Top 100: The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 1973)
"Little Rowan loved the march hares"
Police Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) arrives on a remote Scottish island in search of a missing girl. His arrival is not welcome, as he is not local... oh no... he is an outsider, from 'the mainland'. Not only is he treated in an unfriendly way by the sneering, suspicious locals, but his visit also coincides with the annual Mayday celebrations.
Sgt. Howie - a devout Christian- is astonished by the local pagan beliefs... they're all sinners in his eyes, and the more he delves into the local customs, the more appalled he is. Naked orgies, random nudity & symbolic phallus' are all on show here, as indeed is the stunningly beautiful Britt Ekland who plays Willow, 'the landlord's daughter', the local siren (no police pun intended). At the time, Ms Ekland was in a relationship with Rod 'Brunettes need not apply' Stewart, who had a serious problem with her nude scenes. As a result, a body double was used for the ass-shots during Willow's naked dance, in which she tries to seduce the clean-cut copper. Because of this, the naked dance has a rather comical tone, as the scene cuts between beautiful Britt & a, erm slightly bigger lass.
Soon, Howie meets Lord Summerisle (a brilliant Christopher Lee), and slowly but surely, the copper pieces together the puzzle of the girls disappearance.
The slow yet never boring story (by Anthony Shaffer) is one of intrigue, but it never gets too sleazy or tacky like many British horror films of that era. The Wicker Man stands tall above all British horror films due to its strong story and equally strong performances (although Ekland is dubbed).
There are two versions on DVD. The original theatrical cut is a shorter, slightly more exploitative version cut by Roger Corman. He felt the director's cut was too long and laboured, so he trimmed it by 15 minutes, and moved a couple of scenes around. I must admit he did do a good job. He is the king of the B-movie after all.
That said, the original director's cut is also intriguing. The footage cut by Corman was long lost (conspiracy theories abound!) and the since found footage (discovered only on 1" video tape as opposed to film) has been re-inserted, but this version suffers badly from the poor quality of the 1" tape.
The Wicker Man is rightly regarded as the best British horror film ever made. Whichever version you see, The Wicker man, like Blade Runner, is pure gold, and no matter how many different versions are available, it's always a genuine pleasure to watch. Avoid the re-make at all costs!
About the director's cut: The key differences here are that the film begins on the Scottish mainland, where Howie receives the anonymous postcard reporting the girl's disappearance. Howie's colleagues joke and sneer at Howie's' Christian beliefs, much like the islanders do later in the film. The opening sequence is therefore different and longer in duration.
Also, there's a early scene where Lord Summerisle offers up a young man to Willow, so she can have her wicked way with him. There's also a nice little speech by Summerisle afterwards. This scene is crucial, and was cut completely by Corman. Perhaps he thought Lord Summerisle appeared too early on in the film?
The scene where Willow tries to tempt Sgt Howie (yet at the same time tempts every male viewer) is in a different place. This scene is much later on in the director's cut, just after the hour mark in fact, after the scene where Sgt. Howie has been to the photographers shop & discovered the picture of the missing girl. It seems Corman wanted Willow's topless dance earlier, in place of the scene where Summerisle offers up the young man to her. Willow's topless dance is also slightly extended, as are a bunch of scenes throughout the film. The directors cut runs 1h40m, as opposed to Corman's 1h24m cut.
