When a young girl mysteriously disappears, Police Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) travels to a remote Scottish island to investigate. This community is led by the strange Lord Summerisle (fantastically played by the great Christopher Lee), is not as it seems as the devout Christian detective soon uncovers a secret society of wanton lust and Pagan blasphemy. Can Howie now stop the cult's ultimate sacrifice before he himself comese face-to-face with the Wicker Man?
This film has a lot of religious imagery which may be quite offensive to religious people as it shows a disturbing, blasphemic "reality" which we can not comprehend as being in this country now.
Directed by Robin Hardy,who recently directed Christopher Lee in the 2006 horror "Cowboys for Christ", does a good job of making a film that's really not a horror as terrifying through the religious imagery as he possible can.
Starring... Edward Woodward - Croydon - was famous for playing Robert McCall in the Equaliser from 1985-1989. Plays the religious copper to a believable standard, until he starts preaching before the Wicker Man. Christopher Lee - London - most recently famous for playing Saruman in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but also for playing Dracula and Fu Manchu in several films. His insanity shows through as the creepy, evil Lord Summerisle. Britt Eklund - Stockholm - probably most famous for her role as Mary Goodnight in the Man with the Golden Gun, opposite Roger Moore, and surprisingly enough Christopher Lee. She doesn't really have much of a part to play in this, except as the barmaid in the pub.
Rating - 15 Running Time - 84 minutes
The film is pretty difficult to understand why it's classed as a horror, with no death scenes really shown, although it's quite easy to understand why it's considered our best film - given its only real competition is Sweet Sixteen which was utter mince, it's unsurpising!
I gave it 6/10 on IMDB so I guess that makes it 3 stars on here, not really worth more!
I was too bored by the film to watch the extras, so I'll just tell you what there were as it's a "film only" review.
The traditional music that appears in the movie give it a fairly eerie quality.
Now on the 2 disc "Director's Cut" edition there were both the Directors Cut and Original Theatrical version are available, as well as documentaries, commentary, a Christopher Lee interview and a trailer.
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I saw this back in the seventies when it did not seem a bad watch.Dated now though.Can't understand how it became a bit of a cult film at one time.Good review
iateamonkey 27.11.2006 14:23
Phew managed to get rid off it for £1.20 on eBay! More than it was worth!
Punkychik 26.11.2006 23:04
Ive only seen this film once, I thought it was really good, due to the origanlity of it. The pagan theme was something I had never seen in a film before. I tend to prefer 'horrors' that dont rely on blood, guts and gore too, since these show lack of imagination in the actually plot. Although Im not sure as to whether this could actually be called a horror :-S
Hannah xxx
When a young girl mysteriously disappears Police Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) travels ... more
to a remote island to investigate. But this pastoral community led by the strange Lord Summerisle (a brilliant performance by the legendary Christopher Lee) is...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Since its release in 1973, The Wicker Man has held an enduring fascination for audiences, ... more
commanding a devotion that most films can only dream of. A unique and bona fide horror masterpiece, the film can now be seen in its original theatrical version.Wh...
![The Wicker Man [DVD] [1973]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78466735.jpg "The Wicker Man [DVD] [1973]")
Nov 13th, 2006
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