Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Wicker Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Wouldn't a little Miracle-Gro have been easier?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 11, 2014

The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion was one of the most seminal pieces of cultural anthropology ever published, a tome that in its longest version reached a massive twelve volumes, as Sir James George Frazer, a Scottish anthropologist with an abiding interest in myths, folklore and ancient religious practices, sought to bring a rigorously scholastic approach to a subject which had up to that time frequently been mired in either fanciful storytelling (as in the Thomas Bulfinch mythology books) or more dogmatic proselytization (as in the approach of rabid believers of any given tenet). Frazer and his most notable work have become rather sadly underappreciated through the years, though there are still various redactions of The Golden Bough that are widely available. But anyone who has followed the work of more modern icons like Joseph Campbell will certainly realize the debt owed to Frazer and his research, if they deign to look into Frazer’s offerings. One kind of unlikely byproduct of Frazer’s book is the 1973 British horror film The Wicker Man. Chances are even if you’ve never actually seen The Wicker Man (in any of its many iterations—more about that in a moment), you’ve at least heard about it. Such has been the slow but steady accretion of public awareness about this relatively small scale but incredibly disturbing film, which sees an uptight, ultra-right Christian police investigator named Sergeant Neil Howie traveling to the (fictional) remote Scottish island of Summerisle to try to find a missing girl about whom Howie has been alerted. Summerisle is a place out of time, completely cut off from the mainland (Howie has to get there by float plane, and even then needs a dinghy to actually bring him ashore), and with a rather shall we say peculiar history. What seems on its surface to be a fairly straightforward missing persons case assumes a much more sinister aspect as Howie becomes convinced there’s something considerably evil afoot on Summerisle. Though the ultimate denouement will not be spoiled in this review (for it is certainly one of the most devastating climaxes in the entire history of horror films), anyone who has read Frazer’s The Golden Bough will certainly be able to see how the long ago anthropologist’s theories on certain aspects of fertility rites and dying and risen gods like Osiris and even Jesus Christ play into the film’s (literal) final conflagration.

Diehard Christians will often chafe at the mere mention of pagan roots for various traditions, refusing to link Saturnalia or the Winter Solstice with Christmas or things like the Easter bunny to ancient fertility rites. That dialectic plays a very important part in The Wicker Man, as we’re introduced to very devout Sergeant Howie as he partakes in a number of Christian sacraments. When Howie receives information that there’s a missing girl on Summerisle, he sets off to investigate, and a clash of cultures results.

The residents of Summerisle do not take kindly to this extremely couth interloper, and in fact don’t even offer him much help in actually being able to get on the island itself. Once he does manage to get on dry land, he is met with a polite but distant people who seem just slightly odd, as if they are divorced from time, kind of like the inhabitants in that other mythic Scottish village, Brigadoon. Furthermore, they all insist that the supposed missing girl—one Rowan Morrison—is simply nonexistent, an imaginary prank by some bored person wanting to send Howie on a wild goose chase.

Howie’s suspicions are aroused, but perhaps even more importantly, his religious sensibilities are deeply offended by a glut of pagan images that dot the isle and, later, outright pagan rites being celebrated in full view of God and Man. Howie becomes convinced that Rowan’s disappearance is somehow intrinsically tied to this incipient paganism, especially since Summerisle, renowned for its verdant agrarian life, has had a bad growing season or two. When Howie finally meets the Grand Poobah of the island, Laird Summerisle (Christopher Lee in a more or less glamorized cameo), he is absolutely sure the islanders are not telling him the truth and that Rowan is being held captive somewhere.

To say more about The Wicker Man’s plot would be a disservice to anyone who has never seen the film before, for the final act of this mystery packs a really unexpected wallop (do yourselves a favor and don’t research the film beforehand if you’ve never seen it—just go into it cold). What can be mentioned is the almost palpable sense of dread the suffuses virtually every frame of the film once Howie gets to Summerisle. What’s going on with Willow (Britt Ekland), the nubile daughter of the local innkeeper? Why would Mrs. Morrison (Irene Sunter) herself insist that Rowan never existed? And what does the island’s annual rite of the May Queen have to do with the disappearance, if indeed a disappearance took place?

What’s remarkable about The Wicker Man is how resolutely it develops its sense of impending doom, while never really providing any shocks or scares in the traditional sense (at least until the closing moments of the film). This is a study in tone and implied menace, a film that shirks from any overt violence while somehow still being able to depict the atavistic and primal urges of the very soul of Man. Younger viewers may find The Wicker Man a bit of a bore, actually, at least until the denouement, for it is definitely not an “in your face” horror outing. But for those who allow this film’s troubling subtexts of Old vs. New Religions insinuate themselves into their subconscious, chances are few will find a more “shocking” experience available in the medium of film.

The Wicker Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

To fully understand the somewhat variable appearance of The Wicker Man on Blu-ray, it's important to understand at least a little bit about the film's rather tortured history. Presented here on Blu-ray by Lionsgate Films (in conjunction with StudioCanal) with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1, The Wicker Man looks mostly fantastic for the bulk of its 94 minute running time. Observant readers will note that this version has been dubbed The Final Cut, which alludes to several previous versions of the film. The U.S. theatrical cut ran 87 minutes and for a long time was considered to be the only version extant. Other, longer, prints were ultimately discovered, many of which reintegrated a chronological presentation of the story (per director Robin Hardy's wishes) while also adding a bit of additional pre-island footage concerning Howie (as well as a bit of post-island footage featuring nudity). The longest of these was a so-called Director's Cut, which ran 99 minutes and was included on the deluxe (wooden box) set on DVD several years ago, along with the Theatrical version. This current version is the perhaps aptly named "middle" version, pretty much splitting the difference between the 87 and 99 minute versions. What this all means for viewers is that various sections of this film were sourced from different elements in radically different conditions. As stated above, by far the vast majority of the film was sourced from a fantastic looking element (or one that has been lovingly restored), with virtually no damage to speak of, and boasting nicely saturated and accurate looking color. Several shorter sequences were sourced from a noticeably more ragged looking element, one that has been color corrected (perhaps unwisely, as I'll discuss in a moment), but which is obviously much softer and grainier, which I assume means this was a dupe. (Take a look at screenshot 6 of Woodward in the church for a good example of what these dupe elements look like in comparison to the bulk of the film).

In terms of the (assumed) dupe elements and the color correction (which is clearly shown in the restoration supplement included on the Blu-ray), while it's obvious there's too much cyan in the source element, to my eyes the telecine colorist went a bit overboard toward the brown side of things in "fixing" this problem. As a result, flesh tones are fairly drab looking, and some of the inherent brightness of the source element has been dampened.

All of this said, this is a very nice, organic presentation of an important film. There may have been some moderate "grain averaging" to help ameliorate any changes between the elements, but there's no sign of aggressive denoising here. Similarly, I saw no signs of overt digital sharpening.

The Wicker Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Wicker Man retains the film's original mono sound design with a nicely redolent DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix. Some may have wished for a surround repurposing for this film, if only to better experience the very evocative score, but what's here boasts excellent fidelity. Both dialogue and the ubiquitous music are presented cleanly and clearly. There's not a wealth of dynamic range here, other than the aforementioned musical elements, but the track has excellent fidelity and has no major problems to report.

The Wicker Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Worshiping The Wicker Man (1080p; 23:36) is an interesting compendium of interviews with various film notables (like Eli Roth) who discuss what the film has meant to them. There's a sometimes amusing disparity of opinion here, notably by Ben Wheatley, who is rather hilariously contrarian about certain elements of the plot.


• The Music of The Wicker Man (1080p; 16:02) is a really good piece discussing the film's now iconic score. Gary Carpenter, Associate Music Director, is interviewed. Jonny Trunk discusses the release of the original soundtrack recording.


• Interview with Robin Hardy (1080p; 16:59) provides some great background information on the genesis of the project as well as the shoot.


• Restoration Comparison (1080p; 1:55)


• Trailer (1080p; 1:30)

The Wicker Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I have loved The Wicker Man since a friend first screened a 16mm print of the really long version of the film for me when I was a kid. I later saw the 99 minute version at an Art House when I was a teenager, and then and only then finally saw the shorter theatrical version when I was a young adult. Completists are probably going to be disappointed that this important film wasn't given a truly deluxe release with all available versions and some of the supplements that appended the special edition DVD set of several years ago. Those complaints should be at least partially offset by the fact that this transfer looks great (aside from inherent issues discussed above). The new supplements on this release are also quite good. The Wicker Man is a one of a kind experience (as proven admirably by the dunderheaded remake), and this release comes Highly recommended.