The Wicker Man: The Final Cut Blu-ray Review & Comments

Tech News

Joined
Sep 15, 2004
Messages
29,589
Reaction score
470
Points
29,702
Location
Cyberspace
Come. It is time to keep your appointment with the Wicker Man.

With dark endurance, Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer's cult classic The Wicker Man refuses to lie down and die. Its production a riot of mishap, misdirection and misunderstanding, the distinctly unusual and devoutly eccentric tale of a pious detective led to his sacrificial doom for the fruitful sake of a pagan people on a remote Scottish island, has justly become one of the most renowned cult classic films of all time. With personality clashes on location, chance and risk governing the shoot, gargantuan ineptitude on the part of bemused distributors and such ill-fortune awaiting its release that one could only assume that it was the subject of a curse, the film has weathered many a storm and gone on to attain the kudos and critical acclaim of what is very possibly the best and cleverest, and most disturbing British horror film ever made.

Even the...

Read the full review... By Chris McEneany
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Another good review thank you Chris .... I will be picking this up at some point from the maypole.

I have to say though your "weird little story" totally had my full attention !! a very strange tale for sure, what was in that beer !! :eek:

p.s. can you pm me directions please :facepalm:
 
Last edited:
Still very expensive though. Even the lowest price I could find is a bit much at £20.99 for a film I've already owned two DVDs and a worn out VHS tape of. An Amazon this goes for £29.99.
 
That sounds pretty amazing, A pop-up Cider Bar :smashin:

As for the BD set, Yep! same here. It's going to have to be at least £15 before I bite. As much as I enjoy it my wants list is huge and this is about half way down :rolleyes:
 
Looks like the perfect outing for Chris & his wife :rotfl:

I shudder to think what her reaction would be. Probably burn me alive.

It has been an awkward time these past few days because, obviously, I have been watching the film and playing the soundtrack quite a bit. She doesn't tend to love the same films as me, anyway ... but she puts up with my Wolverine hairdo's, my new Bond suits, and my current Mad Max blonde streak and leathers. But this ... well let's just say that The Wicker Man is NOT up for negotiation.

She HATES Blade Runner and Brazil with a vengeance ... The Wicker Man is like me having an affair right in front of her, such is the venom that night caused.

That Willow sequence, inevitably, reminds me, too, of the event ... and it does, unavoidably, put me in something of a torn and conflicted state. To this day, I can't fully conceive of what the "game" was in the pub that night.

But I swear ... I'd completely fallen for that girl. And that voice.

Cheers guys,

Chris McEneany :devil:
 
great review, enjoyed reading that whilst snoozing through the first half of the england match

great film too
 
Is the Theatrical and Director's cut in 1080p HD (although using MPEG2)?
 
I'm betting that the village that Chris visited was Alston in the North Pennines. I had a similar experience there. :)
 
Great review :) The standard of Blu-ray reviews here has been fantastic last few years. Need to get the screengrab thing going though guys.

Was really looking forward to this but my Steelbook is missing the theatrical version -d'oh. I'd read a bit about a missing disc but I suppose I'd still have bought the Steelbook.

The Blu-ray says "Disc 1" and the DVD says errr... "Disc 1". Cheap bastards.



18ca29ee-9100-4b9c-b2b0-b77fd635a4e8_zpsc812c385.jpg


f6082175-3d88-467f-9e7b-d7dd8af52ed7_zps843481f3.jpg


ffbf319c-715e-4848-9349-998e9217fb2c_zpsa515d970.jpg


28802263-9d85-40ba-90f7-21ef52070e7a_zps3a7e0bb8.jpg


7af88c90-118d-4dca-a161-c93275320daf_zpsb909aa6f.jpg


1c5f5b8d-073a-4a98-9ff6-9f1daefc57f2_zps77a4138e.jpg


323279e4-78f2-4352-a3b5-3f3c098ff6dc_zpscc9ab92a.jpg


735dc022-dc22-42e4-9093-3fbb350ce5d0_zps72400e94.jpg


407f6f34-7362-47d1-9a78-f0ae5589befb_zpse9169fd2.jpg
 
Last edited:
So the Director's Cut version on this BD doesn't look much better than on DVD?

No reason to upgrade from the Anchor Bay DVD if I'm only interested in watching the Director's Cut?
 
I think this is a pretty good set, but bare in mind the "final cut" version is what Hardy refers to as the "middle version". This was the edit that was distributed in the States in 1979 and as far as Hardy is concerned is his version of the film as he intended it. There are still scenes that will never be seen unless you know which spot to dig on the M3! Just out of interest I wonder if they know where exactly on the M3 it lies? Not that I'm going to go digging or anything...
 
Just did a side by side with the dvd and Oh, God! Oh, Jesus Christ! its like night and day !!
 
I've been thinking about how I can't go back to the short version.

Having Willow's invitation occur on the second night is so much more measured and poignant. In the short version, Howie's clammy reaction seems excessive and merely pathetic, as opposed to agonisingly pathetic. Prolonging the sexual tension between him and Willow over two nights not only makes his temptation seem more likely, but also imbues the following day's events with a greater sense of tragedy. That we (and Howie) observe Summerisle plotting with Willow the night before gives considerable dramatic weight (and irony: are you listening Howie?!) to the eventual 'offering'.

In the theatrical cut, the scene just seems to crudely underline Howie's priggishness, arbitrarily throwing in some nudity to provide a flavour of exploitation.
Saying that, I'm glad the mainland prologue has been removed. It could practically be replaced with a title card reading 'EXPOSITION'.
 
I've been thinking about how I can't go back to the short version.


The Gently Johnny scene and the placement of the scene you mentioned do make the final cut a better movie. Sadly, I found the poor picture quality of some of the additional scenes to distracting. I think I'll stick with UK theatrical version, I'm delighted with how it looks and it's far superior to the dvd. :thumbsup:
 
The Gently Johnny scene and the placement of the scene you mentioned do make the final cut a better movie. Sadly, I found the poor picture quality of some of the additional scenes to distracting. I think I'll stick with UK theatrical version, I'm delighted with how it looks and it's far superior to the dvd. :thumbsup:

It's a free country.
 
Just did a side by side with the dvd and Oh, God! Oh, Jesus Christ! its like night and day !!
That good eh? Will buy now.

Would that even be a surprise to anybody ? When I do a side by side of just about any title I've upgraded to Blu on my projector, there is a huge difference. Otherwise i wouldn't be spending lots of money upgrading my DVD collection.
 
My Steelbook copy just arrived too (£15 from Zavvi), and I must say the case looks stunning!

I'm not bothered about the mainland part missing as I prefer it opening on his flight to the island anyway. Just disappointed Willows Song is still cut slightly. And not too bothered about the other versions not in the steelbook edition as I have those on DVD anyway and would only watch the long version for the missing bits out of interest once in a while. One of my favourite movies ever!
 
Just disappointed Willows Song is still cut slightly.

That's a shame, it's a cut that has always really annoyed me in the Theatrical version. :(

Would have been nice if they had done a composite for the directors cut and insert the extra scenes into the Final Cut.
 
That's a shame, it's a cut that has always really annoyed me in the Theatrical version. :(

Would have been nice if they had done a composite for the directors cut and insert the extra scenes into the Final Cut.

Totally agree. I'd put up with the poorer quality clips to make this song complete at least if nothing else. A shame this is classed as the Final cut when the highlight for me is incomplete. Still, totally enjoying the bluray otherwise.
 
I've been thinking about how I can't go back to the short version.


The Gently Johnny scene and the placement of the scene you mentioned do make the final cut a better movie. Sadly, I found the poor picture quality of some of the additional scenes to distracting. I think I'll stick with UK theatrical version, I'm delighted with how it looks and it's far superior to the dvd. :thumbsup:

I think the additional scenes look quite good considering their source: resolution isn't bad; the image is suitably grainy and filmic; no obvious digital artefacts are present; colour is of course drab and the source limitations are obvious. Thankfully, no shifting of quality occurs mid-scene. I disagree with Chris's assertion that the extra footage is merely 'marginally better' than what we've seen before on DVD.

I'm delighted with the presentation of my preferred version (FC) of this classic!
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom