Barnes & Noble

A subtle, intelligent British thriller that has attained cult status over the years, director Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man is more creepy than terrifying, doling out its frights with a spare but expert hand. It benefits from a superb performance by Edward Woodward as a repressed, devoutly Christian police detective who arrives on an idyllic Scottish island to investigate the disappearance of a 12-year-old girl. The inspector is immediately rattled by the friendly but duplicitous islanders, who engage in casual nudity and wanton sex under the free-spirited rule of the foppish and eccentric Lord Summerisle (memorably played by Hammer horror icon Christopher Lee). When Woodward discovers that the natives are pagans, his disapproval turns to fear and outrage as he begins to suspect that the missing girl might have been used as a human sacrifice. Eschewing the usual horror film conventions, almost all of The Wicker Man takes place outdoors under sunny spring skies as the islanders prepare for their May Day celebrations. Hardy imbues the bucolic goings-on -- folk song sing-alongs, a maypole dance performed by children -- with an ever-increasing sense of menace. The deeper terror is psychological, though, as Woodward’s inspector is confronted with a heathenism against which his faith provides no bulwark. We feel the inspector’s anguish as he struggles to subdue his physical desire when the innkeeper’s luscious daughter (Britt Ekland) tries to tempt him by dancing naked outside his room. It is Woodward’s magnificent portrayal of this self-righteous but well-meaning man that makes The Wicker Man’s dark and unexpected ending truly devastating. Hacked down to 87 minutes for its initial release, the film was a theatrical failure. The DVD presents the film, fully restored from original vault materials, in its original 102-minute version. Kryssa Schemmerling

All Movie Guide

A righteous police officer investigating the disappearance of a young girl comes into conflict with the unusual residents of a secluded Scottish isle in this unsettling, intelligent chiller. Brought to the island of Summerisle by an anonymous letter, Edward Woodward's constable is surprised to discover that the island's population suspiciously denies the missing girl's very existence. Even more shocking, at least to the traditionally pious law office, the island is ruled by a libertarian society organized around pagan rituals. Repelled by the open acceptance of sexuality, nature worship, and even witchcraft, the officer takes an antagonistic attitude towards the people and their leader, an eccentric but charming English lord (Christopher Lee). The officer's unease intensifies as he continues his investigation, slowly coming to fear that the girl's disappearance may be linked in a particularly horrifying manner to an upcoming public festival. Anthony Shaffer's meticulously crafted screenplay creates a thoroughly convincing alternative society, building tension through slow discovery and indirect suggestion and making the terrifying climax all the more effective. Performances are also perfectly tuned, with Woodward suitably priggish as the investigator and horror icon Lee delivering one of his most accomplished performances as Lord Summerisle. Little noticed during its original theatrical run due to studio edits and a limited release, the film's intelligence and uncanny tone has since attracted a devoted cult following. Judd Blaise

Product Details

• UPC: 031398103615
• Source: LIONS GATE
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English
• Time: 1:28:00
• Sales Rank: 4,260

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