The Wicker Man - 50th Anniversary

“Come! It’s time to keep your appointment with the WICKER MAN!” To celebrate the 50th anniversary of this truly unique folk-horror classic, Studiocanal pulled out all the stops and have just released a 5-disc 4K UHD Collector’s Edition. The release is also available as a 4-disc Steelbook version. When good ‘Christian copper’ Edward Woodward journeys to the remote Hebridean island of Summerisle on Scotland’s west coast to investigate the disappearance of young Rowan Morrison, little does he know what lies in store for him…

A note to our Film-News readers: this review concerns the extended ‘Director’s Cut’.
In a brief prologue scene (the date is April 29th, 1973), we witness puritan Police Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward) in church together with his fiancée, even reading from the bible in front of the assembled congregation. However, his devotion to Christ and police duties are brought into disarray when he receives an anonymous letter informing him of the disappearance of a young girl, Rowan (Geraldine Cowper) on the remote island of Summerisle. The letter also contains a photo of the missing girl. Via seaplane (which is where the other versions of the film begin) he flies to the island landing in the sea. Spotting some of the locals standing on the shore, he asks them for a rowing boat so he can access the land. At first, the locals make it clear he isn’t welcome as he’s not one of them but after he makes it clear that they cannot stop a policeman in his investigations, he’s brought to the tiny island.

At the inn called The Green Man (there’s a hint…), landlord Alder MacGregor (Lindsay Kemp) and all the other guests seem initially startled by the arrival of the stranger, only to continue with their extremely bawdy behaviour and equally bawdy folks songs (composed by Paul Giovanni). The landlord’s daughter Willow (Britt Ekland – albeit with a Scottish voice provided by Annie Ross) replies that “food isn’t everything and that some things in their natural state have the most vivid colours” after Howie has complained about his meal. There’s also a raunchy song dedicated to her (‘The landlord’s Daughter’) which should provide a few clues that Willow is meant to be a love goddess in human form. The following day, Howie grows increasingly startled when the locals that he asks claim never to have heard of local lass Rowan. Instead, wherever he goes, there are tell-tale signs of pagan frivolity and odd customs, including the teaching of maypole dancing and the significance of the phallic symbol. When a shocked Howie threatens head teacher Miss Rose (Diane Cilento) that he will inform the authorities about the goings on in her classroom, she shrugs her shoulders and replies that she wasn’t aware that authorities had any say in matters of education.

Incensed, Howie demands to speak with the island’s leader, Lord Summerisle, the grandson of a Victorian agronomist (Christopher Lee in his doubtlessly finest part, written especially for him by Anthony Shaffer). En route to his Lordship’s stately mansion, Howie witnesses the ‘Fireleap’ dance during which naked young women jump through a wee bonfire, with white-robed head teacher Miss Rose (clearly the human incarnation of a fertility goddess) singing. During the conversation with Lord Summerisle (“of course the women dance naked… it would be far too dangerous jumping through a bonfire with their clothes on…”), Howie can scarcely believe what he is hearing, what with the Lord denouncing Jesus Christ and instead giving worship to the old pagan gods, brought on by his grandfather’s belief that special strains of fruit trees, which he developed, would nurture in Scotland’s harsh climate. The fertilisation would be used by the old gods to bring prosperity to the islanders, who gradually embraced paganism.

Still going in circles and getting nowhere with regards to his investigation, Howie cannot believe that Rowan’s own mother, May Morrison (Irene Sunter), who runs the local cake and sweet shop (no chocolate bunnies but spring hares… notice the difference) denies the existence of her own daughter, while Rowan’s younger sister Myrtle (Jennifer Martin) insists that Rowan is now a happy hare running around in the fields. Wherever he looks, there are signs of paganism or, as Howie perceives it, the islanders are simply raving mad and are trying to cover up Rowan’s murder. His Christian belief is so strong that he cannot and will not look beyond any other beliefs – not even a naked Willow succeeds in seducing Howie who, it goes without saying, does not believe in sex before marriage. By the way, a body double was used for the dance scene depicting Ekland’s buttocks, which apparently infuriated her and she later claimed the body double had a “much bigger arse than I have”. Meow!

As Howie probes further and reads books about the old gods and pagan rituals in the local library, it dawns on him that Rowan might still be alive and is, in fact, hidden somewhere until the moment of her sacrifice arrives – because this year, the crops have failed and this demands a sacrifice of the more serious kind. It is now May Day and Lord Summerisle assembles the locals for the annual May Day parade, with everyone sporting fanciful costumes and animal masks while Summerisle himself resembles a male and a female deity. Initially planning to return to the mainland to fetch more manpower, Howie learns that his seaplane has been sabotaged and thus he cannot leave the island. Knocking out the innkeeper, who was intended to play the Fool, Howie dons his apparel and replaces him. With Howie now in disguise, he joins the parade is yet again shocked, this time when Rowan appears at the entrance of a cave by the cliffs – dressed like a sacrificial lamb. In his narrow-mindedness, Howie once again misreads the signs when Lord Summerisle addresses him: “Welcome Fool, you came of your own free will” – hinting that Howie has the power of a king (by representing the law) and is a virgin… In short, the perfect candidate for a sacrifice of a more serious kind! And serious it is, with the film reaching its truly horrific climax and an image that remains etched into our minds long after. ‘Sumer Is Icumen In’ but no longer for poor old Howie…

Part drama, part musical, part folk-horror… THE WICKER MAN is all those things while at the same time, remaining original and unique – there is simply no other film quite like it! Woodward and Lee are perfect casting and one can’t imagine anyone else in those parts. It’s true to say that the film had a difficult start upon its release thanks to a tricky production and a heavily cut original theatrical release. Over the years and decades, it has acquired its much deserved cult status and what better way to celebrate the Wicker Man’s 50th anniversary than with this gloriously restored release, which looks crisper and more colourful than any of the fruits on Summerisle!

Painstakingly restored, all three versions of the film (final cut / director’s cut and theatrical cut) are included in the 5-disc set (2 x UHD, 2 x Blu-ray and soundtrack CD), plus an array of Bonus Material as plentiful as the apples on Summerisle island, not to mention 3 Summerisle postcards, 2 posters and a 64-page booklet. The 4-disc Steelbook version comes with a brand new artwork designed by Sophie Brand, while the ‘Final Cut’ version is also available on Digital.