Director's Cut

99 minutes long (1:39:14). 39:17 worth of music. 28:04 of dialogue, 31:06 not music or dialogue.

~1137 edits including the British Lion open and the slate thanking the islanders. The opening and closing credits roll over content so are included in that.

Longest shot: the Wicker Man head falling to reveal the sunset over which the credits roll, 1:29

Shortest shot: one of the shots where flames burn the Wicker Man, 10 frames.

Most shots are about 2 seconds! Most edits are 2-frame dissolves. Willow's song and the fire dance have longer dissolves. Very few scenes have abrupt cuts.

**Scenes**

- The mainland scenes are not in any other version. All of them except the church flashback are unique to this version, up to the plane taking off.

- Some of the shots of Howie flying to Summerisle are unique. See this blog for more info.

- The Landlord's Daughter has a third verse in this version. The others have only two. There are also two additional shots; the missing Harvest Festival photograph for 1972 and Alder standing by it (while the band picks a little more of The Landlord's Daughter) in this version only.

- This version has an additional shot of Howie walking around Rowan's grave hung with its natal string not in other versions.

- This version has a scene with Dr Ewan not in other versions.

- The scene where Howie bursts in on Lord Summerisle and Miss Rose singing after Howie and the Old Gardener dug up Rowan is longer in this version. We hear an additional verse of The Tinker Of Rye and it opens with a extreme close-up of organ stop knobs unique to this version.

- The darkroom scene has several shots unique to it when Howie develops the picture: flashbacks to his walk in the garden with Lord Summerisle and a shot of him pondering all this in the darkroom.

- Several shots during Willow’s dance are unique (the same shot edited really...). In the theatrical and Final Cut versions it starts with Howie praying by his bed. In the Director’s Cut, Howie is already in bed.

- Other versions have Willow bringing Howie some tea/breakfast in bed. This one does not have that scene.

- One reaction shot of the old woman in the library is unique. In the theatrical and Final Cut there are two reaction shots of her. In the Director's Cut only one. It comes after he reads, "The sacrifice was a human being." In the Director's Cut we see Rowan in the Harvest Festival photograph. In the theatrical and Final Cut, we see another reaction shot from the old woman.

- In other versions there is an establishing shot of Summerisle harbor after the library sequence and before Howie gets rowed out to his plane. Not this version.

- Only in this version, during the house search sequence, Howie visits a hairdresser's shop and walks up some outdoor steps, and falls down some indoor steps, surprising two women who are half-dressed. These two scenes happen after the girl falls out of the closet and before Howie barges in on the woman with the spinning wheel.

- One cutaway to Alder struggling being tied up is unique. There are two. The first is the same in all versions. The second one is unique and has a blooper of a crewman's leg stepping into the scene at the very end of it, in the lower left hand corner.

- Right after Howie and Rowan come out of the cave, there is a shot that is unique. Right after she says "It was worse than I remember it." there is a shot of Lord Summerisle, Miss Rose and Willow who are watching them from below. In the theatrical and Final Cut versions, there is a shot of the two of them from slightly below.

- This version has Howie speaking an additional Bible verse while in the Man: "Hold, ye husbandmen, because the harvest of your field hath perished and the vine is dried up and the apple tree languisheth!, Even all the trees of the field are withered..." The camera is on Howie as he reads this but ends with a POV shot of the crowd and Lord Summerisle making a large gesture with his arm to signal to the torchbearers. This shot of Lord Summerisle is repeated in this version.

Version summary

Music in this version

Locations in this version