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May 1, 2023 · Based loosely on David Pinner’s 1967 novel Ritual, The Wicker Man follows the fate of police sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward). Receiving an anonymous complaint regarding a missing child, Rowan Morrison (Geraldine Cowper), Howie travels to the remote Scottish island of Summerisle, an unusual place where the agricultural community uses the rare warm climate to grow fruit.
There is a real Summerisle, but it’s way to the north of where this movie filmed. The near-tropical (warmed by the gulf stream) island estate of Lord Summerisle (so kindly thanked in the movie’s credits – and as bogus as Eve Channing in Sleuth ) is an amalgam of around 25 separate locations, all of them on the Scottish mainland.
Budget. £471,600 [2] –£500,000 [3] Box office. $475,661 [4] The Wicker Man is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt and Christopher Lee. The screenplay is by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner 's 1967 novel Ritual, and Paul Giovanni composed the ...
Miles. 139. Kms. 223. Days. 3. 2023 sees the 50th anniversary of the 1973 British folk horror film, The Wicker Man, an undisputed cult classic. It follows the story of devout Christian Sergeant Neil Howie, who travels to the remote island of Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. Much of the film was shot in Dumfries and ...
- 10 The Movie Was Inspired by A Historical Engraving
- 9 There Were 25 Filming Locations
- 8 Edward Woodward Was Not The First Choice For Sergeant Howie
- 7 Christopher Lee Starred in The Movie For Free
- 6 Edward Woodward's Reaction to The Wicker Man Was Real
- 5 The Wicker Man Was Really Burned
- 4 Britt Ekland's Boyfriend Tried to Get The Film Banned
- 3 Some Deleted Scenes Were Restored For The DVD
- 2 The Original Negatives & Outtakes Were Destroyed
- 1 It Has A Crazy Action-Packed Sequel
"The Wicker Image" By Aylett Sammes
The Wicker Man was in part inspired by a 1676 engraving called "The Wicker Image" created by the artist Aylett Sammes. The image can be found in the volume of Britannia Antiqua Illustrata. According to screenwriter Anthony Shaffer (in the book,The Wicker Man: Conversations with Robin Hardy, Anthony Shaffer & Edward Woodward), his intent for the project was to make a more cerebral horror moviethat was less dependent on the kind of gratuitous gore that was popular at the time. When he settled o...
This Included Scotland & South Africa
The Wicker Man was filmed in 25 different locations throughout Scotland in the fall of 1972. Galloway, Scotland was among the locations, which star Britt Ekland called "the bleakest place on Earth" before receiving tons of flak for saying so. Since the film was shot in the autumn but set in the springtime, several handmade trees with full blossoms were trucked in for the production. However, the aerial shots of Summerisle were shot in South Africa. Director Robin Hardy explained why they had...
Michael York & Peter Cushing Were Both Considered
Before Edward Woodward was cast in the lead role of Sergeant Howie,Robin Hardy considered several other actors. Michael York was his first choice to play the role, but he declined it. Once York passed, Hardy approached David Hemmings for the role. Later, star Christopher Lee offered the lead roleto his longtime friend and fellow British horror legend Peter Cushing, but he declined due to scheduling conflicts. In the end, it was producer Peter Snell and screenwriter Anthony Shaffer who suggest...
Christopher Lee Even Spent His Own Money To Promote The Movie
Christopher Lee has namedThe Wicker Man as his favorite of his films and that his role as the cult leader Lord Summerisle is one of the greatest of his career. Lee also appeared in The Wicker Man for free, as did most of the actors, and even spent his own money on a promotional tour to help market the movie. Lee attended every promotional stop, willing to have him in the lead-up to the film's release. He paid for the entire trip. As proven by The Wicker Man's lasting legacy and impact, his pa...
Edward Woodward Wanted To be Surprised By The Effigy
To ensure the utmost authenticity, Edward Woodward repeatedly refused to visit the set where the Wicker Man effigy was housed before filming the iconic finale. The first time Woodward saw the towering set piece came when his character Howie was dragged over the hill against his will. As such, Howie's frightened response of "Oh God, Oh Jesus Christ" was Woodward's genuine reaction. As Woodward was being carried toward the effigy, he asked Hardy if he was going to be placed inside The Wicker Ma...
Woodward Remembers It Was A Very Scary Moment
The movie's infamous finale features the sinister Summerisle locals cheering over the sacrificial burning of Sergeant Howie. Believe it or not, Edward Woodward was placed inside the Wicker Man structure while it was being burned for real. The actor has since claimed that he's never been more scared in his six-decade career. As if the burning Wicker Man wasn't enough, one of the sacrificial goats that was placed in a pen above Woodward urinated on Woodward. Specifically, this happened when the...
Singer Rod Stewart Was Not Happy About Her Dance Scene
One of the most indelible moments of The Wicker Man involves Willow's (Britt Ekland) nude dance scene, which took 13 hours to shoot. Although a stunt double was used for Ekland's lower half, her then-boyfriend, Rod Stewart, lobbied to have the film banned over the use of Ekland's nude body (via Independent). Because she was pregnant at the time, Ekland demanded a body double from the waist down. Although Lorraine Peters is credited as her stand-in, Hardy claims he found a prostitute from Scot...
One Of Christopher Lee's Favorite Scenes Was Added Back In
Several scenes were filmed that ultimately went unused in the theatrical cut of The Wicker Man. Some, if not all, the excised footage has been restored in the 102-minute Special Edition Director's Cut, giving fans of the cult film a new experience. Among the more memorable excisions include footage depicting Sergeant Howie as a preacher, a longer version of Lord Summerisle's poem, several longer conversations between Howie and various locals, and a scene where Howie visits Lord Summerisle's c...
The Original Footage Was Destroyed By New Management
Long after production wrapped, the official film negative and reels of outtakes were secured in a storage vault at Shepperton Studios in Surrey, England. Upon a change in ownership, the new management asked for everything in the vault to be destroyed. Unfortunately, the original film negatives for The Wicker Manwere returned from the lab and placed in the vault right before the contents were razed. This is why, as mentioned above, only a fraction of the many deleted scenes and outtakes were r...
It Is Available As An Online Audio Drama
In 1989, The Wicker Man scribe Anthony Shaffer penned a 30-page treatment for a sequel entitled The Loathsome Lambton Worm. Rather than another methodical sacrificial mystery, this follow-up would have been a bombastic FX-driven fantasy-horror story. The sequel picked up immediately after the original ended, with several cops rescuing Howie. As he sets out to get revenge on Lord Summerisle and his disciples, Howie faces challenges from Pagan druids. This all culminates in a battle between How...
The film culminates in the entrapment of Howie and him being offered as a sacrifice in a giant wicker man, torched at the culmination of May Day celebrations. The film was shot almost exclusively in Galloway, in October and November 1972 (despite the fact that the film was set in spring). Other locations used included Plockton, Skye and Culzean ...
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Mar 11, 2024 · The story unfolds on the fictional Scottish island of Summerisle, but filming happened in several coastal locations around the production base in Newton Stewart, Scotland. The film’s opening ...
