Rating: 
Summary: This *is* the complete version...
Review: ... and a damn good job they made of it, too. I don't think the authors of the reviews of this item criticising it as being incomplete have actually *seen* the version they're criticising. I own the Magnum video edition which is the 'complete' 102min cut, and after watching the Anchor Bay release, which is billed as 99min, I could not find one single solitary scene, no matter how small, which had been left out. This cut of the film, despite being labelled as 99min, is exactly as complete as the 102min Magnum release. If you can name what you believe is missing, then please do, because as far as I can see, the criticism here is nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction to the posted running time. The only exclusion from this version I could see was the scene of Willow bringing Howie tea in the morning, and that has *never* been included in *any* release of the 102min version, and has only ever been found in the 84min cut. It only accounts for a few seconds, anyway. I'm really pleased with this Anchor Bay release, and that they've taken the trouble to restore the extra footage interchangeably with the higher quality print. It gives me a VHS (and a DVD, yes this is one of my favourite films :-)) that is a much better quality overall than my sadly worn down Magnum version. Or my 89min BBC television version, or my 84min PAL VHS version. Yes, I'm obsessed. Good one Anchor Bay in restoring this classic.
Rating: 
Summary: Where's a Wicker Man when you need one?
Review: The "extended version" here is 99 minutes, but substantially the same as the 103 minute version released on video in the United States. Tragically, the original film stock used for the truly complete version was used for landfill under the M-3 highway in England! The ignorami responsible for THAT should have been condemned to burn in a wicker man of their own! The film copy used to produce the 103 minute video is also presumed missing. So this "extended' version includes footage cobbled together from poor-quality sources, but it seems everything of substance is there. Sadly, it's the best we can hope for at present. The first disk of this set is the horribly mutilated 84-minute theatrical release, which also should have beeen burned... This is a great, atmospheric, and still-disturbing occult thriller, and deserves to be seen. But until more source footage is discovered, this flawed but serviceable "extended version" will have to do.
Rating:
Summary: A True Cult Classic!
Review: This is a handsome DVD edition. The two disc set comes in a rather distinctive wooden box instead of the usual plastic case. The discs insides are in a jewel case on a clear plastic frame, and there are two 5x7 cards, each with a chapter index for the two different versions of the movie. Not two different formats, widescreen and full-frame, which I've seen offered on other DVDs, but two different versions of the movie itself! On one disc is the infamous theatrical release short version with a stated runtime of 88 minutes (this version had a runtime of 87 minutes, according to most sources) and the other disc has the extended version with a stated runtime of 99 minutes. This longer version has the mainland prelude scenes and the Christopher Lee monologue in his offering to Aphrodite, which accounts for the "rarely seem" 11 minutes. A lot of confusion about the length of the uncut longer version seems to exist! I've seen runtimes given as "105 minutes", "104", "103" and "101"! Actually, according to the film editor himself, Eric Boyd-Perkins, it was cut down to a finished release version of 102 minutes. But this version was never released. And this is the version that was further cut down (on the advice of Roger Corman, no less!) to the 87/88 minute theatrical release version. It was also re-cut later for the BBC to a 95 minute version. Just out of curiosity, I timed the long version on this DVD and it is 99 minutes. I also timed the one I recorded 15 years ago off the old Z Channel and it, too, is 99 minutes. I can't time my Media VHS version because I don't have it anymore. It had a stated runtime of 102 minutes, but since I never noticed any difference between it and the Z Channel copy, it may have been 99 minutes, too! Maybe there never was an actual 102 minute version released anywhere! Not that it matters. The filmmakers themselves had to cut out about 20 minutes of filmed scenes to get down to that 102 minute release version! These missing scenes will never be seen again by anybody! They are lost and gone forever, probably buried under a highway in Britain! So why quibble over a missing 3 minutes? Get over it! There's a wealth of information about The Wicker Man on the Internet. Just do a Yahoo! search and you'll find dozes of interesting sites, including one with transcripts of those missing 20 minutes! By reading them, you'll better understand some of the events in the movie more clearly. Like why some characters/actors are listed in the end credits but are not in the movie -- because their scenes were cut! And like why graves on Summerisle are 9 feet deep! And what the Hand of Glory is! Check it out! But back to this DVD set. In defense of the much-maligned short version, it has one thing going for it -- it has a scene that is not in any of the longer versions that I've seen! It takes place the morning after Willow's erotic dance and gives further insight into Howie's character, as he states that he doesn't believe in sex before marriage, and Willow gently mocks him for it. This is an important scene and should have been in the extended version as well! (This scene is about 2 minutes long. Could it have been in the 1973 102 minute version, and subsequently cut, accounting for the confusion about the "uncut" length?) There are some other differences as well, such as credits backgrounds and some scene juxtaposition, but they're minor. This short version is in Dolby Digital 5.1 and it sounds great! The image quality is very good. The extended version is in mono and the image quality varies from fair to good, but this is explained in a brief forward to the movie -- in effect, they did the best they could with what they had! Bonus material includes the theatrical trailer and TV spots, and a lot of radio spots. But there's no language selection and no subtitles option. Chapter selections for each version, of course. And cast & crew bios -- but only for Lee, Woodward, Hardy, and Shaffer. The most interesting feature is the short documentary that has the ubiquitous Lee, the still-lovely Pitt, star Woodward, director Hardy, and many others talking about the film. The documentary ends with a poignant shot of that highway, under which the lost footage may be buried! Well, let's be thankful that we have as much as we have of this true cult classic! So is this DVD set worth the money? I say yes. I'm happy with it. I think you will be, too.
Rating: 
Summary: Defective disc?
Review: Aside from what has been pointed out here - an incomplete and inferior version (s) of the film - my copy locked up a dozen times in the first 45 minutes, and I eventually gave up trying to view it. I don't know how common this type of problem is - I've viewed well over a hundred DVDs and the problem has happened on only one other disc - and then, only once, not over and over. While the 87 minute version looks good (what sections I was able to view) I'll join the chorus and suggest staying away from this. A two disc "collector's edition" that includes two truncated versions of a film is inexcusable.
Rating:
Summary: THE WICKER MAN RETURNS!
Review: The wizards at Anchor Bay have once again brought back a VERY deserving classic film, and given it a proper DVD release! There are two versions out, and you DEFINITELY will want to buy the 2-disc deluxe version, which contains both the watered down 88 minute "theatrical release" (which is really only worth having for the sake of comparison), and the classic 99 minute "complete" version (although my old VHS version runs 102 mins!?) The prints are beautifully mastered and letterboxed! And there is a fantastic 35 minute documentary on the making of the film, which has many latterday interviews with the cast and crew, but alas doesnt have "behind the scenes footage" (since that was apparently buried under a highway in England by some studio oafs), and trailers/radio spots which are pretty cool. It comes in a nice oversized pine display box. Make sure to get the limited edition version... In a year, that's probably the only one youll be able to buy new, and the pine box version will soar in value. Mark my words. ORDER IT TODAY!
Rating:
Summary: The Best That's Available
Review: Folks... If you view the documentary on the first disc, you will understand that this is probably the best release that this movie will see. People are complaining that it's not the 101 minute or the 103 minute version that is circulating on old VHS tapes (Note: Buyer beware that 99.9% of the "factory sealed" VHS cassettes that are being offered are PIRATED versions of the video cassette. The beginning is choppy and the "Play" display is clearly visible at the beginning of the tape). According to the docmentary, all known negatives, positives, and outtakes of this movie were destroyed. What survives is the theatre distribution master and a sole copy of the "director's" version that was submitted to the studio and rejected. The "extended" version is a composite of the two films. There is nothing left to work with. The "theatrical" version is nice and clear and the sound is wonderfully restored. Nice on a 5.1 surround system. OK, the "fake letterbox" format is a bit of a drag, but it did not stop me from enjoying the film. The "extended" version is in two channel mono. The picture quality changes from scene to scene depending upon the source used. It is actually nice to SEE this movie, as the VHS copies are very dark and a lot of detail is lost. This is the best that's available, and I'm happy with it.
Rating:
Summary: Okay, I was wrong--it's as complete as you're going to get
Review: What with all the controversy, I watched the new extended version side-by-side next to my old VHS version and the two were virtually identical. It seems like the 103 minute running time was a bit of sloppiness on Magnum's part (and if you can't trust fly-by-night purveyors of old horror movies, who can you trust?) So let me join the new chorus and advise everyone to buy this Limited Edition right away. After the initial 50,000 are gone, all you'll be left with is the 88 minute version, which misses most of the important stuff. (By the way, I'm still unhappy about the phony widescreen format.)
Rating: 
Summary: Great film - but not this version
Review: The Wicker Man is a great film - a one-off unlike anything else. Christopher Lee thinks it might be his best performance, and I'd agree. However, this film has suffered release in butchered versions and unfortunately this DVD is one of them. The original verion of this film is 104 minutes long. The DVD version is an 88 minutes. Imagine another of your favorite movies with 16 minutes cut out of the climax. Someday The Wicker Man will be released as it was intended and I'll be able to give it 5 stars. Until then, hunt for the out-of-print uncut video version. It's out there and it's worth it.
Rating:
Summary: A True "Horror" Movie
Review: I saw a longer version of this film years ago (~110 min) and had heard that the usual, "cut" (~88 min) version had been done by a guy who disapproved of the extended pagan sequences, with the excised pieces buried and lost forever during construction of the ring road around London. That story just adds to the appeal of this longer version.I had heard nothing of the ending when I first saw The Wicker Man and refuse to reveal it here, but the film is, in fact, a horror film in that the ending is "horrible" and, for me, unexpected. (So I was bothered that the recent releases of the film on tape spoiled the ending with a revealing cover photo.) The Wicker Man is not a perfect film, on one level, the production values being typical of the period, but it does force one to examine assumed values and beliefs like few other films of any period. This starts with the unexpected appearance of palm trees on the remote Scots isle where it was filmed and ends with the final sunset. Cult films take on a life of their own. It is good to see that The Wicker Man lives on, whole once again.
Rating:
Summary: DON'T BUY THIS DVD
Review: I WAS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS DVD SET. THIS IS A TERRIFIC MOVIE IN ITS ORIGINAL VERSION. THE VERSION YOU DO NOT GET IN THIS SET. YOU GET THE HACKED UP 84 MINUTE RELEASE AND THEN THE EXPANDED VERSION WICH IS STILL NOT THE FULL 103 MINUTE RELEASE. I AM SENDING MINE BACK ASAP.ANCHOR BAY USALLY DOES A MUCH BETTER JOB OF GETTING OUT THE CORRECT VERSION OF A FILM. THEY REALLY DROP THE BALL ON THIS ONE. WHAT A SHAME.
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