Oh what a wonderful day; after a stressful day at work I returned home to discover a small suspect parcel on my doorstep. I opened the package to get the biggest thrill of the month; inside my package was the new Wicker Man 3 Disc Collectors Edition DVD, something I never even knew was due for release.
The case is beautiful, a lovely shiny colour with an image from the movie emblazoned on the cover. The case is a high quality plastic/cardboard design. Inside the box is not one but three discs. Disc 1 features the original theatrical release from 1974; with the original trailer. Disc 2 has the restored version or directors cut from the 2001 release, also contained an audio commentary from Christoper Lee, Edward Woodwood, and Robin Hardy. Also on Disc 2 is a documentary "The Wicker Man Phenomenon" with a 30 minute runtime and The Cult Of The Wicker Man, a 50 minute documentary with Mark Kermode. In digital form is the original press book. But Disc 3 gave me the biggest thrill for here was The Wicker Man soundtrack, part of the charm of the movie is the soundtrack to find that this soundtrack not only contains one but all the musical scores from the film is just amazing.
Back in the 70's when you went to see a movie you would see an A movie, and a B movie. The Wicker Man was the B movie, shown to fill time before the big feature. It was not until the early 1980's that The wicker Man escalated in fame to become more famous than the A movie. In fact The Wicker Man is without a doubt the most popular and successful B movie of all time. It was never planned that The Wicker Man would become a B movie, but studio chiefs disliked it so much they said it could never be shown as anything different.
The wonder of The Wicker Man came to life when cult movie Director Alex Cox screened the movie in 1980's as part of his Moviedrome series on BBC2. A keen eyed viewer observed that the opening scenes were different to that of a screening he had seen the previous year on Channel 4. Alex Cox concurred that this keen eyed viewer was correct and discovered that three different variations of the movie were released around the world. The differences were quite minimal, but enough to cause some serious questions to be asked. Robin Hardy revealed that he had actually shortened the movie by 15 minutes to get the movie into a B movie runtime; but had no idea where the extra 15 minutes had gone. Unbeknown to anyone the movies extra minutes were split up into three locations but rather miraculously all turned up around the same time. One portion was found in India, the other in a Scottish church; and the third part was found taped on to the end of the BBC's tape. But the turmoil did not end here, as the additional footage was only saved in black and white; the movie had to be painted back to colour to restore the movie to its full glory. By 2000 the movie had been fully restored to its original format.
The Story
On the Scottish Mainland Sgt. Howie receives an unusual letter from as resident on the island of Summerisle. The letter states that local girl Rowan Morrison had gone missing and that nobody knows where she has gone. Howie decides to fly across to the remote island to investigate.
Upon arrival Howie finds himself in a land where the conventionality of normal life does not exist. The island is governed by Lord Summerisle who has formed his own laws that do not conform to that of the mainland. Worse still for Howie a practising Christian, the residents all follow the Pagan religion.
Howie's investigations are hindered by the laid back attitudes of the residents all of whom claim not to know who Rowan is. However when Howie discovers conclusive proof that Rowan did indeed exist the community suddenly seem to know all about Rowan, and state that she in fact had died. Howie is convinced there is a wider conspiracy and prepares to head back to the mainland for reinforcements. On arrival at his plane however Howie discovers that it has been sabotaged and that he has no hope of returning. Trapped in a land where his religion is a joke Howie discovers that the residents follow the Pagan religion to the T; and as thus his worst possible scenario is far from the intensity of the truth.
Cast
Edward Woodward .... Sergeant Howie Christopher Lee .... Lord Summerisle Diane Cilento .... Miss Rose Britt Ekland .... Willow Ingrid Pitt .... Librarian Lindsay Kemp .... Alder MacGregor
If I had to pick a top five movies of all time list then Wicker Man would be near the top; it's a bizarre mix match of Horror, Comedy, Thriller and a Musical; and at no point does it lean in one direction any more than the other. It's a movie that appeals to the widest possible audience by aiming to please all.
The story is totally compelling, it holds the viewers imagination as at the same time you find menace in the location you can also find great beauty. The islands residents welcome Howie with open arms and are possibly the happiest people on the planet. You know from the offset that things are just not right, its not rocket science; but still you are completely gobsmacked by the various revelations that occur as the film progresses.
Edward Woodward's character of Howie is both likeable and annoying, like you so often find with rock solid Christians he always brings religion into the issue. But you cannot but help commend his attitude and loyalty to both his religion and to his fiancé as he is tempted to stray on more than one occasion. Of great amusement is how he cannot help but get totally annoyed by the locals while they are being nothing but nice to him. Friendliness shown to him is returned by him with a smack in the mouth (rhetorically speaking). Christopher Lee's character of Lord Summerisle provides Howie with the most annoyance, and Summerisle jokes and laughs off all of Howies issues.
What does remain clear and anyone who has seen the movie I am sure will back me up is that Wicker Man has one of the most disturbing endings of any movie ever. The ending scene will burn an image into your brain that you can never shake off, and despite the pure horror of the image this is shaken off by a suitably bubbly musical number.
And Music is my final point, now I need to be clear; we are NOT talking pop music. But we are talking a highly addictive form of folk music. You only need to hear each song once to know it when you hear it again, you'll never forget Willows Song How Do, or the opening song Corn rigs neither one giving any warning of the terrible menace ahead. The lyrics of each song are so well thought out and many despite being very jolly can also be deemed as being offensive; The Maypole Song being a prime example of this because it's a song about a penis and semen. Gently Johnny is a song about being gentle with a lover on her first sexual encounter; and the landlords daughter is a song about how good she is in the art of lovemaking. While you'd never admit to it The Wicker Man soundtrack has the potential to be the best CD in your collection, each song really is sing along style and very easy to learn; just like any other great musical. And Robert Hardy the director of this movie makes it very clear in his mind The Wicker Man is a musical.
The Tracks:-
1. Corn Rigs 2. The Landlords Daughter 3. Gently Johnny 4. Maypole 5. Fire Leap 6. The Tinker Of Rye 7. Willows Song 8. Procession 9. Chop Chop 10. Lullaby 11. Festival / Mirie It Is / Sumer Is A-Cumen In 12. Opening Music / Loving Couples / The Ruined Church 13. The Masks / The Hobby Horse 14. Searching For Rowan 15. Appointment With The Wicker Man 16. Sunset
This DVD is a magnificent addition to anyone's collection, the documentaries will provide you with enlightening and thought provoking issues. The two different versions will present you with two contrasting views of one of the best movies in UK history, and the soundtrack will have you singing along to songs you never thought you would.
The Wicker Man Collectors Edition is available from the 4th of September. My suggestion if your considering this purchase is that you buy it from Play.com where you'll get it for just £13.99 while Amazon is knocking it out for £20.
Pictures of The Wicker Man (Special Edition) (DVD) (DVD)
The wicker man
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
If it's anywhere near as good as the box it comes in then I'd love to see this :-) Sx
cwb1 20.08.2006 18:33
Probably biased, since this is one of my faves too. My brother and I always laugh at how super-dark the ending is. This review should really get readers going! Thanks.
RICHADA 16.08.2006 22:33
The ending as you say did burn into my memory - the only part of this film to be remembered - it must be all of 25 years since i last saw it. Richard.
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