The Wicker Man - 40th Anniversary

Such an electrifying movie in the last act, made so by the baffling, unsettling buildup throughout the film. This staunch, upright policeman represents us, the viewer, as he first strides, then falters, through this strange island culture where everything seems sexualised and wanton and weird. He is as confused as us, the viewers. The villagers veer between odd and friendly, and almost everything said and done seems distinctly off-kilter. We see this staunch Christian feel himself diminished and isolated as he realises he is in an environment like he's never encountered, where the friendly words, and seemingly joyful music has an underpinning of debauchery, cruelty and barbarity he finds hard to cope with - from the beetle deliberately tied to the pin to go round and round until it's tied up, to the little girl made to put a frog in her mouth to get rid of a sore throat, to the odd tricks the children play on the policeman. The film itself is indeed a horror movie, but defies genre. It's a dark, dark comedy of sorts - reminiscent of the old TV series The Prisoner in its disconcerting changing of familiar buildings and clothes into something alien - a musical (the music infuses the film almost wholly, with the only odd music being an out-of-place funky electric guitar score very near the end when Woodward is trying to escape pursuit), and a detective story. The vacant smiles and constant digressions the villagers and Lord make when talking to the policeman just keep building and building the tension, until the nature of the old religion makes itself clear. Finally, you feel that both Christian and heathen are equally wrong and equally impotent as the villagers sing and dance on the windy grassland. This sacrifice feels both dreadful (Woodward is amazing in the last act) and pointless, as the villagers cavort in the windy sunset, you feel the gesture they are making to nature is pointless, and nature will do what it will do, and the actions of men won't change a thing. A great film, horror or not.

What is it about this unique film that draws me back. Seen in the cinema, on DVD and now this rather splendid "Final Cut" BLURAY. It's not cheap, but you certainly get your VFM. 3 discs all detailed here on the product site. My wife and I watched disc ONE which has the reinserted bits and is a bit longer than the other versions. In truth, not perhaps that you would notice except for the opening and the slight change in quality. This BLU Ray is excellent with (mostly) excellent picture, sound and subtitles. So....Is it the fact that 3 of our sexiest ladies are in it? EKLAND/CILENTO and PITT all have their moments (Britt is dubbed as is her bottom (not dubbed but ...oh you know!) as is I think Pitt, but all 3 contribute greatly to ones enjoyment. Then there is also the matter of Lee's HAIR. Never have I seen such a scary syrup! He obviously thouroughly enjoys himself as do all the support cast. I can never decide about Woodward, but I can't think of anyone else doing better. The build up of tension is admirable, and the ending outstanding. It must be a combination of all the above. You have to accept the crazy plot. If you don't/can't it is your loss. A classice very English (I know) film in it's quirkiness/oddness, and one I will almost definitely return to in 2 or 3 years. P.S. Definitley not for those offended by seuality!!! though it is NOT Pornographic.

Studio Canal Blu ray: A lovely restoration (which dips in just a few places - presumably where any 'lost' footage was found), so no gripes with that. Film: Wonderful, better than I had remembered it, so this presentation certainly delivered for me. A powerful film with a good solid plot and thoughtful direction. Nice to see Christopher relishing his role as Lord of the island as it were, and his brief but interesting singing which, he adds in one of the extras, he managed to slip in to the film. The extras were good, especially the CD of the incidental music which I found fascinating. The only gripe was of the TV interview with Christopher Lee and the film's director. The picture quality was truly abysmal - literally worse than a fourth generation copy 'men's film' on VHS (for those who remember the format). Surely the distributor could have found a better source copy for this uniquely interesting interview with Christopher himself - ? However, this is unreservedly recommended. This is clearly a lovingly restored film, and it deserves it. This was Christopher Lee's favourite film he appeared in.

Great quality and fast delivery. Fantastic set with excellent special features.

This has always been one of my favourite british horror movies and its really unique as it cant really be classified in any particular genre though folk horror is one attempt at defining it. Excellent performances particularly from sir christopher lee as lord summerisle and edward woodward as sgt neil howie give the film nicely contrasting lead characters the pagan head of the island community and the devout christian copper. It all builds to the horrific finale which must rank as one of the most iconic in cinema history. This blu ray final cut gives greatly enhanced picture quality though as expected the directors cut cant be improved due to the fact that the original film materials for the longer cut were unfortunately lost and only a poor quality video print exists a shame really. Nevertheless i would commend this blu ray for the step up in quality and all the extras and full soundtrack cd.

The extra scenes in the final edition help make the story make sense, almost to the degree you wonder why the main policeman character hung around, and didn't make a run for it. However, although studio canal have done the best they can with the orginal elements, it has to be said that some of these scenes are in poor condition. Remember seeing this film on tv, not long after first come out. The film quality seemed normal for the time. It's hard to work out why some film's end up in such poor condition.

国内版はDVDのみで、同一内容のものは現在廃盤となっており、定価の数倍の価格がついています。これは、字幕は英語ですが、わずか１０００円たらずの価格で購入できました。おまけにブルーレイですよ。ただし、リージョンがBでした。そのままでは再生できないので、たまたま持っていた外付け用のポータブルプレーヤーで再生する羽目に。ところがパソコン本体にインストールしていたソフトがリージョンコードの変更を外付けだけでなく、内蔵の分まで変更してしまうことが判明。結局別メーカーのソフトを購入することで解決しました。 DVDでは機器の設定だけで済み、再生ソフトは共有できたのに。ちょっと腹立たしい思いをしました。結果的に７０００円弱につきました。 クリストファー・リーウィキペディアで調べていたら、この映画の存在を知りました。演技の幅を広げるためだったんだそうですね。何とノーギャラで。彼自身、この映画への思いは熱いものがあったそうです。それで興味を持ち、購入、視聴することに。見た感想ですが、オカルトやホラーの範疇でくくるのには無理がある印象を受けました。一度見ただけですが、どちらかというと、ファンタジー。ファンタジーが不適当であれば、幻想的という感じです。それは映画全体の映像のつながりがもたらす雰囲気、色調、音楽、景色等々からそう感じるのです。 本ディスクではファイナルカット、UK版カット、ディレクターズカット、３種類をざっと見ましたが、最短のものと最長のものでの時間の差は１７分です。大きな違いは島に上陸する前の少女の行方を依頼する手紙が届くまでの部分、敬虔なクリスチャンである主人公が教会のミサに出ている部分、この２つの有無です。この部分が欠落すると、主人公が敬虔なクリスチャンであることが明白ではなくなるので、プロットが崩れると監督やリーが嘆いたというのはうなずけます。

Ich muss gestehen, dass ich den Film gar nicht kannte, nicht einmal den Titel - bis ich von einem Familienmitglied die Empfehlung bekam. Dann habe ich ihn angesehen und war stark beeindruckt. Dann habe ich eine Nacht drüber geschlafen und am darauffolgenden Tag wurde mir erst richtig klar, dass das ein echtes Filmkunst - Juwel ist und nicht nur irgend ein weiterer guter Film. Auch der Soundtrack dieses Films ist absolut betörend. Also, ich empfehle diesen Film dringend! Es ist für jeden Cineasten ein Muss!

Ottima edizione per un film culto, purtroppo mai uscito in Italia. Di conseguenza mancano sia l'audio italiano che i sottotitoli, però l'inglese è comprensibile (aiutandosi con i sottotitoli). Qualità audio video più che soddisfacenti. Ricco apparato extra, tra i quali spicca il cd audio con la colonna sonora. Lo consiglio sicuramente.

Il ne se passe pourtant pas grand chose mais le film laisse une impression abominable. Un classique.

Hasta incluye el soundtrack. Genial, la edición definitiva.