Rating: 
Summary: A bad harvest needs revenge
Review: "the Wicker Man' is a delightful twist for horror afficianados.
A constable gets an anonymous letter about a missing female child on local island. The island is known for its bounty of vegetation. He is a pious man; his underlings joke about his virginity.
He sets off in his plane to investigate. The residents give him a hard time; they tease him and lie about the child he is looking for.
As he investigates, he notices with revulsion blatant sexual displays, such as anantomical shaped pastries, trees cut to resemble penises and so on.
He finds mysterious information about the missing child. So he decides to overnight at the local inn. When the landlord's daughter emerges (Britt Eckland)a terrific bawdy song is sung by all- except our dour fellow. She enjoys the tune, but our pious investigator, who is not yet aware he is being led about by his nose, sure does. Disgusted to his core, he goes for a walk, only to find nearly the entire town fornicating in the local cemetery. As he tries to sleep, Britt, dances against the thin wall of the inn to disturb him. She is naked, hot and it is one darn erotic dance. Virgin man is in agony; he tries to ignore what he hears and tries even harder not abuse himself.
The next day is May Day. Everything on display is sexual. Virgin guy meets with the Lord of the Island, Summerall (Christopher Lee in one of his best roles). He refuses to answer any questions, but implies to the constable a human sacrifice will be held on May Day so the fall fruit harvest will be bountiful again. The lord takes pleasure in teasing a man who is saving himslf for marriage; he shows him fertility dances of naked women and anything else that will shock the socks off pious boy.
Mr. Pious is determined to stop the sacrifice. The island celebrates the first of May the old fashion way. Costumes, dances, sword games and finally a bonfire at the beach. The investigator, blood boiling, manages to get in costume and go along with the festivities.
Little does he know who the real sacrifice is going to be; the wicker man awaits its perfect victim. Although this film is terribly 1970s, it is simply grand. it is what a horror movie once was, before everyone started slashing each other at lonely camping grounds in nasty masks. The clash of religion is interesting, because both make some sense.
Loving film means owning 'The Wicker Man'.
Try it- it's one heck of a movie.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, It's Back!
Review: I saw the original US version in the 1970s. I thought it was really amazing in its depiction of what a pure pagan society would be today. But, after seeing the DVD version, I realize I never appreciated it's artistic and spiritual value. Yes someone is sacrificed in the movie and if you wish to claim it is just a horror movie, I will understand, but the final scenes of the movie only show a dedication to the true intent of the movie itself. There are no politically correct scenes in it. That's why it feels real. These are Pagans living in the 20th century. The only out of place character is Sgt Howie. Does he get what he deserves? If you are one of these pagans, you would say "of course!" but if you were a Christian, you would say No! That's what makes this movie so important. It is disturbing to everyone who sees it. And that is good. We need more movies that make us think. It's just too bad it had to become a cult classic before they would re-issue it.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste your money and watch only once!
Review: You might fall into the trap of thinking this is a great, must-have film by following various links and suggestions, etc., and that it belongs in your collection right with Alfred Hitchcock, Dario Argento, etc. Hah! The other reviewers are right: it's not horror, it's not terror, it's really not even art. This film is a bunch of nonsense with a "hot" ending. IF YOU MUST HAVE IT, I'd buy the single disc because the double version only contains a few extra minutes embedded into the same film. This is a movie you will surely only watch ONCE. I don't crave extras, but I do prefer to buy movies that will have a lasting entertainment value; films that I will want to watch again and again.
Rating:
Summary: "Wicker Man" an eerie, erotic delight!
Review: "The Wicker Man" is proof that movies were more daring and provocative in the early 1970's than they are today. This phenomenon certainly had much to do with the fall of the production code in the late 60's, and the rise of young filmmakers such as Cassavettes, Polanski, and Friedkin, as well as Schaeffer. This film is sort of a macabre variation on "Lost Horizon" with the protagonist venturing into a world of seeming tranquility and peace as only the pagans could create. However, under it all is a dark, sinister force at work, which is made all the more disturbing by the bouyant and frivolous manner in which the community lives. In fact, the viewer will never look at the festival of the May pole in quite the same way again. This film is a real treat and should be watched again and again for the complexity of its simplicity in setting and performances.
Rating:
Summary: STILL AN INCREDIBLE FILM!
Review: There has been a great deal of go-round about the video and DVD versions of this film, all of which is amply and somewhat wistfully explained in the very well produced featurette which is included on the disc. This is still an incredible film, very much a product of it's time yet able to provoke strong emotions in an audience 30 years after it was made. For the record: The "Theatrical Version" disc is minus the entire opening segment and the sequence which introduces Christopher Lee's character early in the film (and contains one of his best lines as he watches two snails copulate). Britt Ekland's famous nude dance is intact, but moved forward in the editing which creates a continuity error in the films narrative. The short "morning after" scene between Ekland and Edward Woodward which follows the nude dance is only in this version and not the expanded one. The "Expanded Version" returns all the sequences to their proper places and is a much more coherent and understandable print. Even though the "missing footage" was culled from other sources, I found very little drop in image or sound quality on the DVD and frankly it is so wonderful to finally be able to see clearly a film I have loved for decades that I really didn't care. Unfortunately the Expanded Version is only available as part of the boxed set which is a bit pricey for most, but this film is well worth having and I was completely satisfied with the transfer to DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Truly the best and unique film ever made
Review: The Wicker Man takes you on a journey to a fantastic island where sexual orgies exist, naked women leaping over bonfires, and a beautiful Britt Ekland singing and dancing naked--a strange scene but beautiful to watch. What you have is a film that is a musical, horror, drama, mystery--it is everything. And it contains a surprising ending that will fool the first time viewer the same as how the protagonist was fooled in the film. This limited edition DVD is definitely worth the money. If you are a true film lover, then you will not be disappointed with your viewing of The Wicker Man.
Rating: 
Summary: worth watching
Review: The extra scenes don't fit in terms of film quality, and harm the flow, but are fun to watch. Watched it again after about 2 years, and the 2nd time was diminished, (I already knew the ending), and by the observation that it was more obvious than I had remembered it.
Rating:
Summary: Very, very different--
Review: A friend brought this film to my attention in the mid-80s by declaring it was the "greatest film ever made." I'd soon realize he'd developed a habit of saying that every time he liked a movie, but in this case I'm tempted to say it myself. The reason is that it's so utterly different that differences of opinion on its impact or likability are nearly irrelevant -- I'd praise it to the skies simply to honor those who had the courage to make something intelligent and thought-provoking. In other words, something that obviously wasn't going to have multitudes lining up to see it. For the DVD, the special-edition wooden box is nice in its way but unnecessary. I've heard complaints from those who found the re-included scenes on the extended version jarring for their obvious contrast with the rest of the film, but while it's possible I like the film too much to criticize any part, I still believe the story is better told with these scenes even if their image quality is unmistakably at variance with the whole. This is why I recommend the special edition, even if most of us have trouble figuring out where to store it.
Rating:
Summary: Corn Rings
Review: Leonard Maltin is correct - this is not a horror film. In fact, it is very hard to classify; I can best describe it as a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Being a huge fan of unique films I love the Wicker Man, it is a superb example of storytelling, with not a line of script wasted, a startling performance by Woodward, and a near un-paralleled sense of dread, particularly towards the end. Special mention should go to the hypnotic songs - they add to the atmosphere immensely. Now, on to the disc. I own the previous version of this DVD and the first disc in the package is that very same disc. The extended version is what I bought the package for. The film itself is complete - the extra footage frames the movie wonderfully; it is not just a case of scenes re-inserted, it is edited slightly differently too and the extra scenes make the film seem complete and even better than before. It is not quite 102 minutes (though it is closer to 100 than 99), but there are a few seconds missing that are contained in the theatrical release, so I don't know whether these were part of the original print (though I'm not sure whether they would fit the slightly different story-line properly). The main problem is the quality - when the new scenes are taking place the picture quality really is extremely bad, and so blindingly obvious I personally can't help but feel they should have kept the same poor quality all the way through. That might seem silly but it is such a distraction when the new bits come on, at least if the quality remained the same the film would appear to be in it's original state rather than a tampered version, and you would ignore it eventually. Still, this is an excellent film that fans should pick up - when it's all said, it still is the best version you can currently get of this magnificent film.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie - LOUSY DVD
Review: Wicker Man is a highly under-rated study in modern witchcraft. It is the most accurate representation of "the old religion" a.k.a. druidism and is the complete antithesis of WICCA. But onto the product itself. It is hard to believe that a Limited Edition of a DVD could actually be worse than the VHS version. In fact it is worse that seeing it on broadcast TV, circa 1970. How they could have trashed the video quality is beyond me. The "Limited Edition" includes a wooden boxed set of two DVDs. One containing a wide screen version, and the other is in broadcast TV format. Since the difference in formats is about 10%, it isn't worth the bother. Get the regular DVD, or even better, get the VHS. You certainly won't get a better product by spending more money.
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