The Wicker Man (1973 film)

The Wicker Man is a cult 1973 British film containing thriller, horror and musical elements, directed by Robin Hardy, written by Anthony Shaffer. The film stars Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt and Britt Ekland. Paul Giovanni composed The Wicker Man soundtrack, a recording cited as a major influence on neofolk and psych folk artists.

In 2004 the magazine Total Film named The Wicker Man the sixth greatest British film of all time. Brightlight Pictures is producing a remake of the film set in Maine; the reprise stars Nicolas Cage and Ellen Burstyn. Robin Hardy has expressed concern over the remake ^*.

Plot

Sergeant Neil Howie (Woodward), of the West Highlands Constabulary, is sent an anonymous letter recommending that he investigate the disappearance of a young girl, Rowan Morrison, on the remote Hebridean island of Summerisle. He flies out to the island and during his investigations discovers that the entire population follow a neo-pagan religion under the island's owner Lord Summerisle (Lee), worshipping the sun and engaging in other rituals.

Howie, an extremely devout and conservative Christian, is increasingly shocked by the islanders' behaviour; he is attracted and repulsed by the alluring and sexual Willow (Ekland), the landlord's daughter. He has no assistance in his search from the islanders, who initially deny Morrison exists and then say that she recently died. Howie persists and uncovers evidence suggesting the girl was a victim, or perhaps is soon to be a victim, of human sacrifice. Delving deeper into the island's culture, he disguises himself as Punch, a principal character of the May Day festival, to uncover the details of the ceremony. The islanders are not fooled and at the end of the festival it is revealed that the girl is alive and unhurt; the letter was part of a ploy to bring Howie to the island for him to be the sacrifice, which they believe will restore the fertility of their fields.

As Howie is seized by the islanders, Lord Summerisle drolly notes that the sacrifice will be especially efficacious since the engaged Howie is a virgin; like Punch, is simultaneously wise and a fool, comes as a King (a representative of Her Majesty's government), and comes to the place of sacrifice of his own free will. Howie admonishes Lord Summerisle that if his sacrifice does not work, the next year, the islanders will have no choice but to sacrifice their king - Lord Summerisle. Summerisle appears certain that sacrificing Howie will work. Howie is forced into the belly of a large hollow wicker statue of a man, which is set on fire. In the final shot of the film, the islanders surround the burning wicker man and sing the Middle English folk-song "Sumer Is Icumen In" while the terrified Howie shouts out Psalm 23 and implores divine vengeance on the island and its inhabitants.

Problematic release

The film was produced at a time of crisis in the British film industry. The studio in charge of production, British Lion Films, was in financial trouble and was bought out by millionaire businessman John Bentley. In order to convince the unions that he wasn't about to asset-strip the company, Bentley needed to get a film into production quickly. This meant that The Wicker Man, a film set during early summer, was actually filmed in October; in order to look convincing, artificial leaves and blossoms had to be glued to trees in many scenes. Christopher Lee was extremely keen to get the film made; he and others worked on the production without pay. By the time of the film's completion the studio had been bought out by Michael Deeley. At a private screening, he described the film as one of the worst 10 films he'd ever seen. Cuts were made and a copy of the film was sent to American film producer Roger Corman in Hollywood to make a judgement of how to market the film in the USA. In Britain, the film was cut again and eventually released as part of a double bill (with Don't Look Now). Despite Lee's claims that the cuts had butchered the film's continuity, the film met with critical acclaim and won first prize in the 1974 Festival of Fantastic Films in Paris. Sometime thereafter, the original negatives and the only print of the first cut of the film were 'lost'.

The two-disc edition of the DVD includes two versions. The film as it was originally released is an 87-minute cut. A partially restored version (which contains scenes recovered from a videotape of the version sent to Roger Corman) runs 99 minutes.

Soundtrack

Composed, arranged and recorded by Paul Giovanni and Magnet, the soundtrack contains various folk songs performed by characters in the film (including some by members of the cast). The songs were arranged in such a way as to hint at a pre-Christian pagan European culture and vary between traditional songs, original Giovanni compositions and even nursery rhyme in "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep". This mix of songs contributes greatly to the film's atmosphere, contrasting rabble-rousing songs that depict the island's community like "The Landlord's Daughter" and the child-sung "Maypole" with the sinister "Fire Leap" and the erotic "Willow's Song" before culminating in the islanders' chilling rendition of the profane Middle English "Sumer Is Icumen In", considered by many to be one of cinema's most frightening scenes.

The instrumental parts of the score also serve to underline the dark and mysterious undertones of the island's inhabitants and their beliefs whilst still in keeping with the traditional nature of the rest of the music. Most are based on traditional Scottish, and often Irish, music such as the strathspey "Robertson's Rant" jig and "Drowsy Maggie" reel. "Chop Chop" is based on the nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons".

The soundtrack is a recording cited by many as a major influence on neofolk, psych folk and even the recent New Weird America movements. Many of the songs have been covered by contemporary artists.

The soundtrack was unavailable until a 1998 release on Trunk Records of a mono album dubbed from the shorter original cut of the film (hence missing the song "Gently Johnny"). This was due to disappearance of master tapes (long thought buried under the British M3 motorway) and it was not until 2002 that Silva Screen Records released a stereo version taken from the original master tapes that included the songs missing from the first release.

2002 Track listing:

"Corn Rigs"
"The Landlords Daughter"
"Gently Johnny"
"Maypole"
"Fire Leap"
"The Tinker Of Rye"
"Willows Song"
"Procession"
"Chop Chop"
"Lullaby"
"Festival" / "Mirie It Is" / "Sumer Is A-Cumen In"
"Opening Music" / "Loving Couples" / "The Ruined Church"
"The Masks" / "The Hobby Horse"
"Searching For Rowan"
"Appointment With The Wicker Man"
"Sunset"

An instrumental version of "Willow's Song" is also available from the record label's website ^*.

1998 Track listing:

"The Wicker Man (Main Title)"
"Corn Riggs"
"Landlords Daughter"
"Festival Photos"
"Loving Couples"
"Willow's Song"
"Maypole Song"
"Beetle"
"Ruined Church Sequence"
"Corn Riggs" & "Fireleap"
"Fireleap (Reprise)"
"Graveyard Sequence" - "Tinker Of Rye"
"Tinker Of Rye (Part 2)"
"Festival"
"Masks"
"Hobby Horse & Tarring"
"Search 1 - Baa, Baa, Black Sheep"
"Search 2"
"Hand Of Glory"
"Procession"
"Chop Chop"
"Horn At Cave - Cave Chase"
"The Anointing"
"Hum"
"Approach"
"Summer Is A Coming In"
"The Wicker Man (End Title)"

Trivia

The DVD commentary track states that studio executives suggested a more "upbeat" ending to the film, in which a sudden rain puts the flames of the wicker man out and spares Howie's life.
Locations used in the film include areas around Newton Stewart, Culzean Castle and Plockton.
Summerisle is fictitious, but there is a real group of Scottish islands called the Summer Isles.
Scottish band Summerisle is named after the island featured in the film.
The Coral paid homage to the film in the video of their Top 40 hit "Goodbye" in 2002.
Cilento subsequently married Shaffer.
Sneaker Pimps did a version of Willow's song they titled "How do" on their debut release, Becoming X. Doves, Anna Oxygen and Faith and the Muse have also covered the song.
Iron Maiden have recorded a song entitled "The Wicker Man" as have Pulp, the Pulp version containing a sample from the film. Coincidentally, Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of Iron Maiden, recorded his own original song called "Wicker Man" in 1997, four years before his reunion with the band and the recording of the Iron Maiden song of the same name.
English band Candidate made a 2002 album, Nuada, inspired by The Wicker Man.

The Wicker Man in the media

"The Wicker Man" is shown in the background on TV in Danny Boyle's Shallow Grave.

A full-size, burning Wicker Man appears in the background of the "End of the World" Party in the film version of "The Rules of Attraction".

The image of the burning wicker man is a recurring motif in the final stages of the comic series The Invisibles. A screen showing the final scene in the film is used in the psychological de-programming of one of the characters (D.I. Jack Flint)

In Eli Roth's Hostel, a cover of "Willow's Song" from The Wicker Man plays during a sex scene. The "Willow's Song" scenes in The Wicker Man and Hostel share a theme of seduction and entrapment in a foreign land.

Remake

A remake, starring Nicolas Cage and Ellen Burstyn and directed by Neil LaBute is set for release on 1 September, 2006.

Reference

Brown, Allan (2000). Inside The Wicker Man: The Morbid Ingenuities. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-283-06355-6.

External links

The Wicker Man: The return of the Pagan World - overview of the film's usage of pagan symbolism
Review by Jonathan Dunder
Games of truth, anthropology, and the death of ‘man’ - A philosophical interpretation of the film by Robert Farrow, 2005
The various versions of The Wicker Man — A discussion on the history of making The Wicker Man with links to pages with a blow-by-blow account of the differences in each version; also includes a description of scenes that were not included in either short or long version, or were otherwise lost.

Soundtrack information

Related films

The Wicker Man Enigma directed by David Gregory, 2001.
Burnt Offering: The Cult of the Wicker Man directed by Andrew Abbott and Russell Leven, 2001. Cast members gather to reminisce about their experience making The Wicker Man.

Other sites

The Wickerman Festival - Scotland's Alternative Music Event — the July celebration of cult, off the wall music and Sandi Thom that climaxes in the burning of a giant willow and straw effigy.

1973 films | British films | Cult films | Horror films

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