The Wicker Man (1973) – Fantastical Fictions Silver Screen Sunday The Wicker Man (1973) Given that it’s the weekend that Hallowe’en falls on, it’s probably a good idea to explore a horror film. I’m not so sure that The Wicker Man falls neatly into that category, but it’s certainly chilling enough to warrant a mention. When police officer Neil Howie arrives on the fictional Scottish island of Summerisle to investigate the case of a missing girl, it is quickly apparent that something is afoot. The islanders deny all knowledge of her, and repeatedly mention the enigmatic Lord Summerisle as the figure of authority that Howie should seek out. Ignoring this, he continues his investigation and observes all manner of strange happenings. After learning that Summerisle’s inhabitants follow a pagan religion, we watch Howie’s growing discontent and disgust with the disrespect that flies in the face of his Christian values. The Wicker Man explores a great number of taboos, and Howie’s exaggerated outrage forces us to be the non-judgmental observer.

Given the 1970’s were the height of the ‘sexual revolution’, this might be why this cult classic resonated so well with audiences. The way that the arbitrariness of what is deemed sacred or sacrilege is presented to us makes us question what right Howie has, as an outsider, to intervene in the education of the island’s children and the rituals of its people. And yet we still feel so uncomfortable because of the conspiratorial nature of the missing girl, Rowan. The rituals still feel unnatural because something doesn’t feel right. We sympathise with Howie – the simple, God-fearing man – because he is desperately trying to understand the unknown in the same way that we are. “I think I could turn and live with animals. They are so placid and self-contained. They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins. They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God. Not one of them kneels to another or to his own kind that lived thousands of years ago.

Not one of them is respectable or unhappy, all over the earth.” – Lord Summerisle, The Wicker Man (1973) Of course, our suspicions are finally confirmed when we learn that the pagan ritual of sacrifice is to be invoked to stop the crops from failing again next year. Unfortunately for Howie, he is to be the sacrifice, and the seemingly innocent ‘missing’ Rowan is in on the plot too. This is where the line is drawn, and our uncomfortable tolerance becomes frightened anger. A willing sacrifice has the potential to be tolerated, but Howie’s screams of “O God! O Jesus!” as he is led to the eponymous Wicker Man make him an unwilling sacrifice, and make the islanders fanatical murderers. The film’s strength lies in its subversive nature. Within the plot, Christian Britain is subverted by Pagan Summerisle. Sex is celebrated instead of shamed, masks and idols are involved in worship, extravagant rituals are performed jovially rather than somberly. There are few overt horror archetypes – instead of dark Gothic settings of castles and forests, we are given a bright and beautiful Scottish isle.

The folk soundtrack to the film is perhaps the most obvious out-of-place element, where a more sinister soundtrack would seem more appropriate. But this subversion does exactly what it is supposed to. It keeps us on-edge, disturbed, confused, and worried for the entirety of the film. With Howie inside, the Wicker Man burns to the hails and songs of the islanders. It cracks and breaks, revealing the setting sun. The credits roll and the folk music plays. But the tension remains, left to dissipate naturally, if it can at all. Share this: The Wicker Man (1973) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error A police sergeant is sent to a Scottish island village in search of a missing girl whom the townsfolk claim never existed. Stranger still are the rites that take place there.

Director: a list of 24 titles created 15 Dec 2011 a list of 26 titles created 20 May 2012 a list of 43 titles created 21 Aug 2012 a list of 36 titles created 16 Apr 2014 a list of 40 titles created 11 Jun 2015 Title: The Wicker Man (1973) 7.6/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. 1 win & 6 nominations. See more awards » Videos A newcomer to a fancy ballet academy gradually comes to realize that the school is a front for something far more sinister and supernatural amidst a series of grisly murders. Director: Dario Argento A married couple grieving the recent death of their young daughter are in Venice when they encounter two elderly sisters, one of whom is psychic and brings a warning from beyond. Director: Nicolas Roeg A young couple move into an apartment, only to be surrounded by peculiar neighbors and occurrences.

When the wife becomes mysteriously pregnant, paranoia over the safety of her unborn child begins to control her life. Director: Roman Polanski Two siblings visit their grandfather's grave in Texas along with three of their friends and are attacked by a family of cannibalistic psychopaths. Director: Tobe Hooper Mysterious deaths surround an American ambassador. Could the child that he is raising actually be the Antichrist? The Devil's own son? Director: Richard Donner A sex-repulsed woman who disapproves of her sister's boyfriend sinks into depression and has horrific visions of rape and violence. Director: Roman Polanski Mourning his dead child, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to discover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusion, and perception of death. Director: Adrian Lyne Two American college students on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists. Director: John Landis Following an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia S.W.A.T. team members, a traffic reporter, and his television executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.

Director: George A. Romero There is panic throughout the nation as the dead suddenly come back to life. The film follows a group of characters who barricade themselves in an old farmhouse in an attempt to remain safe from these flesh eating monsters. Director: George A. Romero When a teenage girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter. Director: William Friedkin A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong. Director: David Cronenberg Edit Storyline Sgt. Howie travels to Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. He discovers that the locals are weird and unhelpful, and becomes determined to get to the bottom of the disappearance. Written by Sean Taylor <st52@cornell.edu> ...A totally corrupt shocker from the author of "Sleuth" and "Frenzy"! See more » Genres: June 1975 (USA) See more » Also Known As: El culto siniestro See more » Filming Locations: $5,493 (USA) (27 September 2013) Gross: Did You Know?

Trivia As filming occurred between October and November, there were no trees in blossom. The trees in the scenes with the pregnant women had to be brought in and were all handmade. Edward Woodward admitted one of the memories of filming that stuck out in his mind was watching the trees being brought in on the back of a truck as he had never seen anything like it. See more » Goofs In the scene where Howie questions the Doctor about Rowan Morrison's death certificate, the Doctor is seen to open his front door and step partly inside. The shot cuts away, and when it cuts back to the Doctor his front door is shut. He opens it again and goes in. See more » Quotes See more » Crazy Credits [Short Version only] A message from the producers thanks "The Lord Summerisle and the people of his island" for co-operating in the making of the film. This is despite both the lord and the island being totally fictitious. See more » Connections (London) – See all my reviews A quite unique and very creative mystery horror. Superb acting from Edward Woodward as the prim Seargant Howie, and Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle.

Fascinating from start to finish and a real twister of a plot that keeps you hooked right until the final twenty minutes, what appears at first sight to be an innocent search for a missing girl turns into a fascinating exploration of pagan rituals on a remote and sex obsessed Scottish island. One of the best elements of the film is the classic early 70's folk soundtrack which gives indication of how the era in which this was filmed influenced the subject matter. Definitely not a 'horror' in the true sense of the word, but more mysterious and chilling than any gore-fest. A quality piece of cinema! 67 of 81 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Last residents leave the islands that inspired The Wicker Man - Deadline News Deadline News 206 THE SCOTTISH islands that inspired cult pagan film The Wicker Man have lost their last permanent residents. Tanera Mor in the Summer Isles was the last inhabited island in the group until the owners recent move to the mainland. The group of 17 islands, set amid the breathtaking, rugged beauty of Scotland’s north west coast, were home to more than 100 people a little over a century ago.

The young family that lived on, and owned Tanera Mor, were the last to call the Summer Isles their permanent home. Lizzie Williams married her husband, Richard, on Tanera Mor are trying to sell the island and its holiday cottage business and have already cut the price by £500,000. The Summer Isles were first occupied by the Vikings As well as losing its permanent population, the island boasted one of the few private postal services in the UK, which could also be under threat. The fictional west coast Scottish island of Summerisle was the setting for the 1973 film The Wicker Man. The cult film followed a sergeant investigating the report of a missing child and who comes across the island’s strange pagan rituals. The Summer Isles were first occupied by the Vikings and, at the end of the 19th Century, were home to 120 residents and a thriving herring industry. Tanera Mor – at 1.2 miles wide and 1.6 miles long – is the biggest of the islands and still attracts around 5,000 visitors a year. But the number of residents began to plummet after the First World War and great depression. The Williams lived there with a baby and toddler.

Mrs Williams was reluctant to comment, saying only: “My parents bought the island in the 1996. My husband and I run the island together. We now all live on the mainland.” Tanera Mor is accessed by boat from the village of Achiltibuie in Wester Ross. It has been on the market since May 2013 and the price was reduced this year from £2.5 m to offers over £1,950,000. The price includes its very own approved postal service and licence to design and issue private Summer Isles postage stamps, much sought after by collectors. An example of one of the stamps made for the Summer Isles This was the first year since her parents bought the island no new stamps were designed Mrs Williams explained. “For 15 or more years we have done an issue every year,” she said. Commenting on if there will be a new stamp for 2015 she said: “We’ll struggle.” The unique traditions and histories of the Summer Isles inspired the cult pagan film The Wicker Man. Priest Island, the outermost and most exposed of the Summer Isles, is reported to have been home to an early christian retreat with mysterious stone circles.

While Isle Martin, the closest of the islands to Ullapool, is named after St. Martin, who is said to have established a monastery there at about 300 AD. The island was once home to workers from a flour mill that operated in the 1940 but has been uninhabited for many years. Depopulation has been an ongoing issue for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland for decades. The Western Isles, 40 miles across the Minch from the Summer Isles, has the largest Scottish island population but struggles with falls in the number of people living there. Between 1998-2008, according to the General Register Office for Scotland, the population declined by almost 5%. TAGS What a wonderful beautiful island. it would be wonderful if it could be bought by witches from Scotland, England and Europe. Map of The Wicker Man (1973 film) - The Full Wiki The Full Wiki The Wicker Man (1973 film): Map Wikipedia article: Map showing all locations mentioned on Wikipedia article: The Wicker Man is a 1973 British horror film , combining thriller , existential horror and musical genres, directed by Robin Hardy and written by Anthony Shaffer .

The film stars Edward Woodward , Christopher Lee , Diane Cilento , Ingrid Pitt and Britt Ekland . Paul Giovanni composed the soundtrack. The film is now considered a cult classic . Based very loosely on David Pinner's 1967 novel The Ritual, the story is about a Scottish police officer, Sergeant Neil Howie, visiting the isolated island of Summerisle to search for a missing girl who the locals claim never existed. The inhabitants of Summerisle all celebrate a reconstructed form of Celtic paganism , which appalls the devoutly Christian Sergeant. The Wicker Man is generally well regarded by critics and film enthusiasts. Film magazine Cinefantastique described it as "The Citizen Kane of Horror Movies", and during 2004 the magazine Total Film named The Wicker Man the sixth greatest British film of all time. It also won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film . A scene from this film was #45 on Bravo 's 100 Scariest Movie Moments . The work was later allocated as the first film of The Wicker Man Trilogy , with a sequel entitled The Wicker Tree, based on the book Cowboys for Christ by Robin Hardy, currently in production.

A third film, The Twilight of the Gods, is set for a later release. A badly-received 2006 American remake has also been produced, from which Robin Hardy and other people associated with the original disassociated themselves. A stage adaptation was attempted at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2009, but the project fell through. Plot Police Sergeant Neil Howie is sent an anonymous letter recommending that he investigate the disappearance of a young girl, Rowan Morrison, on the remote Hebridean island of Summerisle (a fictional island apparently inspired by the real-life Summer Isles of the Inner Hebrides ). He flies to the island and during his investigations discovers that the entire population celebrates a Celtic neo-pagan cult , believing in re-incarnation , worshipping the sun and engaging in fertility rituals and sexual magic in order to appease immanent natural forces. Howie, a celibate devout Christian , becomes increasingly disturbed by the islanders' behaviour. In the original uncut version of the film, he witnesses couples copulating in the church yard, in addition to finding a naked woman sobbing on a grave.

He angrily threatens to involve the authorities after discovering the school mistress ( Diane Cilento ) is teaching young girls about the phallic importance of the maypole . Amulets such as the hag stone, toad stone, and snail stone, and the supposed cure of the whooping cough by placing a toad in a child's mouth, closely resemble descriptions found in the book Animal Simples. Howie finds himself attracted strongly to Willow, the sexually liberated daughter of the landlord. In the restored director's cut of the film, Lord Summerisle refers to Willow as Aphrodite when presenting her with a young male adolescent to seduce. Howie cannot help but overhear their passionate lovemaking. To compound matters, Willow tries to seduce him the following night, dancing naked and beating upon his bedroom wall, but Howie resists the torment because he does not believe in sex before marriage. After interviewing many of the islanders - all of whom claim never to have heard of Rowan Morrison - Howie calls upon the island's owner Lord Summerisle ( Christopher Lee ), who is the island's magistrate . Howie hopes Summerisle will assist him with his inquiries. However, Summerisle counteracts the policeman's arguments robustly.

After Howie objects to the sight of naked girls jumping over a fire hoping for supernatural impregnation, he reminds him that Jesus was "Himself the son of a virgin, impregnated - I believe - by a ghost". When Howie accuses the laird of advocating pagan beliefs, Summerisle responds by saying "A heathen conceivably, but not, I hope, an unenlightened one". Crucially, Lord Summerisle talks of appeasing and propitiating "the old gods". The policeman leaves after obtaining the laird's permission to exhume the body of Rowan Morrison from a grave in the island's unconsecrated church yard. In the coffin, he discovers the fresh corpse of a hare , an animal with well-known supernatural connotations. After breaking into the local chemist to develop missing film proving Rowan's existence, Howie experiences an epiphany . He realizes that Rowan is still alive and that the islanders are proposing to "appease" the old gods by making a Mayday sacrifice. He assumes that she is to be the intended sacrifice, whereupon he instigates a search of the island. Howie does not receive any assistance in his quest from the islanders.

Failing to discover where Rowan is hidden, Howie disguises himself as Punch , a principal character of the May Day festival, hoping to strike at the root of the mystery. He joins the bizarre procession of islanders as they cavort through the town and up to the cliffs. After he survives a sword-beheading ceremony, Rowan is finally revealed. Howie grabs her and flees through a cave but emerges at the other end on a precipice where Lord Summerisle and his followers await. Lord Summerisle then reveals that Rowan's disappearance was all an elaborate hoax conspired by everyone on the island to bring Howie to them. Howie, not Rowan, is the intended sacrifice, and the islanders believe his death will restore the fertility of their orchards. Villagers prepare the Wicker Man for Sgt. Howie. Lord Summerisle and his followers explain to him that his sacrifice will be effective because Howie came to them of his own free will; as a virgin; with the power of a king (by representing the law); and as a fool ("You are the Fool, Mr. Howie: Punch, one of the great fool-victims in history!

For you have accepted the role of King-For-A-Day, and who but a Fool would do that?" asks the school mistress, referring to the way that Howie has conducted his investigations). Howie in turn admonishes them, claiming that killing him will not restore their fertility and that they all would be guilty of murder. He argues that if the crops fail next year they will have to sacrifice Summerisle. Lord Summerisle asserts that Howie's sacrifice will prove efficacious. The policeman is dragged screaming into the belly of a large hollow wicker statue of a man which is subsequently ignited.In the final scene of the film, the islanders surround the burning wicker man and sing the Middle English folk-song " Sumer Is Icumen In " while the terrified Howie shouts out Psalm 23 . The film ends with the Wicker Man engulfed in flames, and collapsing in front of the setting sun. Background & production Christopher Lee was well known as a Hammer Films regular, in particular playing Dracula in a series of successful films.

At the time, Lee wanted to expand his acting roles, and collaborated with British Lion head Peter Snell and playwright Anthony Shaffer (already well known for Sleuth ) to develop a film based on the David Pinner novel. Though the book was all but completely abandoned (all that survived from Pinner's book into the finished film is the scene in which Howie presses himself against his bedroom wall as a means of communing with the siren -like calls of Willow next door), the idea of an idealistic confrontation between a modern Christian and a remote, pagan community continued to intrigue Shaffer, who performed painstaking research on the topic. Brainstorming with director Robin Hardy, the film was conceived as presenting the pagan elements objectively and accurately, accompanied by authentic music and a believable, contemporary setting. Television actor Edward Woodward was cast in the role of the policeman after the part was declined by both Michael York and David Hemmings . In Britain Woodward was best know for the role of Callan , which he played from 1967 to 1972. He came to international attention portraying the title character of the 1980 Australian film Breaker Morant .

(American audiences probably know Woodward best for his role in the 1980s CBS TV series The Equalizer .) Diane Cilento was lured out of semi-retirement after Shaffer saw her on the stage to play the town's schoolmistress, and Ingrid Pitt (another British horror film veteran) was cast as the town librarian and registrar. The Swedish actress Britt Ekland was cast as the innkeeper's lascivious daughter (perhaps for box office appeal), though her singing and possibly all her dialogue was redubbed by Annie Ross , and some of her nude dancing was performed by a double called Jane Jackson who lived in Castle Douglas at the time. 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 the company, Bentley needed to get a film into production quickly. This meant that The Wicker Man, a film set during spring, was actually filmed in October: artificial leaves and blossoms had to be glued to trees in many scenes. The scenes at Culzean Castle were filmed during February, 1972.

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 was bought by EMI Films . The film was filmed almost entirely in the small Scottish towns of Gatehouse of Fleet Michael Russell as Second Urchin Distribution By the time of the film's completion the studio had been bought by EMI , and British Lion was now managed by Michael Deeley . The DVD commentary track states that studio executives suggested a more "upbeat" ending to the film, in which 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 approximately 20 minutes of scenes on the mainland, early investigations, and (to Lee's disappointment) some of Lord Summerisle's initial meeting with Howie. A copy of a finished, 99 minute film was sent to American film producer Roger Corman in Hollywood to make a judgment of how to market the film in the USA. Corman recommended an additional 13 minutes be eliminated from the film. (Corman did not acquire US release rights, and eventually Warner Bros.

test-marketed the film in drive-ins.) In Britain, the film was ordered reduced to roughly 87 minutes, with some narrative restructuring, and released as the "B" picture on a double bill with Don't Look Now . Despite Lee's claims that the reduction had disturbed the film's continuity , he urged local critics to see the film, even going so far as to offer to pay for their seats. Restorations The film was restored and re-released theatrically in 1979. 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 version or raw footage. Both of these appeared to have been lost. Alex Cox said that the negative "ended up in the pylons that support the M4 motorway " in his Moviedrome introduction of 1988. Hardy remembered that a copy of the film, prior to Deeley's cuts, was sent to Roger Corman; it turned out that Corman still had a copy, possibly the only existing print of Hardy's version. The US rights had been sold by Warner Bros.

to a small firm called Abraxas, managed by film buff Stirling Smith and critic John Simon . Stirling agreed to an American re-release of Hardy's reconstructed version. Hardy restored the narrative structure, some of the erotic elements which had been excised, and a very brief pre-title segment of Howie on the mainland (appearing at a church with his fiancée). A 96 minute restored version was released January, 1979, again to critical acclaim. Strangely, the original full-length film was available in the US on VHS home video from Media Home Entertainment (and later, Magnum) during the 1980s and 1990s. This video included additional, early scenes in Howie's police station that Hardy had left out of the 1979 version. During 2001 the film's new worldwide rights owners, Canal+ , began an effort to release the full-length film. Corman's full-length film copy had been lost, but a telecine transfer to 1-inch videotape existed. With this copy, missing elements were combined with film elements from the previous versions.

(In particular, additional scenes of Howie on the mainland were restored, showing the chaste bachelor to be the object of gossip at his police station, and establishing his rigidly devout posture.) The DVD "Extended version" released by Canal+ (with Anchor Bay Entertainment handling US DVD distribution) is this hybrid version, considered the longest and closest version to Hardy's original, 99 minute version of the film. A two-disc limited edition set was sold with both the shortened, theatrical release version and the newly restored extended version, and a retrospective documentary, The Wicker Man Enigma. During 2005, Inside The Wicker Man author Allan Brown revealed he had discovered a series of stills taken on-set during the film's production showing the shooting of a number of sequences from the script that had never been seen before; indeed, it had never been certain that these scenes had actually been filmed. They include a scene in which Howie closes a mainland pub that is open after-hours, has an encounter with a prostitute, receives a massage from Willow McGregor and observes a brutal confrontation between Oak and a villager in The Green Man pub. These images might be featured in a revised edition of the book Inside The Wicker Man.

Anchor Bay Entertainment released a limited edition wooden box of The Wicker Man. 50,000 2-disk sets were made, and 20 of them were signed by actors Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward, writer Anthony Shaffer, producer Peter Snell, and director Robin Hardy. Reception The Wicker Man had moderate success and won first prize in the 1974 Festival of Fantastic Films in Paris , but largely slipped into obscurity. However, the American film magazine, Cinefantastique , devoted a commemorative issue to the film in 1977 — the praise that the film is "the Citizen Kane of horror movies" has been attributed to this issue. During 2003 the Crichton Campus of the University of Glasgow in Dumfries and Galloway hosted a three-day conference on The Wicker Man. The conference spawned two collections of articles about the film. During 2006, The Wicker Man ranked 44th in the Scariest Movie Moments Of All Time on Bravo Wicker Man starlet Britt Ekland appeared (recorded live) on the British TV show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on BBC1 on Feb 1, 2008.

Ross described the movie as one of his "all time favourites" and the BBC show also screened the infamous "wall-slapping" clip from The Wicker Man. Britt explained that she had refused to dance fully naked in the scene (though she did appear topless) because she had then recently discovered that she was pregnant, and said she later found out that the body double used for the scene was "a Glasgow stripper". The Wicker Man ranks 485th on Empire magazine 's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time. Soundtrack An important and often overlooked element to the film is the soundtrack, which often forms a major component of the narrative, just as with other important 'arthouse' films from that era such as Nicholas Roeg 's Performance . Memorable songs accompany all of the crucial scenes i.e. the plane's arrival, Willow's dancing, the maypole dance, the girls jumping through fire, the search of the houses and the final burning scene. Indeed, director Robin Hardy surprised the cast by suddenly announcing midway through filming that they were making a "musical" (as per Ingrid Pitt in a subsequent documentary).

Composed, arranged and recorded by Paul Giovanni and Magnet , the soundtrack contains folk songs performed by characters in the film. The songs vary between traditional songs, original Giovanni compositions and even nursery rhyme in " Baa, Baa, Black Sheep ". “ Willow's Song ” has been covered or sampled by various rock music bands. It was covered by the Sneaker Pimps as "How Do", and can be heard in the movie Hostel (2006). The song is included also in their 1996 release "Becoming X". Additionally, the band has also covered "Gently Johnny" as "Johnny" and is featured as a B-Side on their "Roll On" (1996) single. It should be noted that the songs on the soundtrack were not, as some have said, actual cult songs used by pagans. All the songs were composed by Paul Giovanni, except in instances where he used well-known lyrics such as the words from the rhyme "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep".

The song sung by the cultists of Summer Isle at the end of the film, " Sumer Is Icumen In " is a real song from the mid-13th century, but is not about Pagan rites as such. It is instead a song about Spring, or the Crucifixion if using the Latin words. The Memory Band performed The Wicker Man at Glastonbury at 2pm on Saturday 27th June, onThe Park Stage, Glastonbury Festival 2009. The Memory Band featured Dot Allison, Adem, Hannah Caughlin and Liam Bailey from The Accidental, Jess Roberts, Joe Goddard from Hot Chip, John Smith, Tom Page, Rob Spriggs, Quinta, Sarah Scutt and Sarah Campbell and Dan Gibbons from East London Brass + special guests. Remake An American remake, starring Nicolas Cage and Ellen Burstyn and directed by Neil LaBute was released on 1 September 2006. Robin Hardy expressed concern about the remake. Subsequent to its release, Hardy simply described it as a different film rather than a remake. The remake was panned both critically and commercially.

Today it has a significant cult following as an unintentional comedy , with several scenes on YouTube boasting Cage brutalizing various women throughout and terrorizing children, a fan-made comedy trailer of the film, and more. Hardy is filming a "spiritual sequel" to The Wicker Man, which has previously gone under the working titles May Day Riding the Laddie and Cowboys for Christ and is now referred to as The Wicker Tree . Hardy has already published this story as a novel. First announced during April 2000, filming on the project was commenced on 19th July 2009 according to iMDb. It follows two young American Christian evangelists who travel to Scotland; like Woodward's character in The Wicker Man, the two Americans are virgins who encounter a pagan laird and his followers. See also Last permanent residents leave Summer Isles for the mainland (From HeraldScotland) Last permanent residents leave Summer Isles for the mainland A SCOTTISH island has lost its last permanent residents. Tanera Mor in the Summer Isles was the last inhabited island in the group until the owners recent move to the mainland.

The group of 17 islands, set amid the breathtaking, rugged beauty of Scotland's north west coast, were home to more than 100 people a little over a century ago. Loading article content The young family that lived on, and owned Tanera Mor, were the last to call the Summer Isles their permanent home. Lizzie Williams married her husband, Richard, on Tanera Mor are trying to sell the island and its holiday cottage business and have already cut the price by £500,000. As well as losing its permanent population, the island boasted one of the few private postal services in the UK, which could also be under threat. The fictional west coast Scottish island of Summerisle was the setting for the 1973 film The Wicker Man. The cult film followed a sergeant investigating the report of a missing child and who comes across the island's strange pagan rituals. The Summer Isles were first occupied by the Vikings and, at the end of the 19th century, were home to 120 residents and a thriving herring industry.

Tanera Mor - at 1.2 miles wide and 1.6 miles long - is the biggest of the islands and still attracts around 5,000 visitors a year. But the number of residents began to plummet after the First World War and great depression. the Williams' lived there with a baby and toddler. Mrs Williams was reluctant to comment, saying only: "My parents bought the island in the 1996. My husband and I run the island together. We now all live on the mainland." Tanera Mor is accessed by boat from the village of Achiltibuie in Wester Ross. It has been on the market since May 2013 and the price was reduced this year from £2.5m to offers over £1,950,000. The price includes its very own approved postal service and licence to design and issue private Summer Isles postage stamps, much sought after by collectors. This was the first year since her parents bought the island no new stamps were designed Mrs Williams explained. "For 15 or more years we have done an issue every year," she said.

Commenting on if there will be a new stamp for 2015 she said: "We'll struggle." The unique traditions and histories of the Summer Isles inspired the cult pagan film The Wicker Man. Priest Island, the outermost and most exposed of the Summer Isles, is reported to have been home to an early Christian retreat with mysterious stone circles. The island was once home to workers from a flour mill that operated in the 1940s but has been uninhabited for many years. Tanera Mor private island for sale for $2 million Looking to buy your own island? This one's for sale ‹ Photo: Tim Winterburn Looking for a unique gift for that extra-special someone? Or a new home for a small community? Consider Tanera Mór, a private, self-sufficient island that's for sale in Scotland's northwest coast. The island — that was the setting for the 1973 popular film "The Wicker Man" — has a breathtaking, rugged landscape. Tanera Mór is the last inhabited island of the 17-island Summer Isles archipelago. The owners are taking offers from £1.95 million.

That works out to $2,379,567 for the 760-acre landmass, which is about 1.2 miles wide and about 1.6 miles long. On the market since 2013, the island is also available as three subdivided lots, each with its own jetty and houses. Lot 1 is 231 acres and selling for just over £700,000 (about $850,000). Lot 2 is 196 acres and is priced at £430,000 (about $523,000). Lot 3 is 333 acres and priced at £820,000 (about $997,000). It comes with two additional small islands and a tidal island. Owners Lizzie and Richard Williams married on the island and lived there until recently. Lizzie's parents purchased the island in 1996 and passed the property to their three children in 2010. In 2014, when Lizzie and Richard Williams, the last year-round residents, moved out, the Summer Isles officially became uninhabited.

Here's a look at the island and what it has to offer. A rich history Photo: Tom Baker Tanera Mór is the main island of the Summer Isles archipelago, located about 1.5 miles from the mainland of northwestern Scotland. The fictional island in the 1973 cult classic "The Wicker Man," called Summerisle, is said to be inspired by these islands. The islands' histories include the Vikings, stone circles and a monastery dating back to 300 AD. Natural wonders and wildlife Photo: Tim Winterburn A main attraction of this island is its natural beauty. Tanera Mór features multiple beaches, cliffs and coves over its approximately 7 miles of coastline. The Williams have worked to restore its ecosystem by planting more than 164,000 native-species trees over 15 years. And the more recent lack of sheep has allowed other plant life to thrive. Situated on the warm Gulf Stream, the island is a good location for spotting dolphins, porpoises and basking sharks. It's also a rest stop for wildlife headed elsewhere. Birders can watch for seabirds, including Arctic terns, great northern divers, grebes and little auks.

(Much more on the wildlife here .) Tanera Mor is also featured in the Scottish Wildlife Trust's first snorkel trail and has views of the aurora borealis. Traditional stone cottages Photo: Tim Winterburn The island's nine houses are mostly traditional stone-built cottages, with the current housing stock capable of sustaining a population of about 30. Two of the habitations have broadband service, and another has landline telephone service. Historic jetties Photo: Tim Winterburn The Summer Isles weren't ever very populated, with about 120 residents just over a century ago. Many of those long-ago residents were employed by a once-robust herring trade . Tanera Mór's historic stone pier and former herring curing station are both grade B listed on the United Kingdom's Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. Historic structures Photo: Tim Winterburn Other structures include the old schoolhouse (the island's largest structure), a cafe and a post office (set up in a former boathouse) and the former herring curing station, as well as a shed that is rented to an offshore fish farm. The Tanera Mór post office has been operational since 1970.

Its Summer Isles stamps, often depicting wildlife of the island, are prized by philatelists. Renewable energy Photo: Tim Winterburn There are two 1-kilowatt wind turbines on the island and other off-grid features, like a freshwater treatment plant, diesel generators, inverter and battery arrays to provide electricity. One feature the island doesn't have: roads. Sailing, swimming and fishing Photo: Tim Winterburn The obvious potential use for the island is reviving and claiming a heaping portion of its established holiday use, which is continued today in the form of cruises to the Summer Isles . Popular activities include swimming, boating, diving and fishing for mackerel, cod, pollock, coal fish and ling. › Colleen Kane, special to CNBC.com Friday, 18 Nov 2016 | 8:57 AM ET

Question: What is the fictional Scottish island setting of the 1973 film The Wicker Man?
Answer: Summerisle