angus-lamont
Well I have just finished watching "The Wicker Man" (1973) for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it! A very well written, thought provoking storyline, adding great mystery and tension throughout, along with some pretty surreal imagery. I thought Edward Woodward as Sergeant Howie was amazing, especially in the final moments of the film - a truly chilling and moving performance. (Pulls off a pretty good Scottish accent too!) Sir Chris was also great in his role (even if his screen time wasn't as long as I expected). Nice to see Britt Eckland and Ingrid Pitt amongst the recognisable faces also. I think one of the main attractions to the film were the locations. The opening shots of Howie in his plane overlooking 'The Old Man of Storr' and the finale on the cliffs were breathtaking (especially on this Blu Ray)! The music was something else that surprised me, it almost felt like a musical (in a good way!) Overall, I can see why this film gets such high praise and will definitely be revisiting it (especially with the various cuts available on the Blu Ray). Just wish I could have seen it on a big screen. A unique masterpiece of film!
guylyons
When i saw this film in 1973 at the age of 20, alone at night in the dark, it stunned me. A genuine believable horror story. No special effects, a great script, fine performances, limited budget . Just about every box that needs to be ticked in a horror film was included. A haunting scene with folk music is one of the films most memorable moments. A cracking ending, with Christoper Lee in fine form, it is a work that cannot be praised highly enough.Another positive no stupid comedy scenes to wreck the flow and build up of tension as the film progresses. Why oh why cannot horror film makers produce work like this, instead of the unimaginative effect ridden slasher scenes with teens, in so many productions today.
lasttimeisaw
British film director Robin Hardy, who passed away this year at the age of 86, only made three movies during his lifetime, and his debut feature THE WICKER MAN, now has undergone a long way to become a religious horror cult after its initial cold shoulder from critics and audience upon its release in its home turf. In the brief preface before the opening credits, Sergeant Howie (Woodward) is seen as a devout Christian, which underpins his martyr-status like Jesus in the Eucharist. Shortly after, the film relocates entirely on an Scottish island, Summerisle, where Howie comes to tackle with the case of a missing young girl, only gets increasingly miffed and discombobulated through the investigation where Celtic paganism is blatantly worshipped by its villagers, what's more horrific is that his advent is completely premeditated with a hidden agenda, and there is absolutely no way for him to leave this insular place.Far from being a conventional jump-scare horror fare, a salient feature of THE WICKER MAN is its mysterious set-up towards the final money-shot, which is constituted of a magnanimous supply of ethereal folk songs, often in diegetic forms, imbues a distinctly ritualistic otherworldliness, where symptoms of degeneration and heresy suffuse the film: the flagrant lies, the open-air lovemaking (with women uniformly stay on top), the eroticized close-up of a snail as an emblem of carnal consummation, the unorthodox teaching school children about phallic worship, a frog-swallowing medical treatment, a wriggling nude dance of telepathic seduction, the May Day celebration with animal costumes, masquerades and escapades. To a modern viewer who takes a more clement slant on religious persuasion, these sequences are mind-opening, palatably surreal, anything but threatening if they are not benighted enough to believe in human sacrifice. However, that is the road where this lucid story heads, the collision course between Christianity and paganism is inexorable, Hardy and screenwriter Anthony Shaffer pull no punches to leave its audience downright astonished, refuse to tamper the ending with a deus ex machina. So that is all she writes, a cunningly composed tale of religion foolery to an appalling effect. Certainly Sgt. Howie doesn't deserve this denouement, but surprisingly, there is less pathos out of it, since Woodward's stern and self-righteous performance doesn't make him a sympathetic hero, he is obstinately blunt and incredulously naive, could he have been more tactful and less religion- frenetic, at least, he would have find some ally among the folks, perhaps someone who hasn't been completely brainwashed by Lord Summerisle (Lee), thus it would turn out to be another story less confrontational. Overall, the cast is adequately one-dimensional, save the almighty Christopher Lee, who is visibly relishing in his suave and eloquent mastermind persona, a true form of evil but a charismatic villain who can compellingly entrance his adherents.With the iconic "wicker man" image immutably leaving an indelible fingerprint on audience's mind, Robin Hardy's one-hit-wonder promisingly retains its inimitable appeal by coalescing the horror genre with such inherently incongruous epithets as gaily, lilting and a hero's undoing.
