The Wicker Man is a 1973 film directed by Robin Hardy from a screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, starring Edward Woodward as Sergeant Howie and Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle. It was conceived by Hardy, Shaffer and Lee as a way for Lee to cast off the cloak, red contact lenses and fangs of his Dracula character. Despite the adversity of its production and near obscurity on its release it has grown into a revered cult classic over the years and now regularly features high up in critics and audience polls alike.
This UHD/Blu-ray DVD release coincides with the film’s 50th anniversary and the 5-disc Collector’s Edition and 4-disc ‘Steelbook’ versions contain a range of extras alongside a new 4K restoration of all three versions of the film; The Final Cut, The Director’s Cut and The Theatrical Cut. The Final Cut will also be available on digital platforms. The preview of the film I saw revealed just how glorious the restoration is. Apart from the rescued sections which have a dip in quality, whilst enhancing the narrative, the colours are lush and Summerisle has never looked so good.
For those not familiar with the story it revolves around Sgt. Neil Howie, a Scottish police officer (and devout Christian) who receives an anonymous letter about a missing girl called Rowan Morrison on the remote Hebridean island of Summerisle. Arriving on the island to investigate her disappearance he is constantly confounded by the pagan islanders who place their faith in the old ways and celebrate fertility, fecundity, Nuada, God of the Sun, and Avellenau, Goddess of the Orchards (Summerisle is famed for its apples). The liberal ways of the islanders is all pervasive creating a sexual tension which pushes the uptight Howie to the brink of madness. As the film progresses we become aware that the hunter (Howie) may actually be the hunted as he is drawn towards one of most chilling endings in cinema.
The central performances by Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee are exceptional with Woodward’s puritanism unwavering in the face of Summerisle’s charming paganism and both actors have cited their roles as being amongst the best of their careers. They are helped by a great supporting cast which features Lindsay Kemp (the choreographer and actor who mentored Kate Bush and David Bowie) as the Green Man Inn’s smirking landlord Alder MacGregor, Britt Eckland (Get Carter) as Willow MacGregor his saucy daughter, Hammer Film regular Ingrid Pitt (Countess Dracula) as the Librarian, and Aubrey Morris (A Clockwork Orange) as the gardener and grave digger.
The DVDs come with a cornucopia of extras; some new and some drawn from previous physical releases (see the list at the bottom of this review), and many detail how troubled the production was and highlight the adversity suffered by everyone during filming and post-production. Here are some examples: this is a film set in Spring that was filmed in the cold of November and December 1972 with and prop trees dressed with fake blossoms constantly moved around the locations. Ice cubes were placed in actor’s mouths to stop warm breath showing. Britt Eckland had a bottom double in the ‘Willow’s Song’ scene, something she was not happy about. A change in the ownership of British Lions Studio led to a new head of studio who didn’t like the film and a marketing team who didn’t know how to promote it, so they had the film chopped down from 100 to 80 minutes so it could play as the b-feature to Don’t Look Now (cinema double bills were popular in the 1970s). The biggest tragedy being the possibility that the original negative was accidentally sent to landfill and is currently somewhere under the M3 motorway (although Christopher Lee was convinced up until his death that it would turn up). Given the litany of misfortune you would be forgiven for wondering how it all went so right.
The Wicker Man’s soundtrack, created by the late by Paul Giovanni, is also integral to the film’s appeal and success. From watching the various documentaries, the lightbulb moment for me was how many people referred to the Wicker Man as a musical (including director Robert Hardy). This makes perfect sense as the majority of the music – such as the bawdy ‘Landlord’s Daughter’, ‘Willow’s Song’ or ‘Summer is A-Cumen In’ – is diegetic (i.e., occurring within the context of the story). It is happening in ‘real life’ but adds to the queasily surreal nature of the film as the islanders revel in performing the songs and know their meanings whereas Howie (who is a proxy for the viewer) is hearing everything for the first time. The tendency in modern films is to ramp up the tension with menacing minor chords, dissonance, and juddering electronics but the genius of Giovanni’s songs is how cheery and poignant they are, all of which serves as a counterpoint to the mounting horror.
If you love the film then I would definitely recommend listening to the soundtrack album.
As part of the DVD release the Heavenly Recordings record label will also be releasing a an exclusive 7 track EP featuring new versions of some of the film’s most memorable music, performed by Katy J Pearson and friends, including Broadside Hacks and H.Hawkline with remixes by Richard Norris and Stone Club (full details to be announced).
The project was completed by STUDIOCANAL and you can order your copy of The Wicker Man 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition from most good retailers including the BFI shop.
Also see:
50 years of The Wicker Man: how the Scottish locations look today
About the legend of the Wicker Man
Review by Paul F Cook
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UHD 1
FEATURE – THE FINAL CUT (91 min)
Plus:
Revisiting the locations of The Wicker Man – 11 min 49
The Wicker Man at 50 – 10 min 44
Robin Hardy’s Script – The Lost Ending – 10 min 44
Britt Ekland interview – 10 min 22
Worshipping The Wicker Man – 23 min
The Music of The Wicker Man – 16 min
Interview with Robin Hardy (2013) – 17 min
Interview with Robin Hardy & Christopher Lee (1979) – 25 min
New Trailer – 1 min
Behind the scenes stills Gallery
Burnt Offering: The Cult of the Wicker Man – 49 min
Wicker Man Enigma – 35 min
UHD 2
FEATURE – THE DIRECTOR’S CUT (99 min)
FEATURE – THE THEATRICAL CUT (84 min)
Plus:
Audio Commentary with Robin Hardy, Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward
Making of The Commentary – 16 mins
BLU-RAY 1
FEATURE – THE FINAL CUT (91 min)
Plus:
Revisiting the locations of The Wicker Man – 11 min 49
The Wicker Man at 50 – 10 min 44
Robin Hardy’s Script – The Lost Ending – 10 min 44
Britt Ekland interview – 10 min 22
Worshipping The Wicker Man – 23 min
The Music of The Wicker Man – 16 min
Interview with Robin Hardy (2013) – 17 min
Interview with Robin Hardy & Christopher Lee (1979) – 25 min
New Trailer – 1 min
Behind the scenes stills Gallery
Burnt Offering: The Cult of the Wicker Man – 49 min
Wicker Man Enigma – 35 min
BLU-RAY 2
FEATURE – THE DIRECTOR’S CUT (99 min)
FEATURE – THE THEATRICAL CUT (84 min)
Plus:
Audio Commentary with Robin Hardy, Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward
Making of The Commentary – 16 mins