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Oh wow, how brilliant. 8)

If I were involved in making fillums I'd never chuck anything out. :lol:

My favourite line is where Howie, about to burn, realises what's what and tells Lord Summerisle 'They'll do it to YOU!'
And we know he's right. ;)
 
A new updated edition of "Inside the Wicker Man", by Alan Brown, is on the way too! I'll replace the previous copy a friend got covered in water!! :x
 
I saw something somewhere about the Sequel/Remake/Director's Cut or whatever they're working on now. Honeysuckle Weeks was comparing her character in that to Sam Stewart from Foyle's War. Apparently she spends a lot of time in it naked.

No word on its release date, though.
 
Here it comes!


Wicker Man to light up Aberystwyth horror festival
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/midwales/hi ... 170633.stm

Robin Hardy filming The Wicker Tree
The Wicker Tree is set on a Scottish island

The director of classic British film The Wicker Man was so disappointed by the American re-make he decided to make a follow-up to his original movie.

Robin Hardy will show a 12-minute promo of The Wicker Tree at the Abertoir Horror Festival in Aberystwyth on Sunday 14 November.

The new film features a cameo by Christopher Lee who starred as Lord Summerisle in the original Wicker Man.

The film is due to be released next Spring.

Robin Hardy helped launch the Abertoir festival five years ago and said he was delighted to support the festival again.


I believe we created a new genre that combined humour, romance, sex, the incorporation of music into the fabric of the film, and, of course the 'worm in the bud' at the end
Robin Hardy

"I like their set up and I will be delighted to talk about the Wicker Man and The Wicker Tree," said Mr Hardy, who is in his early 80s.

Despite the critical success of The Wicker Man since its release in 1973, Mr Hardy has only made two feature films since then.

"I wanted to do other things such as write novels and take up journalism, quite apart from the fact that I had to bring up eight children," he said.

"But when I saw the re-make of The Wicker Man I decided to get back in the saddle again."

Edward Woodward
The Wicker Man starred the late Edward Woodward as Neil Howie

The 2006 version starred Nicholas Cage and Ellen Burstyn and received poor reviews.

"That film took the original plot and threw away the rest of what made the original film work.

"I believe we created a new genre that combined humour, romance, sex, the incorporation of music into the fabric of the film, and, of course the 'worm in the bud' at the end."

The original Wicker Man film starred Edward Woodward as police sergeant Neil Howie who arrives at the Scottish island of Summerisle in search of a missing girl the locals claim never existed.

Howie is a devout Christian, and is shocked by the Pagan practices of the island's inhabitants, led by Lord Summerisle, played by Christopher Lee.

In 2004 Total Film magazine named The Wicker Man the sixth greatest British film of all time.

Christopher Lee
The Wicker Tree features Christopher Lee in a cameo role

"I would not have called the original film a horror film, but Cinefantastique magazine devoted a whole issue to the film and called it The Citizen Kane of horror films.

"I wasn't going to argue about any film of mine being compared to Citizen Kane, although the film is probably closer to that of the suspense genre exemplified by the work of Alfred Hitchcock."

The Wicker Tree is also set on a Scottish island and also features Christopher Lee in a small role.

Mr Hardy, who adapted his own novel Cowboys for Christ for the screenplay, said: "I wanted to give Christopher a larger part, but he injured himself in Mexico. He is now 88 years old, so putting him on a horse was out of the question.

"I am happy with this film because it is in the same genre as The Wicker Man, although it is not a sequel.

The Damned

"There are lots of songs, sex, comedy and something terrible happens when you least expect it."

Mr Hardy has just finished writing a script for what he describes as 'the third film in the Wicker trilogy', The Wrath of the Gods, which he intends to start filming next year.

Mr Hardy will appear at the Abertoir Horror Festival at Aberystwyth Arts Centre at 1745 GMT on Sunday 14 November.

Other festival highlights include a concert by The Damned on Friday 12 November and the world premiere of British psychological horror film, Siren, at 1915 GMT on Thursday 11 November.
 
locussolus said:
I'm jumping with happiness about this new movie! :D

I think we should have a human sacrifice to celebrate it!

How about Mandy?
 
ramonmercado said:
locussolus said:
I'm jumping with happiness about this new movie! :D

I think we should have a human sacrifice to celebrate it!

How about Mandy?
According to the Wicker Man version of 'Golden Bough' mythology, the King's representative has to be a virgin. ;)
 
I'd like to be proved wrong by the late arrival of a Robin Hardy masterpiece - but he always looked befuddled by the success of the Wicker Man. I'm a huge fan of the movie but it seems to have bubbled up almost accidentally through a fissure in the usual crust of film ownership. Hardy has always seemed a strong argument against auteur theory. Anthony Shaffer's script, Ed. Wood WoodWood's suitably stiff copper and Paul Giovanni's cheerful foik score all gel nicely to make a unique picture. I suspect that it can be done only once - the final moments never cease to amaze me. We are present at a ceremony of social integration which traditionally comes at the end of a comedy.

An impossible act to follow, I think. :)
 
JamesWhitehead said:
An impossible act to follow, I think. :)

You might be right, Robin Hardy's only other film is the Irish thriller The Fantasist, which is very silly and not in the same league as TWM, which is why it doesn't have the same popularity. You could argue TWM is silly too, but it has a grim integrity underneath the daft surface.

But there aren't many directors his age still working, especially those who have only made two films, and it has to be better than Neil LaBute's hour and a half of misogyny for dummies. No woman-punching, Mr Hardy!
 
Robin Hardy announces results of The Wicker Man appeal - original print found

Studiocanal find print of The Wicker Man based on Hardy's original cut and plans to release 'The Wicker Man - The Final Cut'

Following a public search for the original film materials relating to Robin Hardy's horror classic The Wicker Man, Studiocanal UK and director Robin Hardy have made an announcement about what has been found via the hunt's Facebook page. The announcement includes news that an original print of the film has been found.

Since its creation, the Facebook page has attracted comments from fans far and wide, and thrown up rare and fascinating stories from the film's history, as well as all-important clues as to where the elusive materials might be stashed...

"Over the years, the fate of The Wicker Man has been the subject of much discussion amongst the fans," says Studiocanal's General Manager UK Home Entertainment John Rodden, "We set up the Facebook page not only to act as a hub for information in the search, but also in order to give fans the chance to discuss their love for The Wicker man, and to expound on some of the wilder myths and legends surrounding the film. The response has been amazing, and we're so grateful to all the people who have taken the time to join the conversation. We hope they will be pleased with what we've found."

2013 marks the 40th anniversary of the The Wicker Man's original release. In celebration of this and as part of their continuing project to both preserve and showcase classic British cinema, Studiocanal intends to restore and release the most complete version of the film possible.
http://www.moviemail.com/blog/news/1612 ... int-found/

8)
 
A Blu-Ray edition of the film has been in preparation for some time and anticipated on various film sites. Listening carefully to Hardy's video, the version to appear will not contain anything more than has previously been seen on DVD. Possibly a print has been found which will enable the "long version" sections to be seen in better than video quality. The missing scenes remain missing, so far as I know.

It has been a well-orchestrated campaign but no one has dug up the road (?) to unleash the original print. :(

Still, if it all keeps people interested in this wonderful picture . . . :)
 
With the release of the 'Final cut DVD, film director and music director reminisce about how they made, The Wicker Man.
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/sep/24/how-we-made-wicker-man

How we made The Wicker Man

Director Robin Hardy and musical director Gary Carpenter remember a descent into paganism that started in a Manhattan hotel room and ended up with the film company rubbishing their own work

The Guardian. Interviews by Dave Simpson. 24 September 2013

Robin Hardy, director

I was making commercials in the US and doing very well. Then a film company sent the writer Anthony Shaffer out to lure me back to the UK. When I opened my door in Manhattan, he said: "I am with the FBI and we are investigating you to see if you have communist sympathies." It was the first of many jokes.

We spent a weekend devising the plot, about a policeman called Howie who is lured to a Scottish island to investigate a missing girl; he is ultimately sacrificed by the pagan locals to save their apple crop. Paganism gave us lots of ideas, like the little girl being given a frog to put in her throat to stop it hurting. Essentially, one must think of The Wicker Man, as a game, with clues gradually suggesting Summerisle is not run in accordance with Christian values of Howie. Setting it in Scotland was crucial: in the early 1970s, Christanity was still widely practised, and it had a very puritan aspect. It might not have been as believable set in Woolwich.

Christopher Lee was the obvious choice for Lord Summerisle. He had a patrician air, and this wonderful voice for incantations to the gods. Casting Howie was much harder. Michael York turned it down, David Hemmings had other fish to fry. Edward Woodward had always played counter-establishment parts on TV, but actors are always pleased to be cast against their image. He understood the script perfectly and grew into the uptightness of the role beautifully – the consummate actor.

Britt Ekland had made it as a model not an actor, but I was very satisfied with her performance [as landlord's daughter Willow]. The dance scenes required her to bare her behind. "But I've got an arse like a ski slope," she said. I couldn't see that was the case, but we had to do something. So we provided her with a bottom double.

Making the film was great fun. It was shot in 25 different locations and, since it was set in spring, and we were shooting in November, we had to glue leaves and blossom on to the trees wherever we were. The opening sequence, with aerial shots from the plane arriving, was actually filmed in South Africa, because we didn't have the budget to glue blossom to that many trees.

The final scene, the sacrifice, took place in Dumfriesshire. The wicker man was enormous. The stunned look on Howie's face when he first sees it wasn't acting – up until then, Edward had only seen drawings. He clambered in and we set it on fire, filming from the inside. There was a goat inside there, above us. Understandably concerned about the fire, it pissed on us.

Although the fire brigade put the blaze out several times, we were always in control. We faced demands to change the ending, to save Howie from the fire – someone at the studio even suggested torrential rain – but it wasn't going to happen. There was a power struggle going on at British Lion, the film company. Some executives were trying to destabilise Peter Snell, the managing director and producer of The Wicker Man. They said the film was rubbish and undistributable, eventually sending it out as a supporting feature to Don't Look Now. Christopher was furious and told them: "This is the best film I've ever done." He took it to Paris where it won the Grand Prix du Film Fantastique and then got great reviews in America. It had become a very good story for journalists – a studio rubbishing its own acclaimed film. So British Lion had to start promoting it properly.

Gary Carpenter, musical director

British Lion wanted the film to be made quickly and cheaply, with students playing the music to save money. But the Royal College of Music blocked this, saying it would be too disruptive and time-consuming for its students. So they looked at recent graduates instead – and that was me. I was invited to meet Paul Giovanni, who wrote the songs. I was involved in a band called Hocket – a Fairport Convention knock-off really – but I told him I could get people who knew about folk music and were cheaper than his first choice, Pentangle.

We called ourselves Magnet and got into Paul's soundworld very quickly. We were interested in this semi-mystical occult shit and played music that touched on real traditions – Celtic music, Irish folk. On one occasion, Paul suggested we all smoke dope. I'd never tried it; we spent so much time on the floor laughing that nobody could play their instruments. Although we recorded the music before the film was made, it totally captures the mood.

We were flown up for the entire shoot. I had to bang a drum to keep Britt Ekland in time, so her topless mime stayed in sync with Willow's Song. The whole thing took 13 hours to shoot, so between takes she was covered in a towel. I had to remove it every time they filmed. It's the weirdest job I've ever had – but certainly not the most unpleasant.

I'm in the film several times: in the pub playing along as Paul Giovanni sings Gently Johnny; though my big moment comes at the end when Howie is being stripped and I'm playing the lyre above his head.

We'd no idea the music would become so influential. When I worked with Damon Albarn on the soundtrack to the [1999 horror film] Ravenous, he said he wanted it to sound like The Wicker Man. I said: "You know I did The Wicker Man?" He went: "I had no idea. Nobody tells me sod all."

The Wicker Man: Final Cut is out on Friday.
 
Fantastic. :yeay:

Especially the goat. :lol:
 
Enjoyed the restored version. The new Christopher Lee scenes clarified his Chieftain as distinct from Lord role. Extended nude dancing scenes as well. First time I sw it in a cinema, great film.
 
ramonmercado said:
Extended nude dancing scenes as well.

Just what I like to hear! :D
 
Quoth Sir Robert Helpmann: "The trouble with nude dancing is that not everything stops when the music does."
 
We were watching Midsomer Murders ('Small Mercies') which features a murder in a very fine model village. Techy said 'That's how Americans see Britain - all thatched cottages and village greens!'

I looked online for the location and found a model village Wicker Man. How very British!
It's probably a 'shop job but I really want to believe it's real.

modelvillagage4.jpg
 
It was on one of the movie channels again last night at 21:00. Even though I must have watched The Wicker Man 50+ times and own two slightly different cuts on DVD, I couldn't resist watching it once more.
This time, it struck me more than ever before, that it is a musical at heart, with a song or tune appearing every 6 or 7 minutes.
 
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This time, it struck me more than ever before, that it is a musical at heart, with a song or tune appearing every 6 or 7 minutes.

Do you strip off and join in with the naked hotel singing?



Just me then.
 
Hopefully some of the board will wind up here - not IN the Wicker Man, but at the event:

https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2023/event/musics-from-summerisle
Musics from Summerisle is a live performance celebration of the 50th anniversary of the legendary British cult horror film ’The Wicker Man’.

Performed live by Norwegian singer-songwriter Magnet and original soundtrack musicians Andy Tompkins, Bernie Murray, Ian Cutler, Michael Cole and Lesley Mackie – with music on the night led by Gary Carpenter (Associate Musical Director).
Featuring two supporting sets: Electronic music project Gazelle Twin & NYX Drone Choir will present an expansion of Gazelle Twin’s 2018 Pastoral album with arrangements by NYX Music Director Sian O’Gorman, featuring electronic contortions of William Blake’s Jerusalem and special versions of The Wicker Man from the original soundtrack. Scottish folk musician Alasdair Roberts performs a specially commissioned folk song suite entitled G-AXZN which will be a dark, ambient journey over Summerisle.
 
Saw this on Facebook.
What struck me is how much the top left picture looks like the teacher in the Inside Number 9 episode with the schoolkids.

Edit - the montage went astray. Here it is.
 

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