THE WICKER MAN

"You were brought up to be a Pagan!"

'The Wicker Man' is one of the most startling, original movies I have ever seen. Made in 1973, it also happens to be one of the hardest movies to find on video, especially in its uncut condition. This just makes it all the more precious... it isn't quite like anything else I've ever seen before. An unusual combination of occult thriller, horror, musical, drama and social satire, it is a category all of its own.

Directed by British filmmaker, Robin Hardy, based on a screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, who also penned Alfred Hitchcock's 'Frenzy' (1972), as well as the clever 'Sleuth' (also 1972), the film's hero is a straight-upper-lipped, clean-cut Brit policeman, Seargent Howie (Edward Woodward, of television's 'The Equaliser'). In response to an anonymous appeal, Howie flies to the remote Scottish island of Summerisle, to investigate the alleged disappearance of a young girl, Rowan Morrison. A devout Christian and strict moralist, who has kept himself sexually pure for his future marriage, Howie is shocked and dismayed by what he finds there: the islanders are Pagan throwbacks to a distant past, worshipping the ancient gods of earth, rain and sun. Led by the sinister overlord, Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee), the townsfolk display an eerie contempt for Howie and his beliefs. His enquiries into the whereabouts of the missing child lead nowhere, her very existance at first denied even by her own family. When her coffin is opened, it is found to contain only a dead hare - Rowan's reincarnation, according to the locals.

The idea that such Pagan practices could have persisted to the present day seems a ludicrous sacrilege to the holier-than-thou policeman, but it is a prospect he is gradually forced to confront in order that he find the girl. The townspeople weave a web of hedonistic pleasure and terror around him, causing him to question his virtues. Virtually a prisoner on the island (his plane mysteriously "cuts out"), Howie comes to the conclusion that she has been set aside as a sacrificial victim to the forthcoming May Day festivities, to guarantee the revival of the island's failing harvests. The events which unfurl in Howie's life-risking attempt to save Rowan, all leading up to his confrontation with the terrifying Wicker Man, are awe-inspiring, to say the least.

I would have to say that this is one of my Top 5 favourite movies of all time. There is so much to appreciate about this film; the wide, stretching scenery is beautiful, adding dimension to the eerie, erotic atmosphere. The photography is unusual, reflecting the unsettling undercurrent of the story and characters, seemingly so authentic, one could almost believe that they're based on a real-life civilization. So many scenes stick out - the extraordinary musical sequences, with their symbolic choreography and surprising, crude lyrics. The visuals are colourful, weird and dreamlike. On top of this are the performances, Woodward's puritannical Howie evoking such frustration, struggling to hold out amongst all rising madness and disorder around him. Christopher Lee delivers one of his best performances as the devilish, amoral, smirkingly polite Lord Summerisle, while Britt Ekland does what she does best as the flirtatious Willow, whose naked courting of Howie is among the film's most striking scenes. The island lifestyle is actually quite attractive, to some extent, anyway - the people are very free and easy, with few laws to abide by; their religion is based around the well-being of the natural lanscape and its animal inhabitants, retaining the fertility of the crops.

Apparently, there are three known prints of the film, an 87-minute cut, a 95-minute version and a totally uncut 103-minute version. I only very recently obtained the uncut version - a good Samaritan, from Germany, whom I'm convinced is the nicest guy on the Internet, gave me a copy for free, and it is glorious... the character of Howie is given much more dimension in a prologue which establishes his concrete Puritan virtues back on the mainland, before he leaves for Summerisle, as well as his status as a "martyr".

Feel free to browse the Summerisle Picture Gallery, as well as the Links Page, which will transport you to other 'Wicker Man'-related sites! Be sure also to glance at the Facts Page for other interesting 'Wicker Man' info, and read some highly insightful comments on the Articles Page.

You are visitor no. to grace Summerisle's shore

© 1997 Traviscab

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