Not Coming to a Theater Near You

The Wicker Man / UK / 1973

Full review.

I’ve been meaning to catch up with this film for years now, and I’m glad I finally did. Not only is it a fascinating film in light of contemporary Hammer horror films (and therefore much of the rest of Christopher Lee’s career), it’s also another fine screenplay from Anthony Shaffer, whose Sleuth and Frenzy both comparably excellent British thrillers.

distinguishes this film, of course, is Robin Hardy’s full immersion in the arcane rites of ancient British paganism, a study so utterly credible that the film approaches ethnography. (Its treatment of Catholicism and of British law might be a bit more hurried, but by the time one notices, the film has already entered into allegory.) Perhaps for this reason (and because of its jaunty folk soundtrack), The Wicker Man is never more than a little creepy, but its emphasis on the natural world, humanity’s natural urges, and the astounding beauty of the film’s setting lend the film a most peculiarly British sensibility that is the province of Beatrix Potter, Kenneth Grahame, and A. A. Milne obviously, but also of Ken Russell, Aleister Crowley, and Myra Hindley and Ian Brady.

With that in mind, here’s an article on the forthcoming remake of the film, starring Nic Cage. Not wishing to be one of the preemptive naysayers that LaBute bemoans, but I have to wonder what benefit can be derived from transporting the film to a wholly imaginary matriarchal commune in the Pacific Northwest.

by Leo Goldsmith | Source: Anchor Bay Entertainment DVD
08 Aug 2006 4:44 PM | Comments (1)

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1. Ikram Choudhury / 9 August 2006 / 4:53 AM

   Your doubt in the soon to open remake is well placed. I cannot fathom how badly Hollywood is going to mangle this one.