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starring: Leslie Blackater, Roy Boyd, Peter Brewis, Juliet Cadzow, Ian Campbell
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 0013131187731
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Letterboxed, Original recording remastered, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC
Label: Starz / Anchor Bay
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Starz / Anchor Bay
Release Date: August 21, 2001
Running Time: 88 minutes
Sales Rank: 27533
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
Theatrical Release Date: 1975-06
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
Typically categorized as a horror film, The Wicker Man is actually a serious and literate thriller about modern paganism, written by Anthony Shaffer (Sleuth) with a deft combination of cool subjectivity and escalating dread. (Despite this promising directorial debut, British filmmaker Robin Hardy didn't make another film until The Fantasist, a little-seen thriller released in 1986.) We're introduced to the friendly but mysterious residents of Summerisle (located off the west coast of Scotland), where the isolated community enacts rituals that seem, at first, to be merely unconventional. When called in to investigate an anonymous tip about a missing child, mainland police sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) is treated as an outsider, and the ominous Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) has the inside advantage. As the repressed policeman is taunted by the island's sensuous atmosphere, his investigation leads to increasingly disturbing implications.
With phallic symbols and soothing music at every turn, Summerisle is a pleasant haven for those who perform the pagan rituals of Lord Summerisle's maverick ancestors. These earthy ceremonies are presented with alluring authenticity, and the island's tempting eroticism is fully expressed by the landlord's daughter (Britt Ekland), who fills Howie with barely suppressed carnal desire. (Sirens took a comedic approach to a similar situation in 1994.) And yet the mystery of the missing girl remains, with clues that hint at a darker reality beneath the colorful local customs. When that reality is ultimately discovered, Howie becomes the crucial element in the islanders' most elaborate ritual, which is where the film's title comes into play. It may not be horror, but it is horrific, and this makes The Wicker Man an unforgettable film. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - The pagans are coming
This is easily the best movie to come out of Scotland, although it is a bit strange and also disturbing at times, it is also charming with a superb soundtrack.
Rating: - 3.5 stars out 4
The Bottom Line:
An intensely-clever, rich horror movie that features one of cinema's best endings and enough interesting themes to keep the viewer thinking after the movie long after it's over; what a movie.
Rating: - Meet the Pagans
Fete of Death
Not a supernatural horror movie by any means, "The Wicker Man" is instead a creepy, eldritch crime thriller about a priggish Scottish policeman's attempt to rescue a missing girl from an island run by paganists. This morally hidebound cop can't believe what he comes up against when he meets a smirking Christopher Lee sporting a ridiculous fright wig and his grinning pagan acolytes. A staunch believer in Christ, a righteous man, the cop can't believe he can be destroyed by a ... Read More
Rating: - Following Alice down the March Hare's hole
An uptight, deeply devoted Christian police officer arrives to investigate the disapperance of a young girl, and get's caught up in a world of pagan ritual. That more or less sums up the plot, but to call this movie horror is a little off base. I think it's better described as a dark fantasy, though it certainly draws upon the horror genre, as well as a great deal of very primal imagery from pagan history. The end product is a bit surreal and a little creepy, though I find on repeated viewings ... Read More
Rating:  - Yikes!
First let me say that my seller was AWSOME. The price was great and the shipping was quick! My seller is not responsible for how AWFUL this movie actually is. I have read so many things on the internet stating that this movie is a cult classic and how great it is and scary and awsome. This movie was actually WORSE than the remake...how can ANYTHING be worse than an over acted Nicholas Cage movie??? I didn't think it was possible, but this movie made it happen. Save your money, and your time! Don't ... Read More
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