The Wicker Man - The Final Cut - Zavvi Exclusive Limited Edition Steelbook - Double Play (Blu-Ray and DVD)

This is one of my top 10 desert island movies. However, I am very disappointed that this is not the long version of the movie. I did purchase the ‘director’s cut’ of this movie some time ago but it disappeared from Amazon, which is annoying as I paid for it! This version will have to do at the moment

It's hard to give "The wicker man" any more superlatives than most have already given it. This is one of the finest british films of all time, cruelly butchered in the editing room and shabily treated by the film company that made it - British lion - upon it's release in 1973 - over the years that followed the film garnered a wider appreciation culminating in some of the material cut out by British Lion being thankfully restored in this directors cut. The directors cut is the most complete version of the movie that exists (The original negatives were tragically buried in landfill under the M3 motorway! after a clearout of shepperton studio's archives or so the rumour goes!!) some 10 mins have now been restored to the film due to a print kept by legendary producer Roger Corman, who was originally going to distribute the film in the U.S. The extra scenes make the film more cohesive and gives more background to Edward Woodwards character Sgt Howie. It's a shame that all the missing footage shot can't be included in deleted scene form but in my opinion any more than this in the movie would have slowed down the film.Loosely based on the novel "Ritual" Screenwriter Anthony Shaffer's remarkable screenplay must surely go down as a masterpiece of screenwriting. The casting,direction,music and cinematography are all too first class. I won't delve too much into the story elements as i'm sure your at least partially familiar with the subject matter. All i will say is the ending of this movie still sends shivers down my spine and the final shot, to this day is one of the best endings i've ever seen.This 3 disc set features both the shorter "Theatrical version" and the newly restored "Directors cut on disc 2. Disc 3 features the soundtrack to the film and has composer Paul Giovanni's brilliant songs and score all together for the first time.The extra's are all excellent - First off we have a very insightful audio commentary, moderated by Mark Kermode who's joined by Christopher Lee, Director, Robin Hardy, and lastly the late Edward Woodward who sadly passed away a year or so ago. All players deliver some very interesting anecdotes with witty memories of freezing Arctic conditions whilst filming amongst others.Also there a couple of good documentaries - " The wicker man enigma" and "Burnt offering". The former is a 34 min doc that originally featured on the old Anchor bay release from a few years back. The latter is a new 48min doc presented by Mark Kermode. Both cover much the same ground but there are some differences in material so both are well worth watching.If you've never seen "The wicker man" then why not!!!?? Even if you don't like it i think you'll agree that you'll have never seen a film quite like it? I certainly can't think of a film which bears any similarity at all!Rarely can a film be called a "Masterpiece" but this is one such film- Enjoy!

The Wicker Man is one of the best ever and most under-rated British horror films of all time. I had it recorded on DVD from TV, way back circa 2000, but the DVD disc packed in and I decided to buy it on a proper DVD.It is advertised as "Final Cut", which I mistook for original or longer cut. This was not the case. The premise of the film is, Sergeant Neil Howie (the great Edward Woodward), receives an anonymous letter to his police station on the Scottish mainland, from the fictional Hebridean island of Summerisle, concerning a young girl - Rowan Morrison, who is reported missing.Sergeant Howie then proceeds to fly to Summerisle on a small, one man airplane, to carry out his investigations. In the original, longer version, after we see Sergeant Howie taking communion in church, reading from Luke 22 v 19-20 about The Last Supper - And he (Jesus) took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them saying. This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me........, we see the scene where the anonymous letter arrives to Sergeant Howie's police station. In this scene, there are two police officers (one played by John Hallam) who joke about Sergeant Howie having a mysterious, secret girlfriend (or as one of the officers puts it - a bit of skirt) on Summerisle. When you get to the end of the film, you will see why this small, deleted scene is very important. The next deleted scene, is where Sergeant Howie and John Hallam's police officer are in a car having a conversation about what has been happening whilst Sergeant Howie has been away (possibly leave). John Hallam's character sarcastically replies - oh, just the usual - murder, rape and sodomy. This first deleted scene, in my opinion, is a most important and vital part of the film, although small, which was not included in this DVD. This DVD is also dubbed in German, so you will have to re-jig and navigate to get it into English.Now to the positives. As I said in my first sentence, this is one of the best ever horror films ever made, with a fantastic plot and stellar cast, including Christopher Lee, who stated that this was his best ever acting role as Lord Summerisle (who would argue otherwise with this screen legend). The bawdy, folk songs sung by the locals in The Green Man pub, when Sergeant Howie first enters this pub, also add to the ambience of the film and give a hint to the beliefs and lifestyles of the people of Summerisle.I cannot recommend this film enough, it is one of my favourites of all time. When you first put it on, remember the deleted scene I have mentioned about the anonymous letter arriving at Sergeant Howie's station, then at the end, it fits in. Enough of my synopsis, as I don't want to spoil this for you.

Un clásico. Todos los trabajos posteriores de folk horror beben de este gran filme. Tiene subtitulos en español

Fantastic film and quality of the DVD!

I have received the Blu-ray. Thank you very much.

Un agréable parfum de la fin des années 1960 et du début des années 1970 flotte dans ce film avec, sur cette île écossaise nommée Summerisle (tout un programme !), une communauté heureuse et soudée qui vit au rythme de la nature, ses fêtes, ses croyances et ses danses "ancestrales" qui honorent le rythme des saisons et la course du soleil, avec cette nudité vécue comme naturelle et sa liberté sexuelle (le film étant sortie en 1973, le réalisateur a vraisemblablement été inspiré par l'ile entre autre, par l'ile de Wight et ses plus fameux festivals qui se déroulèrent de 1968 à 1970 et quelque part par certaines tendances du mouvement hippie qui se sont en partie perpétuées dans le New Age même si, par leur aspect, les protagonistes du film ne ressemblent pas du tout à des hippies; sur la préhistoire du mouvement hippie, voir l'ouvrage très illustré de Gordon Kennedy, "Children of the Sun, a pictorial anthology from Germany to California, 1883-1949", Nivaria Press, Ojai, California, 1998).Il y a bien sûr aussi cette musique et ces chants entraînants qui bien qu'adaptation d'airs traditionnels anglais n'est pas sans rappeler certains airs des Beatles et ce seigneur de l'île, gardien de la Tradition, qui pourrait apparaître pour quelques-un comme une sorte de "gourou".Que vient faire ce policier borné et "choqué" par de telles pratiques sur cette île si étrange, dans ce microcosme presque en dehors du temps si ce n'est mettre en péril la vie même de la communauté ? Pourquoi et au nom de quels principes prétendument "supérieurs" mais de valeur douteuse aurait-il le droit de bouleverser la vie des iliens ?Le personnage central, à l'inverse de la plupart des films, n'apparaît en aucun moment sympathique et, au terme du jeu, la communauté saura apporter une réponse appropriée (et pour l'intéressé, inattendue) aux insistantes questions du visiteur en "l'intégrant" et l'initiant définitivement et, en le rendant enfin utile au monde qu'il est venu mettre en péril, tout cela avec "Amour et Bienveillance".Une réalisation qui était au départ certainement satirique mais tellement décapante qu'elle a peut-être dépassé son but initial en jetant le doute sur notre façon de vivre et de penser. Un rappel agréable aussi aux vieilles traditions "archaïques" qui subsistent heureusement toujours dans quelques villages des îles britanniques comme la "May dance", l'"Horn dance", la "Morris dance" ou les "Sword dances" écossaises.En conclusion, un film "décalé" que l'on regarde toujours avec plaisir !

This review is for the 88 minute version of the film. It is not patched together from outtakes, but the film as it appeared in its U.S. theatrical release. I have also seen the longer version on an ancient VHS tape, the additional 12 minutes or so do provide additional background regarding Sgt. Howie, plus the events of the film are added to and reordered so as to cover one more day and evening on the island, plus there are some extra verses in some of the songs. Having seen both I feel that this version of the film stands on its own. Admittedly, I'm not sure why those 12 minutes were trimmed for the U.S. theatrical release, but I don't feel it is worth the price of the box set to view them. The Wicker Man is less a horror film, regardless of the claims on the packaging, and more of a suspenseful mystery. Summoned to a remote Scottish island to investigate the reported disappearance of a young girl, Sgt. Howie (Edward Woodward) becomes convinced that something is not right, but cannot at first determine exactly what it is. As he questions the villagers, every answer seems contradictory, which only makes him more curious and more determined to get to the bottom of the situation. The villagers are led by Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee), who is quite cheerful and upfront, while still being evasive. As the story develops, we see two belief systems contrasted, conservative Christianity as practiced by Sgt Howie, and the pagan "Old Religion" of the islanders. It eventually becomes apparant that several generations previously, the island had completely abandoned the Christian religion, and gone back to the practice of the worship of nature spirits and gods of the elements, etc. As part of their worship of nature, the islanders have a very unrestrained view of sexuality, which Sgt Howie views as simply scandalous, and causes him some tension when Willow (Britt Ekland), the daughter of the local innkeeper tries to seduce him. Her completely naked singing and dancing may cause tension of a sort in some viewers as well. There was admittedly a body double used for some parts of this sequence, but a great deal of it is Britt herself, and she looks wonderful. This sequence alone could have been responsible for the film receiving an R rating. Ingrid Pitt appears as the local librarian and she also has a brief nude scene in a bathtub. In conversations between Sgt Howie, Lord Summerisle and others, some very interesting similarities between the the religion of the islanders and traditional Christianity are highlighted. On his way to Lord Summerisles estate, Sgt Howie witnesses some local girls jumping over a Beltane fire. Lord Summerisle explaines that the ritual is to insure fertility and appease the god of fire, by whom the girls hope to conceive a child. When Sgt Howie protests that this is blasphemy and poor biology, Lord Summerisle reminds him of the Christian account of Jesus as being "born of a virgin, who was herself impregnated by a ghost". In another scene, when Sgt Howie attempts to council the schoolteacher Miss Rose (Diane Cilento) that her education of her female pupils is improper, the Pagan and Christian views regarding death and rebirth are compared, and shown to be largely different words for the same thing. The ending of the movie finally reveals the "Wicker Man" of the title, and once more, depicts a ritual which is the very foundation of the Christian belief system, but which Christians view as abhorrent outside of the Christian context. In this ritual, it is made apparant that Sgt Howie has become an alternative Jesus figure, chosen by the islanders because he is a virgin, because, as an officer of the law, he represents the King, and because he came of his free will (he flew the seaplane which brought him to the island himself). In a similar manner, Jesus was said to be a virgin, to represent the King of Heaven, and to have gone willingly to his sacrifice. Overall, the islanders seemed very happy and comfortable with their life style and sexuality. There appeared to be no guilt or shame associated with their practices, they just appeared to be healthy and happy people who enjoyed their bodies in a natural manner. Society in general would probably benefit by adopting such an honest and healthy attitude toward their sexuality, instead of claiming that sex was "original sin", thereby attaching shame and guilt to what should be joyful positive experiences. Generally, the movie painted a reasonable and for the most part, accurate picture of many pagan beliefs, especially regarding reincarnation and related matters. However, I am not aware of any modern pagan group which practices human sacrifice as shown in this film, even though in much earlier times this had been the case. Two centuries before Jesus, the Romans passed laws forbidding the practice anywhere within the Empire. It is plausible that the practice of human sacrifice continued outside the Empire, and Scotland was never under Roman rule.Of course, sacrifice of one particular human IS the foundation of the Christian faith as it is practiced today, although from the Roman perspective, Jesus was not sacrificed as atonement for sin, but executed as a criminal accused of stirring up people against the Roman government in Judea. Although human sacrifice had been outlawed 200 years previously, Christians of Jesus time were certainly familiar with animal sacrifice to Yahweh, held annually at the Temple in Jerusalem, and followers of Jesus continued the practice at least until the time of his death, if not longer. Taken as a whole, the Wicker Man is rather reminiscent of the better episodes of "The Twilight Zone" in that it is puzzling at first, with a growing sense of ominous dread which builds as the story unfolds. In addition, the film causes viewers to think about their beliefs, and ask questions such as:What makes a religion "true"?Why is human sacrifice, even one time, to the Christian god acceptable, but not to other gods?How does the viewer feel about a god who is appeased by sacrifice?What if the situation were reversed, that is, what if the primary religion of our culture was the pagan nature religion, and the movie was about a small cult on an island who sacrificied a man on a cross to make things right with their god?Would we then view that ceremony in the same way as we now view the ritual involving the wicker man?Would a small "wicker man" made of precious metal adorn the necklaces or hang from the rearview mirrors of hundreds of millions of people?Would the title of this film then have been "The Crucifix"? I found this to be a thought-provoking and completely absorbing film, well worth seeing.