\u201cThe Wicker Man\u201d (1973), a famed British dark fantasy based on Anthony Shaffer\u2019s book and long unavailable in a complete version, has arrived in what\u2019s referred to as a \u201cfinal\u201d form.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Wicker Man: The Final Cut\u201d ($19.99, Blu-ray Disc; Tuesday) tells the haunting story of a rigidly religious policeman, Sgt. Howie (the late Edward Woodward of TV\u2019s \u201cThe Equalizer\u201d), who travels from the mainland to a remote Scottish island to find a missing young girl. Once there, the sexually repressed official witnesses pagan behavior that shocks and intrigues him, and he ultimately realizes the danger represented by the group\u2019s charismatic leader, Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee of \u201cHorror of Dracula\u201d).<\/p>\n
The R-rated British import, directed by Robin Hardy (\u201cThe Wicker Tree\u201d), is a highly intense work, one fantasy magazine Cinefantastique described as \u201cthe Citizen Kane of horror films.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the making-of book \u201cInside The Wicker Man: The Morbid Ingenuities\u201d (1999) by Allan Brown, Woodward talks about his objection to the cinematic work being described as a horror title.<\/p>\n
Woodward says in the book: \u201cI have never considered \u2018The Wicker Man\u2019 to have been a horror film, although I know many people still do: the subject matter, bizarre admittedly, was treated with dignity, the belief systems of both men, Sergeant Neil Howie and Lord Summerisle, were given equal weight and in the end it was a very realistic story, a there-but-for-the-grace-of- God story, about a man who did not deserve his fate, no matter how weird or priggish were his beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The legendary Lee was most famous for his role as Dracula in a classic series of movies from England\u2019s Hammer Films. In the Volume 6, No. 3 issue of Cinefantastique, Lee expressed his support for the film, saying: \u201cI doubt if anyone will ever write a more remarkable script for a film.\u201d<\/p>\n
Originally, \u201cThe Wicker Man\u201d was sold as a B-movie, snubbed by the public and quickly disappeared from theaters. This arrival of the \u201cFinal Cut\u201d Blu-ray Disc suggests that the compelling import won\u2019t be dismissed so easily ever again.