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This review is for the 88 minute version of the film. It is not patched together from outtakes, but the film as it appeared in its U.S. theatrical release. I have also seen the longer version on an ancient VHS tape, the additional 12 minutes or so do provide additional background regarding Sgt. Howie, plus the events of the film are added to and reordered so as to cover one more day and evening on the island, plus there are some extra verses in some of the songs. Having seen both I feel that this version of the film stands on its own. Admittedly, I'm not sure why those 12 minutes were trimmed for the U.S. theatrical release, but I don't feel it is worth the price of the box set to view them. The Wicker Man is less a horror film, regardless of the claims on the packaging, and more of a suspenseful mystery.
Summoned to a remote Scottish island to investigate the reported disappearance of a young girl, Sgt. Howie (Edward Woodward) becomes convinced that something is not right, but cannot at first determine exactly what it is. As he questions the villagers, every answer seems contradictory, which only makes him more curious and more determined to get to the bottom of the situation. The villagers are led by Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee), who is quite cheerful and upfront, while still being evasive.
As the story develops, we see two belief systems contrasted, conservative Christianity as practiced by Sgt Howie, and the pagan "Old Religion" of the islanders. It eventually becomes apparant that several generations previously, the island had completely abandoned the Christian religion, and gone back to the practice of the worship of nature spirits and gods of the elements, etc. As part of their worship of nature, the islanders have a very unrestrained view of sexuality, which Sgt Howie views as simply scandalous, and causes him some tension when Willow (Britt Ekland), the daughter of the local innkeeper tries to seduce him. Her completely naked singing and dancing may cause tension of a sort in some viewers as well. There was admittedly a body double used for some parts of this sequence, but a great deal of it is Britt herself, and she looks wonderful. This sequence alone could have been responsible for the film receiving an R rating. Ingrid Pitt appears as the local librarian and she also has a brief nude scene in a bathtub.
In conversations between Sgt Howie, Lord Summerisle and others, some very interesting similarities between the the religion of the islanders and traditional Christianity are highlighted. On his way to Lord Summerisles estate, Sgt Howie witnesses some local girls jumping over a Beltane fire. Lord Summerisle explaines that the ritual is to insure fertility and appease the god of fire, by whom the girls hope to conceive a child. When Sgt Howie protests that this is blasphemy and poor biology, Lord Summerisle reminds him of the Christian account of Jesus as being "born of a virgin, who was herself impregnated by a ghost". In another scene, when Sgt Howie attempts to council the schoolteacher Miss Rose (Diane Cilento) that her education of her female pupils is improper, the Pagan and Christian views regarding death and rebirth are compared, and shown to be largely different words for the same thing.
The ending of the movie finally reveals the "Wicker Man" of the title, and once more, depicts a ritual which is the very foundation of the Christian belief system, but which Christians view as abhorrent outside of the Christian context. In this ritual, it is made apparant that Sgt Howie has become an alternative Jesus figure, chosen by the islanders because he is a virgin, because, as an officer of the law, he represents the King, and because he came of his free will (he flew the seaplane which brought him to the island himself). In a similar manner, Jesus was said to be a virgin, to represent the King of Heaven, and to have gone willingly to his sacrifice.
Overall, the islanders seemed very happy and comfortable with their life style and sexuality. There appeared to be no guilt or shame associated with their practices, they just appeared to be healthy and happy people who enjoyed their bodies in a natural manner. Society in general would probably benefit by adopting such an honest and healthy attitude toward their sexuality, instead of claiming that sex was "original sin", thereby attaching shame and guilt to what should be joyful positive experiences.
Generally, the movie painted a reasonable and for the most part, accurate picture of many pagan beliefs, especially regarding reincarnation and related matters.
However, I am not aware of any modern pagan group which practices human sacrifice as shown in this film, even though in much earlier times this had been the case. Two centuries before Jesus, the Romans passed laws forbidding the practice anywhere within the Empire. It is plausible that the practice of human sacrifice continued outside the Empire, and Scotland was never under Roman rule.
Of course, sacrifice of one particular human IS the foundation of the Christian faith as it is practiced today, although from the Roman perspective, Jesus was not sacrificed as atonement for sin, but executed as a criminal accused of stirring up people against the Roman government in Judea.
Although human sacrifice had been outlawed 200 years previously, Christians of Jesus time were certainly familiar with animal sacrifice to Yahweh, held annually at the Temple in Jerusalem, and followers of Jesus continued the practice at least until the time of his death, if not longer.
Taken as a whole, the Wicker Man is rather reminiscent of the better episodes of "The Twilight Zone" in that it is puzzling at first, with a growing sense of ominous dread which builds as the story unfolds. In addition, the film causes viewers to think about their beliefs, and ask questions such as:
What makes a religion "true"?
Why is human sacrifice, even one time, to the Christian god acceptable, but not to other gods?
How does the viewer feel about a god who is appeased by sacrifice?
What if the situation were reversed, that is, what if the primary religion of our culture was the pagan nature religion, and the movie was about a small cult on an island who sacrificied a man on a cross to make things right with their god?
Would we then view that ceremony in the same way as we now view the ritual involving the wicker man?
Would a small "wicker man" made of precious metal adorn the necklaces or hang from the rearview mirrors of hundreds of millions of people?
Would the title of this film then have been "The Crucifix"?
I found this to be a thought-provoking and completely absorbing film, well worth seeing.
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Quick Review: The Wicker Man (1973) DVD
Musical Journeys Thru Cinema
Reviews with images
This movie is BONKERS!!!!
I love this movie. It is genuinely creepy and unsettling. It is very sad indeed that the original gets overshadowed, because of the horrible Nick Cage version.Christopher Lee is very charming, but sinister. It is a great performance. It's a very '70s movie, which I think is great for the mood and aesthetic.I really recommend this movie. The features on this are pretty good as well!
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