Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8426 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-04-22
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: PAL, Special Edition
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 84 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
It must be stressed that, despite the fact that it was produced in 1973 and stars Christopher Lee, The Wicker Man is not a Hammer Horror film. There is no blood, very little gore and the titular Wicker Man is not a monster made out of sticks that runs around killing people by weaving them into raffia work. Edward Woodward plays Sergeant Howie, a virginal, Christian policeman sent from the Scottish mainland to investigate the disappearance of a young girl on the remote island of Summerisle.

The intelligent script by Anthony Schaffer, who also wrote the detective mystery Sleuth (a film with which The Wicker Man shares many traits), derives its horror from the increasing isolation, confusion and humiliation experienced by the naïve Howie as he encounters the island community's hostility and sexual pagan rituals, manifested most immediately in the enthusiastic advances of local landlord's daughter Willow (Britt Ekland). Howie's intriguing search, made all the more authentic by the film's atmospheric locations and folkish soundtrack, gradually takes us deeper and deeper into the bizarre pagan community living under the guidance of the charming Laird (Lee, minus fangs) as the film builds to a terrifying climax with a twist to rival that of The Sixth Sense or Fight Club. --Paul Philpott

On the DVD: The Wicker Man can finally be seen in its glorious entirety on DVD, thanks to the restoration of some 15 minutes of previously lost material. Since the original negative long ago disappeared (apparently dumped beneath the M3 motorway) the picture quality for the added scenes is dubious, but what's much more important is the regained richness in the depiction of Summerisle's society (including a wonderful deflowering ritual set to music) and the added depth to Howie's character. Almost redundantly this excellent two-disc package provides the butchered theatrical cut as well, which comes with a good new documentary explaining both the genesis of the film and its turbulent history. Christopher Lee and director Robin Hardy pop up in an archival interview from the 1970s and are also reunited with Edward Woodward in the brand-new and first-rate commentary track for the director's cut: Lee in particular remains passionate about the movie and still angry about its shabby treatment. Both versions of the film are widescreen 1.85:1; the theatrical cut is in remastered Dolby 5.1, but the director's cut remains in mono. --Mark Walker

DVD Description
When a young girl mysteriously disappears, Police Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) travels 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 not what 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 comes face to face with the horror of The Wicker man?

DVD Special Features:
Disc One:
Original Theatrical Version of The Wicker Man (84 mins) with Dolby 5.1 soundtrack
"The Wicker Man Enigma" Documentary (35 mins)
Interview with Christopher Lee (25 mins)
Theatrical Trailer
TV Spot
Radio Spots (x3)
Talent Biographies
DVD-ROM downloadable pages from original theatrical press brochure
Disc Two
The Wicker Man - The Director's Cut (99 mins)
Feature length commentary with Christopher Lee, Edward Woodward, Director Robin Hardy and moderated by Mark Kermode (UK exclusive recorded December 2001)
Easter Egg--footage of commentary team meeting and preparing

Synopsis
This controversial British cult classic, considered by its producer upon completion to be one of the worst films ever made, has been little seen since its brief theatrical release even though it is now regarded as a classic of British cinema. Edward Woodward stars as Sergeant Howie, a police officer sent to Summerisle, a secluded island off the coast of Scotland, to investigate the disappearance of a young girl named Rowan. When he arrives there, he finds a very tight knit community, one mistrustful and hostile to outsiders--none of them seem willing to even acknowledge the disappearance of young Rowan. Soon Howie begins to realise that the town belongs to some sort of pagan cult, one given to unbridled sexuality and possibly human sacrifice. Seeking an audience with the oddly civilised Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee), Howie hopes to get to the bottom of the mystery, but instead finds something more shocking than he could have ever imagined.
A true cult classic that paints a disturbing portrait of an almost prehistoric, multi-deity worshipping society given to Bacchanalian excess and bizarre rituals, THE WICKER MAN is a truly unsettling experience. Erotic and mysterious, the film evokes the primal urges that underlay modern society through its unforgettable imagery and story.

Customer Reviews

Atmospheric, eerie, memorable; a British classic
A film which changes peoples's lives. Once seen, the haunting images in The Wicker Man will stay with you forever: this is a film which proves that terror comes from the mind and the soul and makes the gruesome masks, bloodlust and decapitations of the so-called horror films of the 80's and 90's look like heavy-handed, garish, slapstick imitations of the real thing. Christopher Lee looks entirley at home in his role as the Heathen ("though not an unenlightened one") Lord Summerisle and not once does he have to bare his fangs. Edward Woodward, meanwhile, is totally believable as the devoutly Christian copper thrown into circumstances completely beyond his limited experience and comprehension. His character, Sgt Howie, remains focussed on both his duty and his unwavering faith to the bitter end. The counterpoint of the cheerful, apparently helpful islanders, the genreally sunny setting and the functional, settled community with the haunting folk tunes, monoliths, masks and pagan imagery send and often unexpected shiver up the spine and the whole story is a carefully orchestrated, inexorable journey toward a truly horrific finale. I have encountered people who watch this film weekly, have the read the excellent novel drawn from it on countless occasions and have generally have their whole lives altered by the Wicker Man; you surely cannot miss the opportunity to purchase this for yourself and feel the power of The Wicker Man...

David Aylett

A genuine classic of British cinema.
This is one of the best British films ever made - simply that! Considering its pretty low budget it is staggering how good this is. There is no other film that compares to this, it really belongs in a genre all of its own. Made in a time when horror films were completely formulaic (the same is still true I guess) this film really broke the mold. I must have seen this film 20 or 30 times over the years and I still love it.

Christopher Lee (Lord Summerisle) describes this as his greatest moment. Perhaps you think well so what, he didn't have that many, but here he is excellent. Edward Woodward also gives a tremendous performance as Sergeant Howie. The other main actors maybe aren't so good but what really makes this film is the contribution of the bit part actors and extras many of whom were local repertory players or just members of the public. They give the film a real authentic feel. The script and the storyline are truly excellent and the ending still shocks.

But the absolute best thing about this is the music. Composed by Paul Giovanni. This has to be some of the most fitting film score ever written. It just goes with the film so well. To be honest I pretty much hate "musicals" but in the case of the Wicker Man I don't feel worried that people start bursting into song - it just goes so well with the storyline and adds the quirky feel that makes this film a cult classic.

The good thing about this release on DVD is that it gives you a chance to compare the butchered cinema release version (which most people will have seen as this is the version generally shown on TV) to the extended directors cut version which is infinitely better. A few of the scenes on this version are a little dodgy in quality due to the difficulties restoring this film (see the book "Inside the Wicker Man" which is also excellent). However the presence of scenes such as "Gently Johnny" certainly add to the film.

A genuine classic of British cinema.

Burn Baby, Burn!
They marketed films differently in those days. Today The Wicker Man would be sold as “from the writer of Sleuth”, for Anthony Shaffer penned the original stage classic that became the remarkable Olivier/Caine two-hander. Then audiences would know what to expect: a battle of wits between two men of diametrically opposed beliefs (Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward doubling the Olivier/Caine sparring), drawn across a plotline so full red herrings that the writer would not reveal his hand until the very last shot. All very cerebral. Arty.

But no, the film starred Christopher Lee and featured scream queen du jour Ingrid Pitt, so naturally the distributors sold it as another cheesy Hammer/Amicus gorefest. Except it had no monsters, no gore, was shot on location in faux documentary style, and featured a virgin Catholic policeman in the lead – a character who by 1973 standards was as hip as a prosthetic pelvis. Of course, the beer and chips brigade voted it the thumbs down and not even a double bill with Nic Roeg’s latest effort, Don’t Look Now, could save its fortune.

To be fair, like Sleuth there is a play on genres here. The Wicker Man does start out with more than a whiff of the gothic. A child is reported missing; a policeman (Sgt. Howie – Woodward) heads off to a remote Scottish island, Summerisle, to investigate; the locals are secretive. There are hints of paganism. Well, not hints - and this is where The Wicker Man deviates from formula. The paganism on the island is pretty blatant, and presented not in a witches-and-covens way, but a wholly up to date, natural, eco-friendly, organic manner. We feel for Howie as he tries to find out what happens to the girl, but frankly the islanders seem to have it made, and their idyllic lifestyle seems far more rational and modern – not to mention more appealing – than the pre-Reformation beliefs of the repressed and repressive policeman (who even turns down the charms of Britt Ekland because he’s saving himself for his forthcoming nuptials – by God, if ever there was a man who needed a bit of how’s-your-father to remove the bug from up his backside . . .). In fact, by the time we meet the charming Lord Summerisle (Lee) we begin to wonder just who is the goodie and who is the baddie.

And best to stop there. Some horror films jolt at regular intervals, even the so-called hi-brow ones like The Exorcist and The Shining. But The Wicker Man is more in line with George Sluizer’s excellent The Vanishing; a seemingly innocuous work that keeps its sucker punch right until the end. In fact, up to that last moment you’ll probably be wondering just what the fuss is about – and then it will hit you. Admittedly part of the film's intellectual clout has been lost: we naturally start out on Howie’s side, but that wouldn’t have necessarily be true for the early seventies cinema-going audience Schaffer was writing for (i.e. young, possibly college-educated, probably anti-authoritarian, certainly hippy). In fact, the film acquired its cult following not for its ethical debate (Howie vs Summerisle; old fashioned Catholic morality versus liberal paganism) as its stylistic approach; in an age when horror movies were the staple of British cinema, The Wicker Man stands as possibly the only one to take the genre seriously and not rely on fantasy or guignol.

And therein lies its power. Hardy’s direction is admirable not for its flourishes (of which there are few) but his deft sidestepping of cliché. Gone are the usual long shadows and skewed angles, replaced by sunshine, golden scenery and a naturalistic feel which, in its eye for local detail, sometimes feels like one of those tourist information films you used to get as the b-movie back in the seventies (remember the film on Leeds which opens The Full Monty?). The cast too avoid the usual screaming and mugging. Woodward was always too starchy, too much the martinet to truly appeal as a male lead, but Hardy uses this to his advantage, making it the foundation of the less-than-likeable Sgt. Howie (he’s the protagonist, not the “hero”). With Lee he takes the opposite approach: usually the charming villain, Lee is for once just charming – no steely glint, no subtle undertone of ruthlessness. Indeed, that is what makes him so unnerving (he’s the antagonist, not the "villain” per se). Even the minor supporting characters excel, seeming like real residents not the stereotyped villagers Hammer churned out. Good Lord, even the village actually looks like a real village, not a fibreglass and plywood construction on a Bray soundstage. And the denouement? That also looks real. My God does it look real.

Too real.

And now on DVD we get the director’s cut. Almost – Hardy has only been able to restore 15 minutes of footage (the rest apparently lost under the tarmac of one of Britain’s major motorways). He has, quite rightly, griped that his original cut was butchered for release – and it was – but if this restored version is any indication, the movie would still have got short shrift from cinema audiences. Like the restored versions of Spartacus, Aliens, Lawrence of Arabia and Apocalypse Now, it plugs a few plot gaps and feels a little more rounded but doesn’t tell us anything the original, however emasculated, didn’t. Indeed, like the recent “version you’ve never seen” of The Exorcist, what was implied (i.e. Howie’s faith, his virginity; the islanders' liberal attitude toward sex) is now stated rather more bluntly. The DVD includes both versions, so you can take your pick (though alas, the iffy quality of the restored footage does stick out like a sore thumb). But even in its bowdlerized form - lost, hacked, miss-marketed and finally fobbed off on the b-movie circuit - The Wicker Man stands as the finest film either Hardy, Schaffer, Woodward, Pitt, Ekland or Lee, yes even Lee, has made.