The Wicker Man (1973)

Note des utilisateurs:

7.8/10   

Réalisateur:

Robin Hardy

Scénariste:

Anthony Shaffer (screenplay)
(suite)

Release Date:

juin 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Drame | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Accroche:

From the writer of 'Frenzy & Sleuth' Anthony Shaffer's incredible occult thriller

Plot:

A police sergeant is called to an island village in search of a missing girl whom the locals claim never existed. Stranger still, however, are the rituals that take place there.

Plot Keywords:

Sergeant | Island | Ritual | Disappearance | Scottish Island

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

A cult film about cult practices...

Ensemble

Edward Woodward	...	Sergeant Howie
Christopher Lee	...	Lord Summerisle
Diane Cilento	...	Miss Rose
Britt Ekland	...	Willow
Ingrid Pitt	...	Librarian
Lindsay Kemp	...	Alder MacGreagor
Russell Waters	...	Harbour Master
Aubrey Morris	...	Old Gardener / Gravedigger
Irene Sunters	...	May Morrison (also as Irene Sunter)
Walter Carr	...	School Master
Ian Campbell	...	Oak
Leslie Blackater	...	Hairdresser
Roy Boyd	...	Broome
Peter Brewis	...	Musician
Barbara Rafferty	...	Woman with Baby (as Barbara Ann Brown)
Juliet Cadzow	...	Villager on Summerisle (as Juliette Cadzow)
Ross Campbell	...	Communicant
Penny Cluer	...	Gillie
Michael John Cole	...	Musician
Michael Cole	...	Musician
Kevin Collins	...	Old Fisherman
Gerry Cowper	...	Rowan Morrison (as Geraldine Cowper)
Ian Cutler	...	Musician
Donald Eccles	...	T.H. Lennox
Myra Forsyth	...	Mrs. Grimmond
John Hallam	...	P.C. McTaggert
Alison Hughes	...	Fiancée to Howie
Charles Kearney	...	Butcher
Fiona Kennedy	...	Holly
John MacGregor	...	Baker (as John Macgregor)
Jimmy MacKenzie	...	Briar (as Jimmy Mackenzie)
Lesley Mackie	...	Daisy (also as Leslie Mackie)
Jennifer Martin	...	Myrtle Morrison
Bernard Murray	...	Musician
Helen Norman	...	Villager on Summerisle
Lorraine Peters	...	Girl on Grave
Tony Roper	...	Postman
John Sharp	...	Doctor Ewan
Elizabeth Sinclair	...	Villager on Summerisle
Andrew Tompkins	...	Musician
Ian Wilson	...	Communicant
Richard Wren	...	Ash Buchanan
John Young	...	Fishmonger
reste de la distribution par ordre alphabétique:
S. Newton Anderson	...	Landers (uncredited)
Paul Giovanni	...	Musician (uncredited)
Robin Hardy	...	Minister (uncredited)

Réalisé par
Robin Hardy

Scénaristes
Anthony Shaffer		(screenplay)
David Pinner		novel "Ritual" (uncredited)

Produit par
Peter Snell	....	producer

Musique originale
Paul Giovanni

Image
Harry Waxman		(director of photography)

Montage
Eric Boyd-Perkins

Distribution des rôles
Maggie Cartier

Direction artistique
Seamus Flannery

Création des costumes
Sue Yelland

Maquillage
Jan Dorman	....	hair stylist
W.T. Partleton	....	makeup artist (as Billy Partleton)

Directeur de production
Mike Gowans	....	unit manager
Ted Morley	....	production manager

Assistant réalisateur
Jake Wright	....	assistant director
Brian W. Cook	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Vic Smith	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Richard Rambaut	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Technicien du son
Robin Gregory	....	sound
Bob Jones	....	sound
Vernon Messenger	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Allwork	....	photography: second unit
John Brown	....	still photographer
James Devis	....	camera operator (as Jimmy Devis)
Mike Drew	....	focus puller
Ken Worringham	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Masada Wilmot	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Denis Whitehouse	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Gary Carpenter	....	associate musical director
Magnet	....	music performers

Divers
Beryl Harvey	....	production secretary
Stewart Hopps	....	choreographer
Frank Law	....	publicist
Susanna Merry	....	continuity (as Sue Merry)
Jilda Smith	....	location manager
Craig Miller	....	marketing consultant (uncredited)
Annie Ross	....	dubbing voice: Britt Ekland (uncredited)

Production Companies

• British Lion Film Corporation (presents) (as British Lion)

Distributors

• British Lion Film Corporation (1973) (UK) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• Channel 4 Television Corporation (2001) (UK) (TV) (directors cut)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1986) (2003) (2005) (Finland) (TV)
• Media Home Entertainment (1978) (USA) (VHS)
• R-Video (1983) (Finland) (video)
• Studio Canal (2002) (UK) (video)
• SubTV (2005) (Finland) (TV)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• VTI Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1975) (USA)
• Warner Home Video
• Works Editora (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)

Autre(s) titre(s):

Anthony Shaffer's The Wicker Man (UK) (complete title)
The Wickerman (Europe: English title) (alternative spelling)
Le Dieu d'osier (Belgium: French title) [fr]

Durée:

88 min | 100 min (2001 director's cut) (25 fps)

Pays:

UK

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Son:

Mono

Classification:

Iceland:16 | South Africa:(Banned) | Finland:K-18 (2006) (DVD) | Finland:K-16 (1983) (self applied) (video) | Germany:16 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | Ireland:15 (re-rating) (2002) | Ireland:18 (original rating) | Norway:16 (1974) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2002) | UK:18 (video rating) (1990) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Burrow Head, Isle of Whithorn, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland, UK

Company:

British Lion Film Corporation

Anecdotes:

The negative and the outtakes of the film were stored at the vault in Shepperton studios. When it was bought, the new owner gave the order to clear the vault to get rid of all the old stuff. Foolishly, the vault manager put the negatives, which just arrived from the lab, with the ones which were to be destroyed..

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: Summerisle is an island off the coast of Scotland, and all the other residents have very broad Scottish accents, as would be expected in such a place - why does Lord Summerisle, who has lived on the island for two generations, have an upper-class English accent?

Guillemet:

Sergeant Howie: And what of the TRUE God? Whose glory, churches and monasteries have been built on these islands for generations past? Now sir, what of him?
Lord Summerisle: He's dead. Can't complain, had his chance and in modern parlance, blew it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Abre los ojos (1997)

Soundtrack:

Sumer is Icumen In

A cult film about cult practices...

The best British horror film ever made? Probably, yes. The best horror film ever made? No. The best occult thriller ever? Quite possibly.

The film was in part conceived as a vehicle for Christopher Lee to get away from his Hammer roles and give him a chance to demonstrate that, yes, he could actually act. Perversely, however, the film is in many ways homage to the films produced by the Hammer studio and is at the same time their antithesis.

Although Lee's Lord Summerisle was certainly a stronger character than his Hammer caricatures, and was suitably sincere and sinister, it was left to Edward Woodward's bumbling, pious Highland Police Sergeant to carry the film.

The rest of the cast are not as strong as the two central characters. Famously, it was always suggested that Britt Ekland's voice was overdubbed for the entire film. Robin Hardy has now denied that, stating that only her singing was dubbed. Even if the other actors' performances fail to match those of Woodward and Lee, somehow, it doesn't detract from the film.

Almost as famous as The Wicker Man itself are the stories surrounding the film. The version first released was almost completely butchered from an original, almost grandiose cut of 102 minutes to a more concise 87. Christopher Lee has always maintained that this was a crime against the greatest piece of art with which he had ever been involved. The original negatives were then accidentally thrown out!

When a fuller version finally surfaced in 2001, Lee's contentions were (at least in part) proved. The film was overall improved, and save for a couple of points of rather clumsy editing (the flashbacks Edward Woodward has as the penny drops spring to mind) and the pointless scenes before the flight to the island, it ran more smoothly and made more sense.

The film's greatest asset comes through in whichever version you actually see. The eerie sinister atmosphere never fails to be conveyed. Somehow, the fictitious Scottish island setting of Summerisle, which could so easily turn twee at any moment steers clear of the territory occupied by Brigadoon or the now happily deceased BBC TV drama 'Monarch of the Glen'.

The setting's remoteness, which could have been its worst enemy, is actually its greatest ally.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the film, however, is the way that it steadfastly refuses to fit precisely into any genre. It is all at once a horror, a thriller and even a musical! Unbelievably, these things come together and fit into the film.

The music in The Wicker Man is unique, always adding just the right tone of eeriness or bawdiness to proceedings. A strange mix of elements including traditional folk music, it's as innovative and interesting as the soundtracks to Blade Runner, or The Virgin Suicides. The opening title sequence to the tune of Corn Rigs succeeds in transporting you with the plane over the remote coastal peninsulas and out into the Irish Sea towards Summerisle.

My only criticism of the film (and I really am nitpicking here) is the way it goes about establishing Sergeant Howie's Christianity. I can't conceive of the Howie character adhering to any religion other than one of the obscure forms of Presbyterian Protestantism practised in parts of the Highlands of Scotland. These scenes contain an apparent reverence for the sacraments that appears more Catholic in nature. This distinction in religious backgrounds is important to understanding Howie's attitudes. Nevertheless, I am truly nitpicking when I make this criticism!

But what ultimately makes this film is its ending. Without giving the game away for those who have not yet seen the film, it is inevitable, and yet wholly unexpected when it finally comes.

The Wicker Man would be a classic of its genre - if it had a genre. Instead, it has to be ranked as a classic film.