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The Wicker Man

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The Wicker Man

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• Horror
• Mystery

• 1973
• Robin Hardy
• 84 mins
• X

Summary

Classic horror starring Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee. When a policeman receives an anonymous letter suggesting that a girl has mysteriously disappeared from a small island community, he sets out to investigate. On his arrival, the villagers deny any knowledge of the girl, and he soon discovers that life on the island is not all that it seems.

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Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Andrew Collins

Playing on our fears of "the other", director Robin Hardy's psychosexual horror, first released in 1973, has now attained classic status. Brilliantly scripted by Anthony Shaffer (Sleuth) and impressively staged on location, the film stars Edward Woodward as the devoutly Christian policeman, Sergeant Howie, who travels to a remote Hebridean island to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. As his efforts are hampered by the islanders' wall of silence, Howie's prudish disapproval of these neo-pagan worshippers turns to outrage - not least when he is "tempted" by the pub landlord's free-spirited daughter (Britt Ekland) and given an audience with the mysterious Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee). The Wicker Man does have some stilted moments, but it still manages to pack a bizarre, disturbing punch. The shorter running time of this original theatrical version does impact on the narrative depth of the story. The 2002 director's cut is much closer to Hardy's vision.

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7.5/10

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Streaming

• BBC iPlayer
• Sky Store

Credits

Cast

rolenameSergeant Neil HowieEdward WoodwardLord SummerisleChristopher LeeMiss RoseDiane CilentoWillow MacGregorBritt EklandLibrarian / ClerkIngrid PittAlder MacGregorLindsay KempHarbour masterRussell WatersOld gardener / GravediggerAubrey MorrisMay MorrisonIrene SuntersSchoolmasterWalter CarrBroomeRoy Boyd

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Crew

rolenameDirectorRobin Hardy

Details

Theatrical distributor

Studio Canal

Released on

1973-12-06

Languages

English

Guidance

Violence, swearing, nudity.

Available on

video, DVD and Blu-ray

Formats

Colour

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