With phallic symbols and soothing music at every turn, Summerisle is a pleasant haven for those who perform the pagan rituals of Lord Summerisle's maverick ancestors. These earthy ceremonies are presented with alluring authenticity, and the island's tempting eroticism is fully expressed by the landlord's daughter (Britt Ekland), who fills Howie with barely suppressed carnal desire. (Sirens took a comedic approach to a similar situation in 1994.) And yet the mystery of the missing girl remains, with clues that hint at a darker reality beneath the colorful local customs. When that reality is ultimately discovered, Howie becomes the crucial element in the islanders' most elaborate ritual, which is where the film's title comes into play. It may not be horror, but it is horrific, and this makes The Wicker Man an unforgettable film. --Jeff Shannon

The central mystery (Woodward's search for the missing girl) is genuinely engrossing, and the bawdy songs which greet the sergeant's arrival are soon replaced by an earthy sensuality as the true extent of the islanders' belief in regenerative powers - divorced from traditional notions of 'morality' - become apparent. Lee's assessment of God verges on blasphemy ("He had His chance and...blew it!"), but ultimately, neither Christianity or Paganism emerges with any dignity from the devastating finale. There's real magic in every frame of this extraordinary film, though it's clearly not for everyone: If you don't 'get it' within the first ten minutes, then the careful pace and deliberate absence of familiar horror motifs may seem a little long-winded, even dull. Everyone else, however, will be enchanted by this unique, one-of-a-kind movie.

The filmmakers themselves have roundly condemned the shorter 'theatrical version' (87m 31s) which Anchor Bay has made available either as a stand-alone DVD or as part of a two-disc box-set. However, most viewers were first introduced to this film via the shorter print, simply because it was the only available version for many years, and despite the makers' protestations to the contrary, it's still a remarkable experience. Harry Waxman's frequently hand-held photography of oddly beautiful Scottish locations is perfectly preserved in this anamorphic (1.85:1) print, and there's an extremely modest 5.1 soundtrack which adds resonance to Giovanni's vivid musical numbers but doesn't attempt to broaden the soundstage any further than necessary. A two-channel surround mix is also provided, but Anchor Bay has neglected to include the theatrical mono track, which is unacceptable. Multi-channel Dolby/DTS is always welcome, but NEVER at the expense of the original audio format...

Disappointingly, the filmmakers' preferred print (99m 34s) is only available via the box-set, and is comprised of footage from the theatrical print combined with material from 1" analog tape - the only surviving elements, apparently - so the 'extra' material becomes readily apparent whenever the visual quality deteriorates. This print is also anamorphic and forsakes 5.1 surround for the original two-channel mono soundtrack (hooray!), and the added footage - which underlines the script's major themes and streamlines the narrative - will be a revelation to anyone who's only ever seen the theatrical print or the 95m version recently unearthed by the BBC. There are a few bits and pieces in the theatrical version which are exclusive to that print, and Woodward's encounter with the doctor in the longer version (at 39:30) opens a little too abruptly, indicating an apparent loss of footage (the 'original' running time has always been quoted as 102m, slightly longer than this particular print). However, neither one of Anchor Bay's versions includes the animated image of the sun-god which appeared after the closing credits in the BBC print, filling the screen before shooting backwards into darkness. The loss of this brief, iconic fragment is inexplicable.

Closed captions are provided in this region-free presentation, and there's an excellent documentary included in the package, featuring interviews with all the principal contributors and - best of all - providing treasured glimpses of the film's primary locations as they appear today. Oddly enough, there's no audio commentary, which is both strange and unexpected. You would have thought that Christopher Lee (at least!) would have been more than willing to share his thoughts for the DVD release, though I suspect this was due more to scheduling conflicts than lack of interest. Otherwise, this is an important restoration, and highly recommended to fans and novices alike. Anchor Bay may not have totally satisfied the nit-pickers amongst us, but they've done a sterling job with the materials at hand.


Stunning, an absolute must!!   January 22, 2002
 26 out of 26 found this review helpful

This is a POWERHOUSE of a movie that will blow your mind!!!

It is listed as a horror film, when actually it is SO MUCH MORE. If one classify the genre, I would say Mystery.

It begins with an anonymous letter to the Scottish Constable ( Edward Woodward of Equilizer fame) telling of Summer Isle. A local girl is missing and none of the villagers seems to show any interest. Flying to the small Isle, Woodward arrives just before Beltane, the pagan May Day Festivals and the find the Island completely immersed in the Pagan ways of Auld. Head of the Isle is Lord Summerisle (British horror legend Christopher Lee - Dracula for Hammer Films - in his favourite performance), the leader of his pagan island, and it is clear he not only is aware of the villagers beliefs, he encourages them!

Slowly, Woodward comes to believe the girl is being held for Sacrifice on May Day as he races to save her.

Brilliant performance from Britt Eckland (former Mrs. Peter Sellers and one of the great beauties of her time - * though most of the nude shots are not her since she was pregnant at the time) Hammer horror actress Ingrid Pitt and Diane Cilento (the first Mrs. Sean Connery, mother of Jason) contribute to the eerie feel.

The movie portrays pagan beliefs in an unHollywood style, that goes for substance and facts, rather than sensationalism. The scenery is beautiful and the music written for the film is haunting.

The film faced many production problems, to being passed through several production companies, a lot of lost footage from the film editor - a devoutly religious man who thought is sinful to be filming this and was systematically destroying as much as he could, and indifferent reediting by Roger Corman, and then nearly dying in bad handly in the theatres. Was not seen for nearly two decades, and the version in existence was Corman's poorly edited one, missing over 20 minutes of the 101 minute original verson.

I spent years and year trying to track down a copy, and finally for a short time news was good. The director found that he had an original copy still in his position. This was released the VHS - first time the 101 version had been seen in nearly two decades!! Shortly after, it was pulled from the shelves. Corman's version ( a nice companion piece so it was made of a lot of out takes) came out for a spell.

So I am delighted to see this one on DVD and protected for all time.

Warning: some flashes of Eckland and her stand-in nude, and people of a very religious nature will not like the content. Otherwise, this is one fabulous knock out of a film.


DON'T BUY THIS DVD   August 20, 2001
 24 out of 43 found this review helpful

I WAS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS DVD SET. THIS IS A TERRIFIC MOVIE IN ITS ORIGINAL VERSION. THE VERSION YOU DO NOT GET IN THIS SET. YOU GET THE HACKED UP 84 MINUTE RELEASE AND THEN THE EXPANDED VERSION WICH IS STILL NOT THE FULL 103 MINUTE RELEASE. I AM SENDING MINE BACK ASAP.ANCHOR BAY USALLY DOES A MUCH BETTER JOB OF GETTING OUT THE CORRECT VERSION OF A FILM. THEY REALLY DROP THE BALL ON THIS ONE. WHAT A SHAME.


A True Cult Classic!   August 26, 2001
 21 out of 22 found this review helpful

This is a handsome DVD edition. The two disc set comes in a rather distinctive wooden box instead of the usual plastic case. The discs insides are in a jewel case on a clear plastic frame, and there are two 5x7 cards, each with a chapter index for the two different versions of the movie. Not two different formats, widescreen and full-frame, which I've seen offered on other DVDs, but two different versions of the movie itself! On one disc is the infamous theatrical release short version with a stated runtime of 88 minutes (this version had a runtime of 87 minutes, according to most sources) and the other disc has the extended version with a stated runtime of 99 minutes. This longer version has the mainland prelude scenes and the Christopher Lee monologue in his offering to Aphrodite, which accounts for the "rarely seem" 11 minutes. A lot of confusion about the length of the uncut longer version seems to exist! I've seen runtimes given as "105 minutes", "104", "103" and "101"! Actually, according to the film editor himself, Eric Boyd-Perkins, it was cut down to a finished release version of 102 minutes. But this version was never released. And this is the version that was further cut down (on the advice of Roger Corman, no less!) to the 87/88 minute theatrical release version. It was also re-cut later for the BBC to a 95 minute version. Just out of curiosity, I timed the long version on this DVD and it is 99 minutes. I also timed the one I recorded 15 years ago off the old Z Channel and it, too, is 99 minutes. I can't time my Media VHS version because I don't have it anymore. It had a stated runtime of 102 minutes, but since I never noticed any difference between it and the Z Channel copy, it may have been 99 minutes, too! Maybe there never was an actual 102 minute version released anywhere! Not that it matters. The filmmakers themselves had to cut out about 20 minutes of filmed scenes to get down to that 102 minute release version! These missing scenes will never be seen again by anybody! They are lost and gone forever, probably buried under a highway in Britain! So why quibble over a missing 3 minutes? Get over it! There's a wealth of information about The Wicker Man on the Internet. Just do a Yahoo! search and you'll find dozes of interesting sites, including one with transcripts of those missing 20 minutes! By reading them, you'll better understand some of the events in the movie more clearly. Like why some characters/actors are listed in the end credits but are not in the movie -- because their scenes were cut! And like why graves on Summerisle are 9 feet deep! And what the Hand of Glory is! Check it out! But back to this DVD set. In defense of the much-maligned short version, it has one thing going for it -- it has a scene that is not in any of the longer versions that I've seen! It takes place the morning after Willow's erotic dance and gives further insight into Howie's character, as he states that he doesn't believe in sex before marriage, and Willow gently mocks him for it. This is an important scene and should have been in the extended version as well! (This scene is about 2 minutes long. Could it have been in the 1973 102 minute version, and subsequently cut, accounting for the confusion about the "uncut" length?) There are some other differences as well, such as credits backgrounds and some scene juxtaposition, but they're minor. This short version is in Dolby Digital 5.1 and it sounds great! The image quality is very good. The extended version is in mono and the image quality varies from fair to good, but this is explained in a brief forward to the movie -- in effect, they did the best they could with what they had! Bonus material includes the theatrical trailer and TV spots, and a lot of radio spots. But there's no language selection and no subtitles option. Chapter selections for each version, of course. And cast & crew bios -- but only for Lee, Woodward, Hardy, and Shaffer. The most interesting feature is the short documentary that has the ubiquitous Lee, the still-lovely Pitt, star Woodward, director Hardy, and many others talking about the film. The documentary ends with a poignant shot of that highway, under which the lost footage may be buried! Well, let's be thankful that we have as much as we have of this true cult classic! So is this DVD set worth the money? I say yes. I'm happy with it. I think you will be, too.