicker Man which is written and presented by Mark Kermode.  Just as with his documentaries on The Exorcist and The Shawshank Redemption, his enthusiasm and love for the film is evident and the hours of research pays dividends in a wonderfully rewatchable film.  Both have interview footage with the principle cast and crew, plus people from British Lion, Roger Corman and a film historian.  These tell you all you want to know and more about the Making Of and release of the film and how it is now in the form on this disc
 
The commentary with director Robin Hardy, actors Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward is moderated by Mark Kermode who does a great job asking the right questions at the right time, providing bits of information himself and generally making the whole session as informative and interesting as possible.  There is a fascinating short piece which shows how the commentary was done with Kermode and Lee on one table with a monitor facing Hardy and Woodward on another.  It's quite funny seeing Kermode out of his traditional black suit, dressed in a grey sweatshirt and black baseball cap but, amazingly enough, even his casual attire seems to be Exorcist-themed as the sweatshirt has Georgetown University on the front!

As this is a three disc package, there is a third disc which is the CD soundtrack of what is a great collection of songs.   If you've seen the film as many times as I have, it's impossible to separate the sounds and images so chills run up my spine when it gets to Sumer Is Icumen In and I can just picture the film's climax.

 
The Picture
The Wicker Man is a beautifully shot film, making great use of the locations of Dumfries and Galloway in South West Scotland - Britt Ekland may have described it as 'the most desolate place on Earth' (which didn't go down at all well with the locals) but it is very photogenic, as is she, come to think of it!  One of the oddities is that they were filming in October and November for a film set in summer and, by all accounts, it was freezing with Edward Woodward saying he's never been so cold - this meant that the production crew had to bring in fake apple trees with fake blossom which they moved around during shooting so the appearance of summer was always there.
 

 
The film has been restored and looks very good but sadly the inserted scenes are not up to the quality of the rest of the film and are obviously of a lower stock.  I hope there is a master somewhere that will enable them to make a high definition print of the complete film for a Blu-ray release.
 
The Sound
As I mentioned above, the soundtrack is fantastic and isn't just background music but is integral to the narrative with several of the thirteen songs forming part of the plot.  The sound is nice and clear though the quality does drop during the previously cut scenes, but not too much and it is perfectly comprehensible.
 

 
Final Thoughts
The Wicker Man is one of those films that I've seen and has made an indelible impression on me, buying it twice on DVD and even catching a digital screening at the cinema.  No matter how many times I watch it, the power does not lessen and the ending loses none of the impact from the first viewing. The Wicker Man is a truly ghastly and horrific creation which makes the climax all the more terrifying and the thought that it's based on a real creation witnessed by Julius Caesar gives the film a sense of authenticity.
 
I consider this one of the finest British films ever made, in any genre with incredible performances by the entire cast, even the inexperienced Scottish extras, with the principle actors giving stand-out performances.  Anthony Shaffer's script is intelligent and beautifully written and Robin Hardy belies his inexperience with a phenomenal directorial debut.  This is rightfully regarded as a cult classic and one that needs wider viewing to secure its place in British film history and, hopefully, a Blu-ray release of a completely restored high definition picture.  If you already own the director's cut, it is worth buying this as well, just for the soundtrack.  If you haven't seen the film, this is a great set to own, but just ignore the first disc and go for the director's cut which is a much more satisfying watch and is the film that Robin Hardy intended you to see.