Jonny Trunk, born Jonathan Benton-Hughes , is an English writer, broadcaster and DJ as well as the owner and founder of Trunk Records .
86-459: Jonny Trunk founded Trunk Records in 1995, a cult British label that specialises in film music, library music, early electronics and exotic, nostalgic recordings. It was the first label to release music from cult horror films such as The Wicker Man . On his label he has also released Dirty Fan Male , an album based on his own experiences organising various glamour models' fan clubs including that of his sister, Emma Benton-Hughes, who modelled under
172-470: A Victorian agronomist , to get permission for an exhumation. Summerisle explains that his grandfather developed strains of fruit trees that would prosper in Scotland's climate and encouraged the belief that returning to the old gods would bring prosperity to the island among the previously Christian population. Due to the bountiful harvests, the island's other inhabitants gradually embraced paganism , and
258-405: A weighted average score of 8/10 and the site's consensus: "This intelligent horror film is subtle in its thrills and chills, with an ending that is both shocking and truly memorable". In 2008, The Wicker Man was ranked by Empire at No. 485 of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time . Christopher Lee considered The Wicker Man his best film. Similarly, Edward Woodward said that The Wicker Man
344-546: A 1979 Abraxas print has been found as I also put together this cut myself, and it crucially restores the story order to that which I had originally intended." Hardy reported in July 2013 that Studiocanal intended to restore and release the most complete version possible of the film. Rialto Pictures announced that it was to release the new digital restoration in North American cinemas on 27 September 2013. This new version
430-626: A Welsh steam locomotive who wanted to sing in a choir, based on Postgate's wartime encounter with Welshman Denzyl Ellis, who was once a fireman on the Royal Scot . It was remade in colour for the BBC in the 1970s. This was followed, also in 1959, by Noggin the Nog , their first production for the BBC, which established Smallfilms as a safe and reliable pair of hands to produce children's entertainment, in
516-522: A believable, contemporary setting. One of their main resources was The Golden Bough , a study of mythology and religion written by Scottish anthropologist James Frazer . Television actor Edward Woodward was cast in the role of Sergeant Neil Howie after the part was declined by both Michael York and David Hemmings . In Britain, Woodward was best known for the role of Callan , which he played from 1967 to 1972. After The Wicker Man , Woodward went on to receive international attention for his roles in
602-425: A cave. Exiting it, they are intercepted by the islanders, to whom Rowan happily returns. Summerisle tells Howie that Rowan was never the intended sacrifice; Howie is. He fits their gods' four requirements: he came of his own free will, has "the power of a king" by representing the law, is a virgin, and is a "fool" by falling for their deception. Howie warns Summerisle and the islanders that the crops are failing due to
688-641: A confection of formulae which have no integrity. No, the mainspring of what we did was because it was fun". Recognising their commissioning audience, Smallfilms purposefully developed storylines that would engage both adults and children. While the storylines and production were remembered by children, the adult jokes, like those about the Welsh in Ivor the Engine , or the fact that the Clangers swore occasionally, gave
774-462: A conventional stop motion animation studio, with Postgate moving the (originally cardboard) characters himself, and working his 16mm camera frame-by-frame with a home-made clicker. As Postgate voiced so many of the productions, including the WereBear story tapes, his distinctive voice became familiar to generations of children. They began in 1959 with Ivor the Engine , a series for ITV about
860-419: A form of Celtic paganism . The Wicker Man is well regarded by critics. Film magazine Cinefantastique described it as "The Citizen Kane of horror movies", and in 2004, Total Film magazine named The Wicker Man the sixth-greatest British film of all time. It also won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film . The final scene was number 45 on Bravo 's 100 Scariest Movie Moments , and during
946-543: A later interview the then "gentlemanly and rather innocent" business of programme commissioning thus: "We would go to the BBC once a year, show them the films we'd made, and they would say: 'Yes, lovely, now what are you going to do next?' We would tell them, and they would say: 'That sounds fine, we'll mark it in for eighteen months from now', and we would be given praise and encouragement and some money in advance, and we'd just go away and do it". The only occasion that this informal arrangement caused any real difficulty emerged in
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#17327934580131032-530: A live performance celebration of the anniversary. David McGillivray of The Monthly Film Bulletin praised the film as "an immensely enjoyable piece of hokum, thoroughly well researched, performed and directed." Variety wrote that Anthony Shaffer's screenplay "for sheer imagination and near-terror, has seldom been equalled." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it "a witty work of
1118-477: A painted background, then filmed using a 45 degree mirror - he persuaded Peter Firmin , who was then teaching at the Central School of Art , to create the painted backgrounds. Postgate later recalled that they broadcast around 26 of these programmes live-to-air, a task made harder by the production problems encountered by the use and restrictions of using magnets. After the relative success of Alexander
1204-581: A painter to produce the backgrounds, but as the painter was classically Chinese-trained he produced them in three-quarter view , rather than in the conventional Egyptian full-view manner needed for flat animation under a camera. This resulted in Firmin's characters looking as if they were short in one leg, but the success of the production provided the foundation for Postgate and Firmin to start up their own company, solely producing animated children's television programmes, initially for ITV , but soon afterward with
1290-526: A prostitute, has a massage from Willow McGregor, and sees a brutal confrontation between Oak and a villager in The Green Man, which were featured in a revised edition of Inside the Wicker Man . Anchor Bay released a limited-edition wooden box of The Wicker Man . About 50,000 two-disc sets were made, of which 20 were signed by Lee and Woodward, Shaffer, Snell, and Hardy. In March 2002, Lee discussed
1376-540: A reconstruction by Hardy. Hardy restored the narrative structure, some of the erotic elements which had been excised, and a very brief pretitle segment of Howie on the mainland (appearing at a church with his fiancée). A 96-minute restored version was released in January 1979, again to critical acclaim. The original 99-minute version was available in the US on VHS home video from Media Home Entertainment (and later Magnum) during
1462-490: A restoration comparison, and the theatrical trailer. The second disc features both the UK 87-minute theatrical cut and the 95-minute 2013 director's cut, along with an audio commentary on the director's cut and a making-of for the commentary. The third disc is the soundtrack to the film . In 2023, for the 50th anniversary of the film's release, StudioCanal announced 4K resolution restoration of existing footage, and remastering of
1548-420: A rural village, and decided that it would serve well as the source material for the project. Pinner had originally written Ritual as a film treatment for director Michael Winner , who had John Hurt in mind as a possible star. Winner eventually declined the project, so Pinner's agent persuaded him to write Ritual as a novel instead. Shaffer and Lee paid Pinner £15,000 (equivalent to £268,000 in 2023) for
1634-587: A single by Jonny Trunk and Wisbey , made number 70 on the UK Singles Chart in August 2007, and re-entered at number 27 in September 2007 after a campaign by BBC Radio 1 's Scott Mills and Danny Baker . At 36 seconds long, it is the shortest track ever to chart in the top 30. Various Jonny Trunk side projects have included directing the now-banned pop video "Plug Me In" for Add N to (X) . This video
1720-559: A single called " The Wicker Man " in tribute to the film. In 2016, British band Radiohead released the music video for the song " Burn the Witch ", made in stop-motion animation and whose storyline greatly resembles that of The Wicker Man . In 2001, British band Pulp released "Wickerman" on their We Love Life album, which features a sample of Willow's Song. The White , a 2008 EP by American extreme metal band Agalloch , included three tracks featuring samples of dialogue from
1806-495: A strong prejudice against fantasy for its own sake. Once one gets to a point beyond where cause-and-effect mean anything at all, then science fiction becomes science nonsense. Everything that happened was strictly logical, according to the laws of physics which happened to apply in that part of the world". In June 2015, the BBC's Mark Savage reported: "Firmin said the Clangers ' surrealism had led to accusations that Postgate
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#17327934580131892-519: A successful harvest. The following morning, on May Day, Howie seeks assistance from the mainland and returns to his seaplane, only to discover it no longer functions and its radio is damaged; he cannot leave or call for help. Later that day, during the May Day celebration, Howie subdues the innkeeper and steals his costume and mask (that of Punch , the fool) to infiltrate the parade. Rowan is eventually revealed. Howie sets her free and flees with her into
1978-427: A sudden rain puts the flames of the wicker man out and spares Howie's life, but this suggestion was refused. Hardy subsequently had to remove about 20 minutes of scenes on the mainland, early investigations, and (to Lee's disappointment) some of Lord Summerisle's initial meeting with Howie. The first screening of the film was to trade and cinema distributors on 3 December 1973. The first public theatrical release
2064-566: A very deep appeal…it seems to satisfy, temporarily, the sense of nostalgia for something lost; it seems to represent a stage further back.’ With their aura of wistful reverie and faded decay, the sounds exhumed by Trunk offer a portal into Britain's cultural unconscious." The Wicker Man (1973 film) 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
2150-478: A young girl as the May Queen . The photograph of the most recent celebration is missing; the landlord tells him it was broken. At the local school, Howie asks the students about Rowan, but all deny her existence. He checks the school register and finds Rowan's name. He questions the schoolteacher, who directs him to Rowan's grave. The next day, 30 April, Howie meets the island's leader, Lord Summerisle, grandson of
2236-405: Is a British television production company that made animated TV programmes for children from 1959 until the 1980s. In 2014 the company began operating again, producing a new series of its most famous show, The Clangers , but it became dormant again in 2017, after production of the show was slightly changed. It was originally a partnership between Oliver Postgate (who wrote the scripts, animated
2322-403: Is by Anthony Shaffer , inspired by David Pinner 's 1967 novel Ritual , and Paul Giovanni composed the film score. The plot centres on the visit of a police officer, Sergeant Neil Howie, to the isolated Scottish island of Summerisle in search of a missing girl. Howie, a devout Christian, is appalled to find that the inhabitants of the island have abandoned Christianity and now practise
2408-498: Is included on their 1996 release Becoming X . "How Do" can be heard in the movie Hostel (2005); credited in the end titles as being composed by Sneaker Pimps. Additionally, the band has covered "Gently Johnny" as "Johnny"; it is featured as a B-side on their single "Roll On" (1996). It also was covered by Faith and the Muse on their 2003 album The Burning Season , and The Mock Turtles on their album Turtle Soup . The songs on
2494-468: Is the first to examine their work in minute detail. It was conceived and edited by Jonny Trunk and has a foreword by Stewart Lee . Trunk also features frequently in the 2011 book Retromania by Simon Reynolds : "Cheezy sleaze and sepia–toned melancholy seem unlikely bedfellows at first glance. But in his 1935 travel book Journey Without Maps , Graham Greene put his finger on or near the place where musty and lustful meet. He wrote about how ‘seediness has
2580-432: The 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony , it was included as part of a sequence that celebrated British cinema. The film brought the wicker man into modern popular culture . In 1989, Shaffer wrote a script treatment for The Loathsome Lambton Worm , a direct sequel with fantasy elements. Hardy had no interest in the project, and it went unproduced. In 2006, a poorly received American remake starring Nicolas Cage
2666-598: The BBC . Postgate's initial BBC career was not solely concerned with Smallfilms. To gain experience, he accepted a contract as a television director in the BBC Children's Department in 1960, on a show entitled Little Laura , another animated series made on film, written and drawn by V. H. Drummond . The series continued in production until 1962, with Postgate credited also as animator on the 1962 series. He also wrote serials for long-running BBC children's programmes Blue Peter and stories for Vision On . Setting up
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2752-530: The BBC Radio 4 documentary Into The Music Library and presenting on BBC Two's The Culture Show . Trunk was the first dedicated film music DJ in the UK. HarperCollins published the Jonny Trunk book Dirty Fan Male in 2004. It subsequently became a Channel 4 documentary. He also writes for Vice , Record Collector , and Mojo . Working with art publishers FUEL Design, Jonny Trunk published
2838-542: The Harvard Film Archive . This print had previously been known as the "Middle Version" and was itself assembled from a 35 mm print of the original edit Robin Hardy had made in the United Kingdom in 1973, but which was never released. Robin Hardy believed that the original edit will probably never be found, saying, "Sadly, it seems as though this has been lost forever. However, I am delighted that
2924-488: The maypole , and place toads in their mouths to cure sore throats. The islanders appear to be trying to thwart his investigation by claiming that Rowan never existed. While Howie is staying at the Green Man Inn, the landlord's daughter attempts to seduce him, but he resists, explaining that he is engaged and saving himself for marriage. He notices a series of photographs celebrating the annual harvest, each featuring
3010-533: The wicker man into modern popular culture . In recent times, a wicker man has been burnt at festivals such as Burning Man in the United States, and the former Wickerman Festival in Scotland. In 1998, Swedish black metal band Marduk used a line from this film on the introduction to the track "Slay The Nazarene" from the album Nightwing . In 2000, British heavy metal band Iron Maiden released
3096-461: The 1965 series The Pogles , which BBC management felt was too frightening for the intended audience, and led to their asking for a change of direction: resulting in a revised show, and a change of name to Pogles' Wood . Postgate had strict views regarding storylines, which perhaps limited the possibilities for series development. When asked if the Clangers adventures were quite surreal sometimes, Postgate replied: "They're surreal but logical. I have
3182-463: The 1980 film Breaker Morant and the 1980s TV series The Equalizer . After Shaffer saw her on the stage, he lured Diane Cilento out of semi-retirement to play the town's schoolmistress. (They lived together in Queensland from 1975, and married in 1985). Ingrid Pitt , another British horror film veteran, was cast as the town librarian and registrar. Swedish actress Britt Ekland was cast as
3268-485: The 1980s and 1990s. This video includes additional early scenes set inside Howie's police station, which Hardy had left out of the 1979 restoration. In 2001, a remaster of the 88-minute cut was released on VHS, labelled as the "Theatrical Version". In 2001, the film's new world rights owners, Canal+ , tried to release the full-length film. Corman's copy had been lost, but a telecine transfer to 1-inch videotape existed. Missing elements were combined with film elements from
3354-575: The 20th century. In 1957, Postgate was appointed a stage manager with Associated-Rediffusion , the company that then held the commercial weekday television franchise for London. Attached to the children's programming section, he thought he could do better with the relatively low budgets of the then black and white television productions. He wrote Alexander the Mouse , a story about a mouse born to be king. Using an Irish-produced magnetic system - on which animated characters were magnetically attached to
3440-581: The American film magazine Cinefantastique devoted a commemorative issue to the film, asserting that the film is "the Citizen Kane of horror movies" – an oft-quoted phrase attributed to this issue. Decades after its release, the film still receives positive reviews from critics and is considered one of the best films of 1973 . At the film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes , The Wicker Man holds an 90% "Fresh" rating based on 61 reviews, with
3526-470: The Christian ministers fled to the mainland. Exhuming the grave, Howie finds that the coffin contains only the carcass of a hare. He also finds the missing harvest photograph, showing Rowan standing amidst empty boxes; the harvest had failed. His research reveals that a human sacrifice is offered to the gods in the event of crop failure. He concludes that Rowan is alive and will soon be sacrificed to ensure
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3612-520: The Mouse , Postgate agreed a deal to make his next series on film, for a budget of £175 per programme (a minuscule amount even at that time). Making a stop motion animation table in his bedroom, he wrote the Chinese serial The Journey of Master Ho : a formal Chinese epic, about a small boy and a water-buffalo. This was intended for deaf children, a distinct advantage in that the production required no soundtrack, which reduced production costs. He engaged
3698-557: The UK. His talks focus on the art of creativity based on nostalgia, enthusiasm and cunning. Trunk is also a regular broadcaster on London's art radio station Resonance FM . His long-running radio show OST has concentrated on film music, TV music, library music and related recordings since 2004 and is the only show of its kind on British radio. It has championed the work of François de Roubaix , Roger Roger (composer) , Krzysztof Komeda and many other obscure international soundtrack and library artists. Other recent broadcasting has included
3784-602: The animals burn to death as the head of the wicker man collapses in flames, revealing the setting sun. In the early 1970s, Christopher Lee was a Hammer Horror regular, best known for his roles in a series of successful films, beginning with The Curse of Frankenstein (as the monster , 1957). Lee wanted to break free of this image and take on more interesting acting roles. The idea for The Wicker Man film began in 1971 when Lee met with screenwriter Anthony Shaffer , and they agreed to work together. Film director Robin Hardy and British Lion head Peter Snell became involved in
3870-492: The business in a disused cowshed at Firmin's home in Blean near Canterbury , Kent, Postgate and Firmin made children's animation programmes, based on concepts that mostly originated from Postgate. Firmin did the artwork and built the models, whilst Postgate wrote the scripts, did the stop motion filming, and voiced many of the characters. Smallfilms was able to produce two minutes of TV-ready film per day, twelve times as much as
3956-399: The characters, and voiced many of the characters) and Peter Firmin (who made the models of the characters and drew the artwork). Several popular series of short films were made using stop-motion animation, including Clangers , Noggin the Nog and Ivor the Engine . Another Smallfilms production, Bagpuss , came top of a BBC poll to find the favourite British children's programme of
4042-496: The clifftops at Burrow Head in Wigtownshire . The amphibious aircraft that carries Sergeant Howie was a Thurston Teal , owned and flown in the aerial sequences by Christopher Murphy. According to Britt Ekland, some animals perished in the wicker man, whereas Robin Hardy said in an interview that great care was taken to ensure that the animals were in no danger of being hurt during this scene, and that they were not inside
4128-487: The company, Bentley needed to get a film into production quickly. This meant that although The Wicker Man was set in spring, filming actually began in October 1972; artificial leaves and blossoms had to be glued to trees in many scenes. The production was kept on a small budget. Christopher Lee was extremely keen to get the film made; he and others worked on the production without pay. While filming took place, British Lion
4214-527: The days when the number of UK television channels was restricted to two. Noggin the Nog was also remade in colour in 1982. However, only six episodes were produced, due to the BBC believing that Smallfilms’ work was “old-fashioned”. In 2000, Postgate and his friend Loaf set up a small publishing company called The Dragons Friendly Society, to look after Noggin the Nog , Pogles' Wood and Pingwings . After Postgate's death in December 2008, Smallfilms
4300-514: The disappearance of a young girl, Rowan Morrison, about whom he has received an anonymous letter. Howie, a devout Christian , is disturbed to find the Islanders paying homage to the pagan Celtic gods of their ancestors, with churches having fallen into disuse. They copulate openly in the fields, include children as part of the May Day celebrations , teach children of the phallic association of
4386-566: The document and letter archive of Mary Whitehouse based at the University of Essex , and made a deal with publishers Faber and Faber . The book based on this material, Ban This Filth! Letters From the Mary Whitehouse Archive (2012), was edited by Ben Thompson. 2014 saw the publication of "The Art Of Smallfilms", a book exploring the archives of Smallfilms and the world of Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin . The book
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#17327934580134472-537: The end of the film, " Sumer Is Icumen In ", is a mid-13th-century song about nature in spring. The film also gave its name to the Wickerman Festival , an annual music festival held near Auchencairn in Galloway. Dubbed "Scotland's Alternative Music festival", it began in 2001 when the festival's artistic director Sid Ambrose hit upon the idea of a local counterculture-based family-friendly festival due to
4558-545: The existing three cuts for a "4K Ultra HD Collector's Edition" release on 25 September 2023. On 21 June, the 4K restoration Final Cut was screened in cinemas across the UK along with a Q&A filmed in London, hosted by Edith Bowman with guests including Britt Ekland, and Robin Hardy's sons Julian and Dominic promoting their Wickermania! documentary. On 24 June, the Barbican Centre held "Musics from Summerisle",
4644-603: The film as a prime example of a short-lived subgenre he called " folk horror ", grouping it with 1968's Witchfinder General and 1971's The Blood on Satan's Claw . In 2003, the Crichton Campus of the University of Glasgow in Dumfries hosted a three-day conference on The Wicker Man , which resulted in the publication of two collections of papers about the film. In 2004, The Wicker Man ranked No, 45 on Bravo 's 100 Scariest Movie Moments . The film brought
4730-670: The film in drive-ins. It screened in the greater Atlanta area in May 1974. In Britain, the film was cut to roughly 87 minutes, with some narrative restructuring, and released as the "B" picture on a double bill with Don't Look Now . According to Lee, the cuts adversely affected the film's continuity . During the mid-1970s, Hardy made inquiries about the film, hoping to restore it to his original vision. Along with Lee and Shaffer, Hardy searched for his original cut, or raw footage. Both of these appeared to have been lost. Director Alex Cox said in his Moviedrome introduction in 1988 that
4816-587: The film was crystallised when he "finally hit upon the abstract concept of sacrifice." The image of the wicker man, which gave the filmmakers their title, was taken from the description of the practice of human sacrifice by the Gauls in Julius Caesar 's Commentaries on the Gallic War : "Others have figures of vast size, the limbs of which formed of osiers they fill with living men, which being set on fire,
4902-455: The film. Included are traditional songs, original compositions by Giovanni, and even a nursery rhyme, " Baa, Baa, Black Sheep ". " Willow's Song " has been covered or sampled by various rock music bands. It was first covered by an English musical project known as Nature and Organisation on their 1994 release Beauty Reaps the Blood of Solitude . It was covered by Sneaker Pimps as "How Do", and
4988-488: The film: "The Isle of Summer", "Summerisle Reprise", and "Sowilo Rune" In the film Shallow Grave , Ewan McGregor's character is shown watching the final scene, representing the building sense of doom the character is experiencing. The creators of The League of Gentlemen television series often reference the film in their work, particularly in the Inside No. 9 episode 'Mr King'. Smallfilms Smallfilms
5074-460: The films an instant parental engagement, and a later nostalgic revival amongst former children re-watching their favourite programmes. From October 2008 until 2013, production company Coolabi held the merchandising and distribution rights to a number of the Smallfilms productions. Coolabi hoped to introduce Bagpuss to a new generation, saying that there was "significant potential to build on
5160-543: The innkeeper's lascivious daughter, although two body doubles were used for her naked scenes below the waist. Ekland found out that she was three months pregnant with her son Nic, to Lou Adler , two weeks into filming. Stuart Hopps (the film's choreographer) called upon Lorraine Peters, a nightclub dancer from Glasgow, who gyrated at the doorway and against the wall of a bedroom in the fully nude "wall" scenes. Ekland's speaking and singing voices were dubbed by Annie Ross and Rachel Verney respectively. Local girl Jane Jackson
5246-427: The lost original cut, "I still believe it exists somewhere, in cans with no name. I still believe that. But nobody's ever seen it since, so we couldn't re-cut it, re-edit it, which was what I wanted to do. It would have been ten times as good". European distributors of the film StudioCanal began a Facebook campaign in 2013 to find missing material, which culminated in the discovery of a 92-minute 35 mm print at
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#17327934580135332-563: The macabre" with "the splendid performances typical of British films." Janet Maslin of The New York Times was more negative, calling it "handsomely photographed" with "good performances," but "something of a howl" even though "it seems to have been made in all seriousness." The Wicker Man initially had moderate success and won the Golden Licorn for Best Film at the 1974 Paris International Festival of Fantastic and Science-Fiction Film , but largely slipped into obscurity. In 1977
5418-435: The men perish enveloped in the flames." For Shaffer, this was "the most alarming and imposing image that I had ever seen." The idea of a confrontation between a modern Christian and a remote, pagan community continued to intrigue Shaffer, who performed painstaking research on paganism. Brainstorming with Hardy, they conceived the film as presenting the pagan elements objectively and accurately, accompanied by authentic music and
5504-488: The name Eve Vorley . The album contained amusing recitals of the fan mail they received, and was later turned into an award-winning live show and a book, with the album getting 4/5 stars from The Guardian . Trunk has also released his own material through the label, including his album The Inside Outside . Since 2003, Trunk has been responsible for the rediscovery of Basil Kirchin , by releasing his unknown 1960s experimental jazz and soundtrack work. " The Ladies' Bras ",
5590-488: The negative had "ended up in the pylons that support the M4 motorway ." Hardy recalled that a copy of the film made prior to Deeley's cuts was sent to Roger Corman, who, it turned out, still had it, possibly the only existing print of Hardy's original cut. The US rights had been sold by Warner Bros. to a small firm called Abraxas, managed by film buff Stirling Smith and critic John Alan Simon. Stirling agreed to an American release of
5676-442: The previous versions (in particular, additional scenes of Howie on the mainland were restored, showing him to be the object of gossip at his police station, establishing his devout religiosity). The extended DVD cut was released by Canal+ ( Anchor Bay Entertainment handling US DVD distribution) in this 99-minute hybrid, considered the longest and closest version to Hardy's original 100-odd minute version. A two-disc limited edition set
5762-514: The project. Shaffer had a series of conversations with Hardy, and the two decided that making a horror film centring on "old religion" would be fun, in sharp contrast to the Hammer films they had both seen as horror film fans. Shaffer read the David Pinner novel Ritual , in which a devout Christian policeman is called to investigate what appears to be the ritual murder of a young girl in
5848-482: The publication of Own Label, Sainsbury's Design Studio 1962 - 1977 . This book brought together a vast array of own label packaging developed and designed by the supermarket's in house studio. Conceived by Jonny Trunk and based on his memory of the 1975 Own Label Cornflake packet, the book brings some 400+ rare, period and often curious designs from the Sainsbury's Archive into the modern graphic world. Trunk licensed
5934-457: The rights to the novel, and Shaffer set to work on the screenplay. He soon decided that a direct adaptation would not work well, so drafted a new story based only loosely on the story of the novel. Shaffer wanted the film to be "a little more literate" than the average horror picture. He specifically wanted a film with a minimum of violence and gore. He was tired of seeing horror films that relied almost entirely on viscera to be scary. The focus of
6020-619: The shooting. Some of the opening flying shots feature the Isle of Skye , including the pinnacles of The Storr and the Quiraing . The interior cave scenes were filmed inside Wookey Hole in Somerset. Hush Heath Estate in Staplehurst , Kent , makes a brief appearance in the film, doubling as Lord Summerisle's orchard and gardens. The climax of the film was shot at St Ninian's Cave and on
6106-464: The soundtrack come from a later folk tradition; for example, "Corn Riggs", by Scotland's national bard, Robert Burns, accompanies Howie's arrival on Summerisle. The lyrics of this song were taken directly from the Burns song "The Rigs of Barley", but Giovanni used a very different tune. Burns' tune was based on "Corn Riggs", and altered to match his lyrics. The song sung by the cultists of Summerisle at
6192-546: The soundtrack were composed or arranged by Giovanni under the direction of Hardy and Shaffer, whose research into the oral folk tradition in England and Scotland was based largely on the work of Cecil Sharp , a "founding father" of the folk-revival movement of the early 20th century. Using Sharp's collections as a template, Shaffer noted to Giovanni which scenes were to have music, and in some cases provided lyrics, which would be appropriate to spring pagan festivals. Other songs on
6278-469: The surrounding area being inextricably linked with various locations used within The Wicker Man . It was held annually until 2015 at East Kirkcarswell Farm, Dundrennan. By the time of the film's completion, the studio had been bought by EMI, and British Lion was managed by Michael Deeley . The DVD commentary track states that studio executives suggested a more "upbeat" ending to the film, in which
6364-495: The unsuitability of the climate, and that the villagers will turn on Summerisle and sacrifice him next summer when the next harvest fails again, but his pleas are ignored. The villagers force Howie inside a giant wicker man statue along with various animals, set it ablaze, and surround it, singing the Middle English folk song " Sumer Is Icumen In ". Inside the wicker man, Howie recites Psalm 23 and prays to God. Howie and
6450-439: The wicker man when it was set on fire. The score was arranged, recorded and part composed by Paul Giovanni . According to Seamus Flannery in a subsequent documentary, director Robin Hardy surprised the cast by suddenly announcing midway through filming that they were making a " musical "; performed by Magnet (in some versions of the film credited as "Lodestone"), the soundtrack contains 13 folk songs performed by characters in
6536-510: The world's first and only book dedicated to the graphic art of production library music on Trunk Records. This book, known as The Music Library , was the first book to bring to the public the hidden art and design of vintage library recordings. The book was expanded in 2016. The original "Music Library" book was followed up in 2010 with Dressing for Pleasure in Rubber, Vinyl and Leather: The Best of Atomage 1972-1980 , about AtomAge . 2011 saw
6622-612: Was a week of test screenings at the Metropole Cinema London on 6 December 1973 ahead of the official public release in January 1974. It runs 87 minutes. A copy of a finished, 99-minute version was sent to American film producer Roger Corman in Hollywood to make a judgment of how to market the film in the U.S. Corman recommended an additional 13 minutes be cut from the film. Corman did not acquire U.S. release rights, and eventually Warner Bros. test-marketed
6708-425: Was also released on DVD on 13 October 2013. It is 91 minutes long, shorter than the director's cut but longer than the theatrical cut, and is known as The Wicker Man: The Final Cut . The Final Cut (UK) Blu-ray (2013) features short documentaries "Burnt Offering: The Cult of the Wicker Man", "Worshipping the Wicker Man", "The Music of the Wicker Man", interviews with director Robin Hardy and actor Christopher Lee,
6794-782: Was bought by EMI Films . The film was shot almost entirely in the small Scottish towns of Stranraer , Gatehouse of Fleet , Newton Stewart , Kirkcudbright , Anwoth and Creetown in Galloway , as well as Plockton in Ross-shire . Some scenes were filmed in and around the Isle of Whithorn , where the owners of the castle, Elizabeth McAdam McLaughland and David Wheatley, plus several other local people, featured in various scenes. Culzean Castle in Ayrshire and its grounds and Floors Castle in Roxburghshire were also used for
6880-483: Was employed as Ekland's stand-in for camera setups. Jackson was blonde-haired and bore a resemblance to Ekland but was otherwise not involved in any filming. The film was produced at a time of crisis for the British film industry. The studio in charge of production, British Lion Films, was in financial trouble and was bought by wealthy businessman John Bentley. To convince the unions that he was not about to asset strip
6966-479: Was inherited by his son Daniel. Universal took the distribution rights to the works of Smallfilms. Any such agreement does not include the materials published through The Dragons Friendly Society. In 2014, Daniel collaborated with Firmin on the production of a new series of Clangers , with Daniel writing many of the episodes. Postgate and Firmin recognised that their product was not sold to children, but to commissioning television executives. Postgate described in
7052-470: Was one of his favourite films and that the character of Howie was the best part he ever played. In addition to Lee's admiration of the final shot of the film (of the collapsing wicker man), Woodward said that it is the best final shot of any film ever made. In 2010 The Guardian newspaper ranked it as No 4 in its "25 best horror films of all time" listings. In his 2010 BBC documentary series A History of Horror , writer and actor Mark Gatiss referred to
7138-464: Was released, from which Hardy and others involved with the original have dissociated themselves. In 2011, a spiritual sequel written and directed by Hardy, The Wicker Tree , was released; it featured Lee in a cameo appearance. In 2013, the original U.S. theatrical version of The Wicker Man was digitally restored and released. On 29 April, Sergeant Neil Howie journeys by seaplane to the remote, verdant Hebridean island of Summerisle to investigate
7224-526: Was shot in Wales , and was edited as the standard pop version and a longer, more controversial Add N To XXX 45 minute version. Trunk has also held modern music and movement classes using vintage electronic recordings, issued official Tony Hart Vision On tee shirts and screenprints, ran action painting sessions to Ken Nordine 's colours, and regularly finds music for advertising, film and TV. In recent years Trunk has been lecturing at art colleges throughout
7310-422: Was sold with the shortened theatrical release, the new extended version and a documentary, The Wicker Man Enigma . In 2005, Inside the Wicker Man author Allan Brown revealed he had discovered stills taken on the set showing sequences from the script that had never been seen; it had never been certain that the scenes had been filmed. They include scenes where Howie closes a mainland pub open after hours, encounters
7396-486: Was taking hallucinogenic drugs". Firmin told Savage: "People used to say, 'Ooh, what's Oliver on, with all of these weird ideas?' And we used to say, 'He's on cups of tea and biscuits'". The Smallfilms system was reliant on the company's two key employees, Postgate and Firmin, and was devoid of modern considerations and essentials, as Postgate pointed out: "[We were] excused the interference of educationalists, sociologists and other pseudo-scientists, which produces eventually
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