The Wicker Man (1973 movie)
The Wicker Man is a cult 1973 British horror movie, made and set in Scotland. The movie was directed by Robin Hardy and written by Anthony Shaffer. It stars Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt and Britt Ekland. Paul Giovanni composed the soundtrack.
| The Wicker Man | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Robin Hardy |
| Produced by | Peter Snell |
| Written by | Anthony Shaffer |
| Starring | Edward Woodward Christopher Lee Diane Cilento Ingrid Pitt Britt Ekland |
| Distributed by | British Lion Films (UK Original) Optimum Releasing (UK 2006) Warner Bros. (USA) |
Release date | December 1973 |
Running time | 88 minutes (theatrical release) 100 Min Director's cut |
| Language | English |
A police sergeant, Neil Howie goes to a remote island in the Hebrides to investigate the disappearance of a young girl, Rowan. He finds out that the island is run by a pagan cult who are hostile of outsiders, including him. They practice human sacrifice. He believes that Rowan will be used as their human sacrifice. The islanders force Neil into a wicker man and burn him to death.
The Wicker Man is generally very highly regarded by critics. Movie magazine Cinefantastique described it as "The Citizen Kane of Horror Movies", and in 2004 the magazine Total Movie named The Wicker Man the sixth greatest British movie of all time. It also won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror movie. A scene from this movie was #45 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
The 2006 remake of this movie stars Nicolas Cage.
The Wicker Man (1973 Movie) Media
Christopher Lee, who appeared in more than 275 motion pictures, considered The Wicker Man his best film.
Culzean Castle on the Ayrshire coast
Wickerman Festival, Dundrennan, Scotland, burning of the effigy
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References
- Brown, Allan, Inside The Wicker Man: The Morbid Ingenuities, London: Macmillan, 2000. ISBN 0-283-06355-6.
- Catterall, Ali & Wells, Simon, Your Face Here: British Cult Movies Since The Sixties, Fourth Estate, 2001. ISBN 0-00-714554-3
Other websites
- wicker-man.com An extensive fansite devoted to the movie
- The Wicker Man on IMDb
- The Wicker Man at Rotten Tomatoes
- Interview: Director Robin Hardy talks about the film to Fortean Times Archived 2008-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
- Interview with director Robin Hardy about The Wicker Man and Cowboys For Christ in MungBeing
