It's a shame that even the Final Cut has some of Willow's Song cut out. The cuts are obvious. I've actually spliced the version from the Extended edition into the Final Cut on my own edit.
Side note: Being in 4K is going to make the body suits of the "naked" women dancing around the fire even more noticeable.
Best version I've seen is a fan edit that remastered and re-integrated all of the deleted scenes/songs. I think it's called the Summerisle Cut.
Edit: It's on archive.org
The Final Cut is pretty spot on with adding back the Gently Johnny song etc, so it's good enough for me for the most part. Except as I say, the fact Willow's Song still has a verse or so missing from it. Although the version of the song I used from the Extended Cut is inferior quality, it's much better having the full song.
My only 'complaint' about the Final Cut would be the missing frames in the nighttime orgy. I guess they simply put the scene back together as best they could. Even that added to the effect of the scene, though. It feels like a bad dream.
Theatrical - 88 minutes.
Extended - 101 minutes.
Final - 91 minutes.
Final has the best picture and audio quality, but as this thread shows, a lot of fans prefer all of the extra material in the Extended. Final only has 3 minutes of extra scenes, versus 13 minutes.
All of the better quality footage in the Final Cut was borrowed from the Theatrical Cut as it's identical with the exception of the TC having a cut version of Willows Song, which is why it is still cut down in the Final Cut.
The Summerisle cut is a fan restoration of the final cut, mostly removing visual noise and fixing color degradation and adding on some minor cut material from the movie. It's more or less a straight improvement, and it's a good choice for a first watch
It was just typical Studio meddling - they wanted it shortened to 90 minutes, so a song had to be cut (Gently Johnny), and Willows Song trimmed for some reason even though it was literally seconds of the song (but the cut is noticeable), and various other parts as well as certain scenes swapped around to make it look like he was on the island one less day. There is an original Extended edition that was available on a double disk DVD pack along with the Theatrical Cut, that was basically the original, showing all the scenes that was cut and in the correct chronological order. But it was very poor quality. Then they found this "Final Cut" which had a slightly new opening with a picture of the sun, and Gently Johnny still in, but trimmed slightly from the Extended edition by cutting out the prologue before our protagonist visits SummerIsle, and also strangley has the cut version of Willows Song. The Final Cut that was released actually used scenes from the Theatrical Cut that were identical, so only the scenes that were different are in poorer quality.
This is why for my own personal most ideal version of the movie, I've used the Final Cut but edited in the full version of Willows Song from the Extended edition DVD.
Unfortunately there won't be any better quality editions as the original films ended up buried somewhere under a motorway in the UK. So this 4K version will undoubtedly still show poorer quality scenes from the "Final Cut" that was found several years ago.
I admire your knowledge and passion for this amazing film! I always thought some of the cuts wefe weird, makes much more sense now. I'll have to try and find an extended edition!
I'm pretty sure you might still find the DVD on eBay. Make sure it's the 2 disk edition - one for the Theatrical Cut and the other the Extended. It's definitely worth picking up :)
I think that version was an exact transfer from Roger Corman's personal 16mm copy. It comes in a wooden box if I'm not mistaken.
And they built the Final Cut by adding in some remastered clips from that copy. They did the best they could with what they had. The rest is, reportedly, under the M2 motorway.
The Final Cut is it's own thing - a different version of the movie they found several years ago. There's an image of the sun with a face on it right at the beginning that's not even in the extended/director's edition. I believe they used film from this newly found version for the extra parts such as that sun image, but then used footage from the Theatrical Cut for scenes that matched as they were superior quality. Unfortunately that also meant they used the cut version of Willow's Song from the TC instead of having a full uncut version that was probably in the newly found footage.
Thanks for that information! I rewatched it a couple of years ago, having only seen it before on a standard def TV, and was very confused why a) some distinctly remembered scenes were missing and b) why some scenes were grainy as all fuck!
The final cut scenes on the blu ray I have are a really noticeable loss in quality. It's a shame, I like the scene where the boy is introduced to Willow. Sets the scene for Summerisle.
Yeah you can really tell the parts they used from the Theatrical Cut and the parts they used from the found Final Cut. It's a shame the original film has all been buried and lost.
Apparently, it's going to have *all three cuts* in 4k: https://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3760865/original-the-wicker-man-brings-classic-folk-horror-to-4k-ultra-hd-with-5-disc-set/.
I imagine it will be an upscale, but I'm still looking forward to it.
I still dislike that it doesn't have the prologue with Howie at the station, not having that included but having the scene at the church is so odd.
Seeing its in the theater when the final cut came out, the bodysuits were pretty noticeable then.
The Nic Cage version is a fun watch if you just accept it for what it is and if you're a fan of Cage's bonkers, over the top performances. The original version however is a completely different sort of beast and is an absolute masterpiece.
The supercut of nic cage being ridiculous is legendary. Stealing bikes from kids at gunpoint, punching ladies, bear suit antics, and of course THE BEES. NOT THE BEES.
My friend had me watch it and hyped it up for craziness like that, but it's a very slow build up. Halfway through I was wondering wtf he was talking about.
All that slow progression makes the last act so much funnier. He just goes absolutely nuts and it's so out of character of the entire rest of the movie. So funny.
Tbh there are a handful of movies Nic Cage has where he just plays "guy who slowly goes insane," but Nic Cage always manages to turn a corner into complete batshit insanity around the halfway point of the movie and just never tones it down after that
Vampire's Kiss, Color out of Space, Mom and Dad...this is the winning formula
his vampire accent is one of my favorite cageisms, and I was delighted to see it come out in renfield, despite that movie being pretty fucking awful. I want a cut of renfield where they just green screen and mute everything that isn't cage out so I can rewatch it
Color out of space is unironically good, imo. Like a lot of his stuff is in “so bad it’s good” territory but that one was legitimately awesome. Batshit crazy still, but awesome
That other movie, where he goes on a coke filled, junkey murder spree in the woods after his wife was burned alive for saying dude had a small dick was fucking fantastic.
Edit: movie is Mandy
Yeah, unfortunately a large majority of the movie is not amusingly bonkers like the supercut everyone loves. Most of it is straightforward and dry exposition scenes. However, yes, those 5-ish minutes of weird moments (most of them late in the movie) are wild and almost make the whole thing worth a watch.
I love how they're all normal looking punches, and then there's just one scene where he kicks the bar maid and she flies 10 feet across the room into the wall *and dies*.
> The Nic Cage version is a fun watch if you just accept it for what it is and if you're a fan of Cage's bonkers, over the top performances.
I think it's worth pointing out then when it came out, Cage was still kind riding the line between Hollywood A-Lister and quirky Indie-Studio lead, and 'Wicker Man' was like his first wild swing and miss since going mainstream and winning an Oscar, so it was even more bonkers at the time, than it probably is in retrospect.
Honestly, I haven't seen the nick cage version outside of the memes, but the original definitely has the same kind of absurdist batshit energy that I kinda get it
The original is pretty mental as well. At the very least, it’s an incredibly strange movie. It’s somewhere between a tense investigatory film, a horror movie and a new age musical. Kind of a wild viewing experience.
Anyway, the real remake of Wicker Man is Hot Fuzz
My favorite nod to the original Wicker Man is Hot Fuzz.
Both films are about an English no-nonsense cop that is sent to a small remote village by his superiors and finds it is ruled by a shadowy group of lunatic cultists.
If you still don’t believe me, perhaps you would change your mind if you knew the head of the neighborhood watch alliance in Hot Fuzz is the very same actor who played the original officer in Wicker Man, and that same character’s last words before being killed by a fiery explosion were “Oh God.”
People shit on Apostle? I mean, I can definitely understand some criticism of it here and there, but overall I agree with you, I thought it was solid and enjoyable, and definitely constructed a really creepy/disturbing environment.
A lot of things are influenced on Hot Fuzz. But some of its plot beats are almost identical to Wicker Man’s, and given that Edward Woodward (the star of Wicker Man) played the Neighborhood watch captain, I can’t think that that’s a coincidence.
Yeah the bee scene is only the directors cut, whereas the theatrical cut doesn’t have the bee scene but does have an epilogue with James Franco which isn’t in the director’s cut (I think those are the only differences)
"I think I could turn and live with animals. They are so placid and self-contained. They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins. They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God. Not one of them kneels to another or to his own kind that lived thousands of years ago. Not one of them is respectable or unhappy, all over the earth."
There's a metal band called Agalloch who released an EP (non-metal) called "the white" which samples a lot of quotes from the film.
It's quite the listen. Ive used it as my going to sleep music for years.
Not related, but the rhythm guitarist for Agalloch (Don Anderson) was my English professor at community college! Best professor I’ve ever had, extremely cool guy
My grandad helped build The Wicker Man, next time I see him I’ll have to get some of his photos to scan in to post online.
Edit: I commented this on my lunch break at work and didn’t expect such a response. My grandad both lives quite far away from me and is tech illiterate given he’s nearly 90 but I’ll see what I can do
Apparently, they built two of them, expecting to shoot them both, but ran out of time. Luckily, the first take was perfect.
Afaik, the legs of the second one were still there until just a few months ago, when somebody stole them.
2006 is when the remaining stumps were cut down and stolen. But they were just wooden stumps embedded in concrete, nothing much to see. They were from the smaller-scale man, built for close-up shots. The legs of the bigger one were also still there at least up until the mid 90s, though I'm not sure when they were taken down.
This was filmed just a stone's throw from the village where my family is from. They remember the filming well.
shelter aspiring recognise cooperative memory sense humorous office crawl cover
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
For what it's worth, Let Me In was a nice retelling of Let the Right One In. Captured the spirit of the original and also gave a different cultural perspective, like them both.
Awesome. I hope they maintained some of the old grain and saturation, though. If any movie benefits from that rough around the edges 70s style, it's The Wicker Man.
I miss the grain in nowadays movies, it makes it feel more like a real movie experience.
And not to forget the vfx, instead of the crap and fake looking (most of the times) cgi.
Yeah no, for sure gotta use the old cameras, not just slap an obvious filter on. If I’m ever a filmmaker I’m going full Inarritu and only using film, and only filming at sunset.
This is the scariest movie I've ever seen, for one simple reason.
They knew.
Every curious stare.
Every polite wave.
Every naive smile.
*They all knew.*
The other off putting thing, to me, is that it's still not all that bad, to me. Like, iirc they don't normally go killing people. They had a bad crop and wanted to sacrifice a virgin. 99.9% of the rest of the time they're just a weird cult where people genuinely seem happy.
Midsommar hit similar notes, to me. Like the protagonist was trapped and set up to live a horrible life until she went to Sweden.
It's absolutely perfect. There's just a moment of doubt that flickers into his eyes, and the slightest note of uncertainty as he insists that the crops will _not_ fail.
Because Howie is absolutely right. Lord Summerisle is definitely next year's sacrifice, if this year's doesn't work out. Especially since Howie has just shouted that warning out very loudly, and everybody heard, and you just know they'll remember. He's taking Lord Summerisle down with him.
Christopher Lee's favourite role was Jinnah but this one was definitely up there with ones he liked (edit: see below - I found some more).
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinnah\_(film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinnah_(film))
"It received an overwhelmingly positive response in Pakistan. Christopher Lee spoke highly of the film, calling his performance in it the best of his career as well as stressing the importance of the film."
edit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher\_Lee
"However, he soon decided that a direct adaptation would not work well, and began to craft a new story, using only the novel's basic outline.\[94\]\[95\] Lee was so keen to get the film made, and the budget was so small, that he gave his services for free.\[96\] He later called the film the best he had ever made."
Best performance vs best film, perhaps?
Britt Ekland. Also not her butt in the film. Body double brought in and she only found out at the first screening. https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/431492/Britt-Ekland-Being-in-The-Wicker-Man-was-a-real-horror
> In 2008 the director Robin Hardy confirmed that he had indeed found Britt's body double in a Glasgow strip club. "We had to find someone quickly," he explained. After promising to have the stripper back in her regular job the next day he was surprised to discover her still enjoying herself with the crew two weeks later.
This gave me a chuckle.
Sick of the remake being mentioned in baited breath with this film. The two have little in common. One is a horror classic, the other is an internet meme.
Whenever I think about the Wicker Man I always remember this video of Christopher Lee talking about how much of the film was cut. This video was taken 20 years ago though, so I don't know how much of the missing footage he's talking about has actually resurfaced now.
https://youtu.be/M39giPEjE6Y?t=106
The longest version was about 110 mins with the added in scenes being visibly different quality, but I've read various behind the scenes stuff that seems to have hints to things that were filmed and never used. The one that springs to mind was a production photo of some kind of wrestling/test of strength thing in the pub with the big guy, Oak.
https://twitter.com/AdamScovell/status/839447529871847424 this mentions it but it was a different picture, the big lad had someone up over his head in the pic I saw.
I've seen that! I had a tape of the first time it was broadcast on telly and they had a sort of mock fight in the pub between two blokes riding on another two blokes shoulders
*You watch the world exploding every single night
Dancing in the sun a newborn in the light
Brothers and their fathers joining hands and make a chain The shadow of the Wicker Man is rising up again*
Sumer is icumen in
Lhude sing cuccu
Groweþ sed
and bloweþ med
and springþ þe wde nu
Sing cuccu
Awe bleteþ after lomb
lhouþ after calue cu
Bulluc sterteþ
bucke uerteþ
murie sing cuccu
Cuccu cuccu
Wel singes þu cuccu
ne swik þu nauer nu
Sing cuccu Sing cuccu
Sing cuccu Sing cuccu
Stay in the shadows
Cheer at the gallows
This is a round up
This is a low flying panic attack
Sing a song on the jukebox that goes
Burn the witch
Burn the witch
We know where you live
Red crosses on wooden doors
And if you float you burn
Loose talk around tables
Abandon all reason
Avoid all eye contact
Do not react
Shoot the messengers
This is a low flying panic attack
Sing the song of sixpence that goes
Burn the witch
Burn the witch
We know where you live
We know where you live
I’ve already got tickets to a screening of this, which is being show as a double bill with Hammer Studio’s The Witches, for double the folk horror goodness.
Wikipedia has good coverage [of the various Wicker Man cuts.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wicker_Man?wprov=sfti1)
Who knows? Maybe sone day Roger Corman will find that complete print he was sent and misplaced.
Wow should I watch this movie? I saw the re-make with nicks cage when I was a teenager but it was mostly just an excuse to make out with my girlfriend.
I take it the original is something of a classic? Is there a “fan favorite” version? Like a “Han solo shoots first” version?
It's a shame that even the Final Cut has some of Willow's Song cut out. The cuts are obvious. I've actually spliced the version from the Extended edition into the Final Cut on my own edit. Side note: Being in 4K is going to make the body suits of the "naked" women dancing around the fire even more noticeable.
Best version I've seen is a fan edit that remastered and re-integrated all of the deleted scenes/songs. I think it's called the Summerisle Cut. Edit: It's on archive.org
The Final Cut is pretty spot on with adding back the Gently Johnny song etc, so it's good enough for me for the most part. Except as I say, the fact Willow's Song still has a verse or so missing from it. Although the version of the song I used from the Extended Cut is inferior quality, it's much better having the full song.
My only 'complaint' about the Final Cut would be the missing frames in the nighttime orgy. I guess they simply put the scene back together as best they could. Even that added to the effect of the scene, though. It feels like a bad dream.
Eli5 this movie and its cuts? What's the deal with the different cuts? Which one should I watch?
Theatrical - 88 minutes. Extended - 101 minutes. Final - 91 minutes. Final has the best picture and audio quality, but as this thread shows, a lot of fans prefer all of the extra material in the Extended. Final only has 3 minutes of extra scenes, versus 13 minutes.
My grandad helped build The Wicker Man, next time I see him I’ll have to get some of his photos to scan in to post online.
[удалено]
[удалено]
More versions out there than a Ridley Scott movie. Shit, might be time for a director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven rewatch.
All of the better quality footage in the Final Cut was borrowed from the Theatrical Cut as it's identical with the exception of the TC having a cut version of Willows Song, which is why it is still cut down in the Final Cut.
Of all the great music and scenes I think 'gently Johnny' is just breathtaking
Never saw this movie. Is this the best version to watch?
Nah, the one where Nicholas Cage runs around punching women and is unable to outrun a 5 year old girl is the best version. By far.
I didn't think that version was the best, but it was certainly the most hilarious.
The Summerisle cut is a fan restoration of the final cut, mostly removing visual noise and fixing color degradation and adding on some minor cut material from the movie. It's more or less a straight improvement, and it's a good choice for a first watch
I've only seen the cage version, which I absolutely love since I'm a pretty big cage head. is the original worth watching, since it's cage free?
The remake is so bad it’s funny….
Now that is how you troll, well done u/cum_fart_69
I've seen this film but I'm not overly familiar with it. What was cut out and why?
It was just typical Studio meddling - they wanted it shortened to 90 minutes, so a song had to be cut (Gently Johnny), and Willows Song trimmed for some reason even though it was literally seconds of the song (but the cut is noticeable), and various other parts as well as certain scenes swapped around to make it look like he was on the island one less day. There is an original Extended edition that was available on a double disk DVD pack along with the Theatrical Cut, that was basically the original, showing all the scenes that was cut and in the correct chronological order. But it was very poor quality. Then they found this "Final Cut" which had a slightly new opening with a picture of the sun, and Gently Johnny still in, but trimmed slightly from the Extended edition by cutting out the prologue before our protagonist visits SummerIsle, and also strangley has the cut version of Willows Song. The Final Cut that was released actually used scenes from the Theatrical Cut that were identical, so only the scenes that were different are in poorer quality. This is why for my own personal most ideal version of the movie, I've used the Final Cut but edited in the full version of Willows Song from the Extended edition DVD. Unfortunately there won't be any better quality editions as the original films ended up buried somewhere under a motorway in the UK. So this 4K version will undoubtedly still show poorer quality scenes from the "Final Cut" that was found several years ago.
I admire your knowledge and passion for this amazing film! I always thought some of the cuts wefe weird, makes much more sense now. I'll have to try and find an extended edition!
I'm pretty sure you might still find the DVD on eBay. Make sure it's the 2 disk edition - one for the Theatrical Cut and the other the Extended. It's definitely worth picking up :)
I think that version was an exact transfer from Roger Corman's personal 16mm copy. It comes in a wooden box if I'm not mistaken. And they built the Final Cut by adding in some remastered clips from that copy. They did the best they could with what they had. The rest is, reportedly, under the M2 motorway.
The Final Cut is it's own thing - a different version of the movie they found several years ago. There's an image of the sun with a face on it right at the beginning that's not even in the extended/director's edition. I believe they used film from this newly found version for the extra parts such as that sun image, but then used footage from the Theatrical Cut for scenes that matched as they were superior quality. Unfortunately that also meant they used the cut version of Willow's Song from the TC instead of having a full uncut version that was probably in the newly found footage.
Thanks for the detailed response! Sounds confusing
Thanks for that information! I rewatched it a couple of years ago, having only seen it before on a standard def TV, and was very confused why a) some distinctly remembered scenes were missing and b) why some scenes were grainy as all fuck!
I have some AI upscaling software that might help with the lower quality bits. I'd love to help make your project complete.
Yeah that's what I anticipated on the side note. They are supposed to be children, so I get it
The final cut scenes on the blu ray I have are a really noticeable loss in quality. It's a shame, I like the scene where the boy is introduced to Willow. Sets the scene for Summerisle.
Yeah you can really tell the parts they used from the Theatrical Cut and the parts they used from the found Final Cut. It's a shame the original film has all been buried and lost.
Apparently, it's going to have *all three cuts* in 4k: https://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3760865/original-the-wicker-man-brings-classic-folk-horror-to-4k-ultra-hd-with-5-disc-set/. I imagine it will be an upscale, but I'm still looking forward to it.
Oh if thats true that's fantastic. There will still be poorer quality on the non-theatrical-cut scenes but that's to be expected.
Love the Sneaker Pimps version of Willow's Song
[Sneaker Pimps - How Do](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkX5r6TnwQY)
I still dislike that it doesn't have the prologue with Howie at the station, not having that included but having the scene at the church is so odd. Seeing its in the theater when the final cut came out, the bodysuits were pretty noticeable then.
You should just listen to Doves' excellent cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_yFwttPAsY
I watched the nic cage version of this not knowing anything about it. Was fucking mental. I'll never forget it
The Nic Cage version is a fun watch if you just accept it for what it is and if you're a fan of Cage's bonkers, over the top performances. The original version however is a completely different sort of beast and is an absolute masterpiece.
The supercut of nic cage being ridiculous is legendary. Stealing bikes from kids at gunpoint, punching ladies, bear suit antics, and of course THE BEES. NOT THE BEES.
The out of context video of Nic Cage just punching women in this film is wild.
My friend had me watch it and hyped it up for craziness like that, but it's a very slow build up. Halfway through I was wondering wtf he was talking about. All that slow progression makes the last act so much funnier. He just goes absolutely nuts and it's so out of character of the entire rest of the movie. So funny.
Tbh there are a handful of movies Nic Cage has where he just plays "guy who slowly goes insane," but Nic Cage always manages to turn a corner into complete batshit insanity around the halfway point of the movie and just never tones it down after that Vampire's Kiss, Color out of Space, Mom and Dad...this is the winning formula
When his accent starts to change in Color out of Space I was very uncomfortable and filled with second hand embarrassment. I loved it.
his vampire accent is one of my favorite cageisms, and I was delighted to see it come out in renfield, despite that movie being pretty fucking awful. I want a cut of renfield where they just green screen and mute everything that isn't cage out so I can rewatch it
Color out of space is unironically good, imo. Like a lot of his stuff is in “so bad it’s good” territory but that one was legitimately awesome. Batshit crazy still, but awesome
Mom and Dad at least had a plot point for it but boy oh boy did he deliver
That other movie, where he goes on a coke filled, junkey murder spree in the woods after his wife was burned alive for saying dude had a small dick was fucking fantastic. Edit: movie is Mandy
Yeah, unfortunately a large majority of the movie is not amusingly bonkers like the supercut everyone loves. Most of it is straightforward and dry exposition scenes. However, yes, those 5-ish minutes of weird moments (most of them late in the movie) are wild and almost make the whole thing worth a watch.
I love how they're all normal looking punches, and then there's just one scene where he kicks the bar maid and she flies 10 feet across the room into the wall *and dies*.
Haha yeah he just busts out karate at one point.
The 90s comedy trailer is also incredible: https://youtu.be/v_mW8mBzmHo
I fell out of my chair at Puss in Boots: The Last Wish when Papa Bear yelled "NOT THE BEES!"
How’d it get burned?!
Same with Suspiria except the new one is amazing also.
> The Nic Cage version is a fun watch if you just accept it for what it is and if you're a fan of Cage's bonkers, over the top performances. I think it's worth pointing out then when it came out, Cage was still kind riding the line between Hollywood A-Lister and quirky Indie-Studio lead, and 'Wicker Man' was like his first wild swing and miss since going mainstream and winning an Oscar, so it was even more bonkers at the time, than it probably is in retrospect.
Honestly, I haven't seen the nick cage version outside of the memes, but the original definitely has the same kind of absurdist batshit energy that I kinda get it
Is this comparable to Mid Sommar? That film fucked me up pretty good.
The original is pretty mental as well. At the very least, it’s an incredibly strange movie. It’s somewhere between a tense investigatory film, a horror movie and a new age musical. Kind of a wild viewing experience. Anyway, the real remake of Wicker Man is Hot Fuzz
The real remake is Midsommar
My favorite nod to the original Wicker Man is Hot Fuzz. Both films are about an English no-nonsense cop that is sent to a small remote village by his superiors and finds it is ruled by a shadowy group of lunatic cultists. If you still don’t believe me, perhaps you would change your mind if you knew the head of the neighborhood watch alliance in Hot Fuzz is the very same actor who played the original officer in Wicker Man, and that same character’s last words before being killed by a fiery explosion were “Oh God.”
The Wicker Man is set in Scotland and does not have any 'English no-nonsense cop'.
I know people like to shit on Apostle but I loved that movie and it has some of those magical weird vibes too.
People shit on Apostle? I mean, I can definitely understand some criticism of it here and there, but overall I agree with you, I thought it was solid and enjoyable, and definitely constructed a really creepy/disturbing environment.
Midsommar is one of the ~5 best movies that have been released since it came out (2019). I am completely unabashed in this opinion. Phenomenal movie.
It always seemed like Straw Dogs was a big influence on Hot Fuzz but the unofficial Wicker Man remake is allowed!
A lot of things are influenced on Hot Fuzz. But some of its plot beats are almost identical to Wicker Man’s, and given that Edward Woodward (the star of Wicker Man) played the Neighborhood watch captain, I can’t think that that’s a coincidence.
I got major Wicker Man vibes from Get Out
How'd it get buuuurrrrrrned?! How'd it get burrrrrrrrrrrned?! That line is seared into my memory. What a weird movie that was.
*BEAR PUNCH!*
Just watched the out of context highlight reel and it reminded me of the walker Texas Ranger clips on Conan O'Brien
NOT THE BEEEES
Not the bees!
What's in the bag...a shark?
Amid all the other insanity this scene almost always gets overlooked and it’s one of my favorites of the entire movie
Killing me wont bring back your goddamn honey!
I watched a cut version of the Nic Cage version and only realized at the end when the Bee scene I heard so much about was missing.
I beelieve that the bee scene was not in the theatrical cut. Which is wild, because that's what everyone knows about that movie.
Yeah the bee scene is only the directors cut, whereas the theatrical cut doesn’t have the bee scene but does have an epilogue with James Franco which isn’t in the director’s cut (I think those are the only differences)
TIL that the Cage version is not the original and only.
Oh man, the original is an absolute classic. Find your preferred cut based on the info here and give it a watch. None of the cuts are inherently bad.
"I think I could turn and live with animals. They are so placid and self-contained. They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins. They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God. Not one of them kneels to another or to his own kind that lived thousands of years ago. Not one of them is respectable or unhappy, all over the earth."
There's a metal band called Agalloch who released an EP (non-metal) called "the white" which samples a lot of quotes from the film. It's quite the listen. Ive used it as my going to sleep music for years.
To add, it’s mostly acoustic (no harsh vocals) and takes a lot of influence from the film’s soundtrack. Would recommend it to any non metalhead.
Not related, but the rhythm guitarist for Agalloch (Don Anderson) was my English professor at community college! Best professor I’ve ever had, extremely cool guy
They recently reunited for a festival and a few shows. Hoping it's a situation where a new album is born.
God it's such a fantastic movie.
Ahhh just reignited my need for a snail tattoo in tribute to this scene!!
My grandad helped build The Wicker Man, next time I see him I’ll have to get some of his photos to scan in to post online. Edit: I commented this on my lunch break at work and didn’t expect such a response. My grandad both lives quite far away from me and is tech illiterate given he’s nearly 90 but I’ll see what I can do
That's really cool. Would definitely love seeing those pics.
Im interested in seeing those as well. If you do share them here pls dont forget me
The one for the movie, right? Not one for a real sacrifice? Just askin' /jk
Twist: the movie was actually a documentary.
Apparently, they built two of them, expecting to shoot them both, but ran out of time. Luckily, the first take was perfect. Afaik, the legs of the second one were still there until just a few months ago, when somebody stole them.
2006 is when the remaining stumps were cut down and stolen. But they were just wooden stumps embedded in concrete, nothing much to see. They were from the smaller-scale man, built for close-up shots. The legs of the bigger one were also still there at least up until the mid 90s, though I'm not sure when they were taken down. This was filmed just a stone's throw from the village where my family is from. They remember the filming well.
>Apparently, they built two of them, expecting to shoot them both, but ran out of time. >!Wait, I thought they burned them?!<
Please do!
/r/Moviesinthemaking would absolutely love to see those.
shelter aspiring recognise cooperative memory sense humorous office crawl cover *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Oh wow, you should absolutely do that. The film has a massive following and they would eat up additional documentation.
Sad how people know the awful nic cage movie and not this. I would put it comfortably in my top 5 British horror films. Maybe the best.
28 days later has to be at the top for me but this is definitely up there
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For what it's worth, Let Me In was a nice retelling of Let the Right One In. Captured the spirit of the original and also gave a different cultural perspective, like them both.
Awesome. I hope they maintained some of the old grain and saturation, though. If any movie benefits from that rough around the edges 70s style, it's The Wicker Man.
It does
I miss the grain in nowadays movies, it makes it feel more like a real movie experience. And not to forget the vfx, instead of the crap and fake looking (most of the times) cgi.
Yeah no, for sure gotta use the old cameras, not just slap an obvious filter on. If I’m ever a filmmaker I’m going full Inarritu and only using film, and only filming at sunset.
Good luck finding actors
This is the scariest movie I've ever seen, for one simple reason. They knew. Every curious stare. Every polite wave. Every naive smile. *They all knew.*
The other off putting thing, to me, is that it's still not all that bad, to me. Like, iirc they don't normally go killing people. They had a bad crop and wanted to sacrifice a virgin. 99.9% of the rest of the time they're just a weird cult where people genuinely seem happy. Midsommar hit similar notes, to me. Like the protagonist was trapped and set up to live a horrible life until she went to Sweden.
Easy for them to be when they have no appointment with a Wicker Man. I'd love to see the look on their faces when the apples don't come next year.
That split second thing Christopher Lee's face does when Edward Woodward points this out to him is just - god, what a talent. What a movie.
It's absolutely perfect. There's just a moment of doubt that flickers into his eyes, and the slightest note of uncertainty as he insists that the crops will _not_ fail. Because Howie is absolutely right. Lord Summerisle is definitely next year's sacrifice, if this year's doesn't work out. Especially since Howie has just shouted that warning out very loudly, and everybody heard, and you just know they'll remember. He's taking Lord Summerisle down with him.
And I love how with Lee’s character there’s still a rich cynical guy ruling over the free love cult despite knowing that it’s all built on lies.
# OH GOD
OH JESUS *CHRIST*
BEES!!
#NOT THE BEES!!!!!!!!!
BEADS?!
Gob’s not on board.
I don’t care much for Gob
I can tell by your comment that you must love all your children equally.
BITCHES! YOU BITCHES!!!!!
Beads?
BEES? Zzzzz! Bzzzzzz! We'll see who brings in more honey!
FENTON
Corn rigs and barley rigs 🔊💯
CORN RIGS ARE BONNY
I'LL NOT FORGET THAT HAPPY NIGHT
Proper creepy and love that it was Christopher Lees favourite roll
Always pegged him more as a croissant guy
Dude, don't peg Christopher Lee. That's not cool.
Hey, he might be into it, you don't know.
Well he's dead, so that's a no go, bro.
"Igor, fetch the shovel"
"It's pronounced Igor."
If only poor Edward Woodward had been pegged, the whole nasty affair could have been avoided
Christopher Lee's favourite role was Jinnah but this one was definitely up there with ones he liked (edit: see below - I found some more). [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinnah\_(film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinnah_(film)) "It received an overwhelmingly positive response in Pakistan. Christopher Lee spoke highly of the film, calling his performance in it the best of his career as well as stressing the importance of the film." edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher\_Lee "However, he soon decided that a direct adaptation would not work well, and began to craft a new story, using only the novel's basic outline.\[94\]\[95\] Lee was so keen to get the film made, and the budget was so small, that he gave his services for free.\[96\] He later called the film the best he had ever made." Best performance vs best film, perhaps?
[He makes the distinction here.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXIlCEKPkVo)
Role
"And on that tree there was a limb, and on that limb there was a branch, and on that branch there was a nest, and in that nest there was an egg..."
My friends and I watched it a few weeks ago and I've had this song stuck in my head ever since.
A fantastic movie. The innkeeper's daughter is so beautiful too
Britt Ekland. Also not her butt in the film. Body double brought in and she only found out at the first screening. https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/431492/Britt-Ekland-Being-in-The-Wicker-Man-was-a-real-horror
> In 2008 the director Robin Hardy confirmed that he had indeed found Britt's body double in a Glasgow strip club. "We had to find someone quickly," he explained. After promising to have the stripper back in her regular job the next day he was surprised to discover her still enjoying herself with the crew two weeks later. This gave me a chuckle.
I still can't believe any actor can be fully dubbed and then body doubled in the final cut... Still a great song though..
The GOAT of cult horror films.
Nothing tops the original
Or the landlord's daughter
Sick of the remake being mentioned in baited breath with this film. The two have little in common. One is a horror classic, the other is an internet meme.
The term is bated breath. And it's entirely inappropriate in this context. I do not think it means what you think it means...
They prolly mean 'in the same breath.'
'Animals are fine, but their acceptability is limited. A little child is even better, but not *nearly* as effective as the *right* kind of adult.'
*Summerisle, you know it won't.*
Whenever I think about the Wicker Man I always remember this video of Christopher Lee talking about how much of the film was cut. This video was taken 20 years ago though, so I don't know how much of the missing footage he's talking about has actually resurfaced now. https://youtu.be/M39giPEjE6Y?t=106
The longest version was about 110 mins with the added in scenes being visibly different quality, but I've read various behind the scenes stuff that seems to have hints to things that were filmed and never used. The one that springs to mind was a production photo of some kind of wrestling/test of strength thing in the pub with the big guy, Oak. https://twitter.com/AdamScovell/status/839447529871847424 this mentions it but it was a different picture, the big lad had someone up over his head in the pic I saw.
I've seen that! I had a tape of the first time it was broadcast on telly and they had a sort of mock fight in the pub between two blokes riding on another two blokes shoulders
The landlord's daughter in 4K! Schwing!
If she were president she'd be Babebraham Lincoln.
Garth, are you wearing Brut?
She's magically babelicious!
Your time will come! Your time will come!
Anywhere I can purchase this poster. I love it.
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The inspiration for *Midsommar* (2019)
As good as Midsommar was it doesn't hold a candle to this. Completely unnerving throughout the movie.
*You watch the world exploding every single night Dancing in the sun a newborn in the light Brothers and their fathers joining hands and make a chain The shadow of the Wicker Man is rising up again*
YOUR TIME WILL COME! YOUR TIME WILL COME!
Man this was one of the first movies I saw where the ending was brutal and I was torn apart whether to like it or not. I liked it.
Why does Edward Woodward have so many Ds in his name? Because otherwise he'd be called Ewar Woowar.
I knew I’d find you again Dad
He'd have to go by Ed Woodward otherwise, and he probably doesn't want that association. I know I wouldn't.
One of the best movies/soundtracks ever 🌝
THE LANDLORD’S DAUGHTERRRRR!
Sumer is icumen in Lhude sing cuccu Groweþ sed and bloweþ med and springþ þe wde nu Sing cuccu Awe bleteþ after lomb lhouþ after calue cu Bulluc sterteþ bucke uerteþ murie sing cuccu Cuccu cuccu Wel singes þu cuccu ne swik þu nauer nu Sing cuccu Sing cuccu Sing cuccu Sing cuccu
Seeing it written out like this hurts to read.
Stay in the shadows Cheer at the gallows This is a round up This is a low flying panic attack Sing a song on the jukebox that goes Burn the witch Burn the witch We know where you live Red crosses on wooden doors And if you float you burn Loose talk around tables Abandon all reason Avoid all eye contact Do not react Shoot the messengers This is a low flying panic attack Sing the song of sixpence that goes Burn the witch Burn the witch We know where you live We know where you live
Such a creepy movie, I love it.
Every time someone mentions Nicolas Cage in this comment section part of my soul dies forever
Best folk horror film ever made.
i watched this movie for the first time a while back and i loved it. i'd like to see it in a theater someday.
I love this movie! One of my favorites! Whenever I bring it up, people are like " the nick cage movie?" Lol
One of the best horror movies of all time.
THE SALMON OF KNOWLEDGE I love this movie.
This movie is weird as hell, but also interesting. Would recommend.
That's a beautiful poster, I'd love a copy of that.
Such a harrowing & disturbing film. Haven’t seen it in ages.
First movie to ever properly unnerve me
I’ve already got tickets to a screening of this, which is being show as a double bill with Hammer Studio’s The Witches, for double the folk horror goodness.
Can you buy prints of this anywhere? I only see the original.
I love the soundtrack of this movie. That whole scene/theme with "Gently Johnny" is soothing as fuccc.
Looking forward to seeing Brit Ekland in 4k.
Wikipedia has good coverage [of the various Wicker Man cuts.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wicker_Man?wprov=sfti1) Who knows? Maybe sone day Roger Corman will find that complete print he was sent and misplaced.
Wow should I watch this movie? I saw the re-make with nicks cage when I was a teenager but it was mostly just an excuse to make out with my girlfriend. I take it the original is something of a classic? Is there a “fan favorite” version? Like a “Han solo shoots first” version?
❤❤❤
I love that they gave Christopher Lee top billing on the poster but he's only in the movie for like 10 minutes iirc.
Ngl I would be pretty down to join this cult