Looking back on my original review of this amazing edition of "The Wicker Man" on my old site, I see that perhaps I didn't quite do the film
justice. Sure, I gave it a totally positive review, but there was...I don't know...missing from the review that I will try to correct now. I'll be
intertwining new comments with old, so read on, and bear with me. You don't want to miss this...
The synopsis...
Straight-laced and sexually conservative (it's established that he's at least in his 40's and engaged, though still a virgin) Scottish police Sgt. Howie (Edward Woodward) receives a letter from Summerisle, an isolated
island off the Scottish coast. The letter tells of a missing girl (named Rowan), which piques Howie's interest enough to warrant a personally-conducted investigation.
Sgt. Howie travels to the island community, and upon his arrival, he is greeted with relatively odd, low-key, and totally ambiguous reactions from the local
denizens. He shows them a picture of the girl (that was included with the letter), whereupon the locals shadily deny ever having heard of her, much less having
actually seen her. Somewhat frustrated, Howie visits the woman who is presumably the girls' mother...the proprietor of a local sweet shop. Like everyone else he has
encountered to this point, the woman denys that her daughter is missing...she only has one daughter (who has a different name from the girl in the letter), she tells
Howie, and she is sitting in the back room of the shop drawing pictures contentedly. Howie even questions the little girl, who gives him a similarly ambiguous response.
The more Summerisle folk Howie confronts, the further away from the "truth" he seems to get. Determined to take as much time as he needs
in order to figure out just what the hell is going on, Howie takes a room at the local public house and inn, where he ham-handedly questions the gathered revelers. Again, and much
to his chagrin, Howie's questions are met with not only the typical ambiguity, but now with some sort of off-kilter jeering. No one is taking this poor dude seriously. They perceive him to be
a somewhat snobby city-boy (which he is) who looks down his nose at the likes of the Summerisle folk (which he does), and they play on that conservativism to maximum effect. Even the
drop-dead-gorgeous innkeepers daughter Willow (the totally yummy Britt Ekland) gets in on the act...she seems to serve only one purpose on Summerisle...to act as de facto object of temptation /
infatuation, and to be the inspiration for lewd, suggestive songs. After a restless night at the inn, the good Sgt. Howie resumes his investigation into the missing girl's whereabouts. He visits the community school,
wherein he discovers the schoolchildren are being taught about ancient pagan practice, custom, and in particular, sexual symbolism. Appalled, he questions the schoolmistress (Diane Cilento) about the
single empty desk. As with every other citizen of Summerisle, Howie gets the distinct impression that they are lying to him without actually lying to him. By this time, he's pretty much had it with the diversions and distractions,
so he decides to go see Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) himself. After their fateful meeting, wherein Lord Summerisle basically tells Howie what's going to happen for the rest of the movie, Howie's investigation gets closer and closer
to the horrible truth, while staying far enough off a logical path so as to keep him thoroughly confused about what's happening to him on Summerisle. When he finally figures out those truths, they come crashing down on him, forcing him to
fall back on the only thing he has left...his unshakable Christian faith. The concluding moments of "The Wicker Man" are a set of sounds and images that will stay with you for many moons...or until the next Harvest Festival...heh heh heh...
"The Wicker Man" is so effective on so many levels, it's difficult to focus on one single aspect of this masterpiece. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that to even try to pin down one ingredient in this movie is to miss the point altogether.
It's a horror movie...that much is certain...but it's also a mystery, a wry quasi-comedy jabbing at the nature of faith, and interestingly, a highly effective musical. I know...you're sitting there saying, "A musical? What the fuck, chaos731...you said that it's a
horror movie!" Well, listen up people...the music and musical numbers in "The Wicker Man" are not only perfectly integrated into the body of the film, but they also tell the story. One of the great and semi-tragic things about this film is that if Sgt. Howie had just stopped and listened to what people are
saying and, more often than not, signing about, then he would have figured out the "mystery" and saved himself not only a world of trouble, but also an unexpected tanning session, as it were. Many of the films most effective moments are framed around the singing of songs...some erotic, some highly creepy, some simply informative, but all of them
of absolute importance to the film. On a related note, the idea of a remake of "The Wicker Man" has been kicking around certain Hollywood circles for the last several years. Now, I'm not usually a fan of remakes, but I have to admit that the concept of remaking "The Wicker Man" piques my interest. The only...I repeat...only thing that worries me
is that the powers that be will neglect to keep the musical aspect in their version. To me, this would be a total tragedy. So, Hollywood types...listen up! If you feel you must remake "The Wicker Man", keep the fuckin' songs, ok? Another hugely important aspect of the film is the downbeat, nihilistic ending. I won't spoil the ending here, but suffice it to say that it's
tone-perfect for the film. In fact, depending on your perspective, it might even be considered a "happy" ending. I digress...
Now...the performances...
Christopher Lee...his name evokes a certain response among horror geeks, among them "best...Dracula...ever..." We all know that Chris Lee has done more movies than any given six or eight actors put together. For many of those films, it must be said, Christopher Lee's appearance is the only thing they have going for them. Plus, a lot of them are a now a source of great
personal shame for Mr. Lee. Over the last four or five years, he's been in the spotlight with his roles in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and the Star Wars prequels, and that re-found respect that filmgoers have for him is great. Still, "The Wicker Man" sees what may very well be Christopher Lee's greatest performance...and that's an opinion that even Christopher Lee can be proud of. His
work here as Lord Summerisle is totally seamless. He effortlessly walks the fine line between deviousness, old-world charm, pompous land baron, suave ladies' man, and (arguably) "villainous" cad. His performance is nuanced, and often quite funny. One line in particular stands out for me. A shocked Sgt. Howie is explaining just how appalled he is with a certain pagan ceremony he has witnessed. He says something like,
"But those girls...they're dancing in fire...and they're naked!" Chris Lee responds, "Of course they're naked...it's far too dangerous to jump through fire with your clothes on!" Which, of course, leaves Howie frustrated and nonplussed. Great, subtle stuff. Aside from Lee's appearance, there are several other "Hammer" regulars, including Ingrid Pitt and Diane Cilento. It's good to see these people together in the same
film, to say the least. Also, the aforementioned Britt Ekland (wow) puts in a nice turn as the village seductress. Though her character is little more than eye-candy (and sweet candy it is), she actually does nice work, as is too often ignored. Edward Woodward is at his stodgy, stuffy best as Sgt. Neil Howie. He makes us believe in his cluelessness, as well as his steadfastness in the face of adversity...also some of Woodward's finest work.
The cast of hundreds of extras and minor characters are likewise uniformly excellent. They really give Summerisle a very effective "lived-in" look and feel...one gets the impression that these actors were handpicked from among local citizens, and they are more than just "background color", as everyone is in on the joke, so to speak. All told, the assembled cast is among the most impressive and effective ever put to use in a film
of this nature.
"The Wicker Man" has certainly gained a following over the last three decades, and since the explosion of the internet and of the DVD industry, that following has cried out for a good release of the film. Slipshod availability of only a "cut", grainy mess of a version on VHS has fueled this demand. Rumors abounded that there was an "uncut" version that not only featured more of Britt Ekland's provocative fully-nude "dance, but also contained more
character and plot development and additional songs. Finally, Anchor Bay ('natch) has stepped up to the plate and released this amazing special edtion of this more than worthy classic. The set features two discs...one containing a fully remastered print of the original "cut" theatrical version of the film, which also contains all of the "special features" of the set (more on those later). Disc two is the real treat, though...it contains the recently reassembled
"uncut" version, adding several minutes of footage. Ordinarily, for this type of essentially goreless film, additional footage would not necessarily be greeted with much enthusiasm, as that footage typically brings unnecessary fluff to the table. In this case, however, the attentive viewer will wonder how the movie ever got along without that footage. The re-additions turn what was a great but regrettably choppy and often confusing film into a masterpiece of pacing,
suspense, and mounting dread. Of course, it's also worth mentioning that the added footage adds quite a bit more of Ms. Ekland's naked body (if that's what you're looking for). The replaced footage has, oddly, not been remastered, and when viewing the film, it is quite obvious, without a version-to-version comparison, as to what footage has been added. Mostly, this is because the added footage retains a very grainy, washed out appearance, and the sound in these sequences is
less than perfect. Still, it's nothing too distracting, and the footage is welcome, even if it isn't quite perfectly integrated. The uncut version still stands as the "version to see", and I for one am thankful to all involved that it's been pulled off as well as it has.
The special features, other than the re-inserted footage, are all found on the same disc as the "theatrical" version of the film, and they include a longish documentary making-of feature that includes interviews and recollections from damn near everyone involved. This featurette is pretty much worth the price of the set by itself, as it contains a wealth of revelatory information about the checkered history of "The Wicker Man". Everyone seems to look back on their association with this
film with kind eyes, particularly good old Chris Lee, who recognizes that (until his current work, at least) his role as Lord Summerisle is his greatest achievement. Lee's recollections are, while given to his typical hyperbole, fascinating and dead-on-accurate. It's nice to see that he has pleasant memories of this film, as so many of his roles from that era are nothing but sources of embarrasment to him. The other "major" special feature is the director's commentary. It is rife with pleasant,
informative banter, and it's one of the best commentaries I've ever heard. The only problem I have is that the commentary is provided only for the theatrical version, whereas it would have been better to have Hardy & company give their commentary on the uncut version. Sadly, this is the one oversight that mars this otherwise delightful package. The discs are packaged in a lovely, sturdy hinged wooden box that has what appears to be real burned-in logos and titles on the front and sides.
It's really attractive, and entirely fitting of the movie. When you hold this thing, you really feel like you're holding something...a rarity nowadays. This is by far the version of "The Wicker Man" to own...at least until Anchor Bay gets around to remastering the added footage and re-integrating it back into the existing print.
If you haven't seen "The Wicker Man", you really owe it to yourself to seek out this version and buy it...today! It's one of the creepiest, funniest, most entertaining, and freakiest low-key horror films of all time, and this edition really does it justice. Some slight, very minor imperfections aside, it gets the "Atrocities Cinema Essential" award.
If you liked "The Wicker Man", Atrocities Cinema Also Recommends Roman Polanski's excellent satanic conspiracy tale "Rosemary's Baby".
