Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Wicker Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 14, 2013

Robin Hardy's "The Wicker Man" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features provided with this release include original trailers; new and exclusive video interview with director Robin Hardy; archival interview with Robin Hardy and Christopher Lee; making of featurette; feature-length audio commentary with director Robin Hardy, Christopher Lee, and Edward Woodward; restoration comparison; and a lot more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for all three versions of the film. Region-B "locked".

What a strange place

A letter brings self-righteous police sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward, Breaker Morant) to a remote Scottish island looking for Rowan Morrison (Geraldine Cowper), a beautiful young girl who has disappeared without a trace. Howie promptly meets May Morrison (Irene Sunters, A Sense of Freedom), a local post office worker who mailed the letter to the mainland, but is told that Rowan never lived on the island and that her only daughter is Myrtle (Jennifer Martin).

Seriously confused, Howie attempts to talk to the local residents, but after a few short conversations he realizes that everyone is lying to him. Later on, he also witnesses a number of strange rituals which confuse him even more. When he eventually meets the wealthiest and most respected man on the island, Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee), Howie is stunned to learn that the rituals are in fact part of everyday life.

Determined to find the missing girl and make sense of everything he has seen since his arrival on the island, Howie embarks on a dangerous mission and eventually makes a shocking discovery.

What makes Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man so fascinating to behold is the fact that it effortlessly blends elements from different genres into what is essentially a cinematic puzzle whose key pieces can be arranged in a number of different ways. This allows The Wicker Man to be just as effective as a thriller as it is as a horror film.

The film’s observations about religion, its purpose and use by people living in closed communities also feel remarkably modern. During the final act, in particular, there are many truths about the dangerous vacuum which religion is capable of creating in such communities.

Some of the unusual rituals remind of the group scenes in Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock. They look utterly surreal, as if they have been extracted from a bizarre dream at a moment when everything in it somehow made perfect sense. The difference here is that it is easy to sense that they were inspired by an evil force.

Paul Giovanni’s music score is also very unusual. At times the music is calm and relaxing, even seductive, and other times grotesquely intense. It certainly has an identity of its own which is as misleading as that of the actual film. (Listen to Giovanni’s Gently Johnny and Magnet’s Sunset).

The cast is great. Woodward is very convincing as the perplexed sergeant who comes to realize that no one on the island can be trusted. Lee looks and sounds appropriately authoritative. Britt Ekland and Ingrid Pitt, two classic European beauties, also have small but memorable roles in the film.

The Wicker Man was lensed by cinematographer Harry Waxman (John Gilling’s Fury at Smugglers’ Bay, Basil Dearden’s Sapphire, Blake Edwards’ The Pink Panther Strikes Again).

The Wicker Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

StudioCanal's upcoming release contains three different versions of the film: The Final Cut, the UK Theatrical Cut, and the Director's Cut. The Final Cut is placed on Disc 1, while the UK Theatrical Cut and the Director's Cut are placed on Disc 2. Please note that the screencaptures used in our review appear in the following order:

1. Screencaptures #1-19: The Final Cut
2. Screencaptures #21-24: The UK Theatrical Cut
3. Screencaptures #25-30: The Director's Cut

The following text was provided by StudioCanal:

"StudioCanal have been conducting an extensive worldwide search for film materials for The Wicker Man for the past year, including a public appeal to fans for clues as to the whereabouts of the missing original cut. Eventually, a 35mm release print was found at Harvard Film Archives which director Robin Hardy has confirmed is the cut he had put together with distributors Abraxas in 1979 for the U.S. release. This has been scanned at 4K and used to create the first ever digital restoration of the film, with Robin Hardy's guidance."

The new digital restoration and the creation of The Final Cut of The Wicker Man are guaranteed to please fans of the film. Indeed, there are dramatic improvements in every single area we typically scrutinize in our reviews. Clarity and image depth are very impressive, with the darker indoor footage in particular looking far better balanced and crisper. Contrast levels have also been stabilized. Color reproduction is greatly improved. Now there is a good range of healthy browns, greens, blues, reds, yellows, and grays. The blacks are also solid, but never appearing boosted. The new inserts are easy to identify, but the footage is indeed carefully cleaned up, stabilized and rebalanced. Depth and clarity occasionally fluctuate, but the overall quality of the inserts is very good. (See screencaptures #6 and 9). There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Also, sharpening adjustments compromising the integrity of the new restoration have not been applied. Predictably, The Final Cut has a very solid and very pleasing organic look. Lastly, there are no serious compression issues. Also, there are no general stability issues to address in this review.

The UK Theatrical Cut of The Wicker Man has the same basic characteristics as those addressed above. Only compression appears to be slightly less impressive.

Unlike The Final Cut and The UK Theatrical Cut, The Director's Cut of The Wicker Man is encoded with MPEG-2 and sourced from SD elements. This should not be surprising, however, as film elements for the so called Long Version of The Wicker Man are not available. Screencaptures #25-30 are from The Director's Cut.

Cuts and running times:

1. The Final Cut: approximately 93 minutes (01.33.08).
2. The UK Theatrical Cut: approximately 88 minutes (01.28.13).
3. The Director's Cut: approximately 100 minutes (01.39.41).

(Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

The Wicker Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Each of the three versions of The Wicker Man comes with an LPCM 2.0 track. StudioCanal have also provided optional English SDH subtitles for each version.

I am just as pleased with the lossless track on The Final Cut as I am with the image improvements. During the seduction dance, the clarity and especially the depth of the audio are dramatically improved. Elsewhere the period themes from Paul Giovanni's strange score are also far easier to appreciate now. There is no distracting background hiss, cracks, thumps, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review.

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

BLU-RAY DISC ONE

• Burnt Offering: The Cult of The Wicker Man - in this video program, director Robin Hardy, Christopher Lee, writer Anthony Shaffer, producer Peter Snell, writer David Pinner (Ritual), and historian Ronald Hutton, amongst others, discuss the history and cult status of The Wicker Man, some of the unique ritual dances in the film, the religious overtones, etc. The program is narrated by Mark Kermode. In English, not subtitled. (49 min).

• Worshiping The Wicker Man - director Ben Wheatley (Kill List), director James Watkins (The Woman in Black), director Eli Roth (Hostel), film critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, film editor Chris Tilly, and music and film critic Frances Morgan recall their first experiences with The Wicker Man and explain why it is considered a cult horror film. In English, not subtitled. (23 min).

• The Music of The Wicker Man - associate musical director Gary Carpenter and Johnny Trunk discuss the unique qualities of Paul Giovanni's soundtrack. There is also some very interesting information about the first ever release of The Wicker Man original soundtrack. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Interview with Robin Hardy - in this exclusive new video interview, director Robin Hardy recalls how The Wicker Man came to exist, and addresses The Final Cut of the film. In English, not subtitled. (17 min).

• Interview with Robin Hardy and Christopher Lee - in this archival interview from 1979, director Robin Hardy and Christopher Lee discuss the pre-production of The Wicker Man, the shooting process, and the film's critical reception. The interview was conducted by critic Sterling Smith for the New Orleans TV show "Critic's Choice". In English, not subtitled. (25 min).

• Restoration Comparison - a look at the new restoration of The Wicker Man. Included here are select clips from the unrestored and restored versions of the film. With audio. (2 min).

• Trailers - presented here are two trailers for The Final Cut of The Wicker Man and the unrestored version of the film. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

BLU-RAY DISC TWO

• Making of Commentary - this archival footage is from the recording of the audio commentary for the UK DVD release of The Director's Cut of The Wicker Man. The commentary was done by director Robin Hardy, Christopher Lee, and Edward Woodward (who plays Sergeant Howie). In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Audio Commentary - the original feature-length audio commentary for the UK DVD release of The Director's Cut of The Wicker Man. The commentary was done by director Robin Hardy, Christopher Lee, and Edward Woodward.

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

StudioCanal deserve a lot of credit for this very beautiful release of Robin Hardy's classic film The Wicker Man. It is very easy to see that their hard work has paid off. The new digital restoration, completed with the British director's guidance, has truly given the film a new life. Let's hope that eventually the new restoration will also be made available in North America. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.