The Wicker Man (1973).

Review #2289: The Wicker Man.

Cast: 

Edward Woodward (Sgt. Neil Howie), Christopher Lee (Lord Summerisle), Britt Ekland (Willow MacGregor; Annie Ross as voice and Rachel Verney as singing voice), Lesley Mackie (Daisy), Diane Cilento (Miss Rose), Ingrid Pitt (Librarian), Lindsay Kemp (Alder MacGregor), Ian Campbell (Oak), Russell Waters (Harbour Master), and Aubrey Morris (Old Gardener/Gravedigger) Directed by Robin Hardy.

Review: 

"When you get into The Wicker Man, Tony and I decided to do a film which was kind of a reverse Hammer film -- a Hammer film which was actually about, or used, the reality of all the witchcraft nonsense that Hammer had used. And there we decided to do a story which used the old religion as part of a game -- in other words: if you could understand that the clues we littered about the script were telling you that we were in a pagan world, then you started to realize and indeed dread what was going to happen."

Sure, you never really know what is going on in the eyes of certain religious folk. The genesis for what became this film was a desire by Christopher Lee to make something different from the Hammer films that he had been doing for over a decade. He met with Anthony Schaffer (the writer of Frenzy and Sleuth) and came to an idea to work together. Robin Hardy, who had a film company partnership with Shaffer for over a decade (where he did commericals and information films), became involved as a director. In 1971, the rights to the 1967 novel Ritual, as written by David Pinner (he had turned it from an intended film treatment to a novel) were purchased; as Pinner put it, "the basic idea and the structure" of his book is in The Wicker Man, albeit with less humor; one piece of research Shaffer used was James George Frazer's The Golden Bough. Owing to the situation of the studio behind the film (i.e. a buyout), different versions of the film persisted: the original release was 87 minutes after trimming was forced upon Hardy. The movie received a few notices even with limited press, but one magazine soon called it "the Citizen Kane of horror movies". In 2013, "The Final Cut", apparently the most complete version possible of the film intended by Hardy (read further about the weird history here). Hardy returned to write and direct a film thirteen years later with The Fantasist (1986) before serving as writer for The Bulldance [1989]. Shaffer apparently wrote an idea for a follow-up film in "The Loathsome Lambton Worm", which would've somehow involved considerable effects sequences and basically undoing the ending of the first film.  An American rendition of the Wicker Man was released in 2006 to a distinct reception from anyone who saw it, you might say. That same year, Hardy's novel Cowboys for Christ was published that dealt in similar ideas of paganism and Christianity with American interlopers. Five years later, it served as the basis for the 2011 film The Wicker Tree, which was directed by Hardy with a cameo appearance by Lee. He attempted to make a third film but nothing came out of it prior to his death in 2016 at the age of 86.

You really do have to just go with the film with as little to know as possible, which is amusing to say for a film where the one big shot of the film is so hard to forget. The horror that comes out in a film like this is one of sacrifice where the clues really are just in sight for those who look beyond saying the obvious about man and their devotion to a power beyond themselves. The film is all about people who have a reverence for the music (yes, really) and the rituals of an old one that requires a love and fear relationship with nature and to appease it when the time is right in ways that simply clash when it comes to the reckoning of sacrifice. You know how much Christopher Lee loved doing this film? He actually did the film for free, complete with doing a publicity tour all about getting critics to see and talk about the film. Lee plays the game with all of the air required of an actor with commitment and pride required that demands he play it right to the bone of someone who you really believe could live among the animals. Leader and devotee, his charisma may be at its peak here. Woodward was cast because after the role was rejected by David Hemmings and Michael York. His commitment (and subsequent appreciation of the film) is quite apparent for a role that with a lesser actor would've been just played it completely for bland rigidness, but he manages to come off completely fascinating because of just what we see in his reaction to the place around him in matching dedicated belief, particularly with the sequence between him and Lee about the practices of the island and which gods are alive in the modern parlance. The rest of the cast does well in selling the devotion needed for a film that doesn't play anyone out as just a kook but instead lets it all out (some with more flesh than others). The ending is the perfect way to close it all out in the logical conclusion of trying to tie the community all the way together in faith, complete with one great last shot in the sun. It is a devilishly unnerving movie to see play out and while I'm not sure if it is my favorite Lee film, I sure can see why he was all in on making it all count where it mattered most in commitment, which matches well with the direction and writing for a solid thrilling folk tale.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Next up: with a week to Halloween, the slate of films before October 31 promises to be spectacular, ranging from Cat People (1982) all the way down the line. 

The Naked Edge.

Review #2232: The Naked Edge.

Cast: 

Gary Cooper (George Radcliffe), Deborah Kerr (Martha Radcliffe), Eric Portman (Jeremy Clay), Ray McAnally (Donald Heath), Diane Cilento (Mrs. Heath), Hermione Gingold (Lilly Harris), Peter Cushing (Mr. Evan Wrack), Michael Wilding (Morris Brooke), Ronald Howard (Mr. Claridge), and 

Sandor Elès (Manfridi St John) Directed by Michael Anderson (#717 - Logan's Run and #1393 - Around the World in 80 Days)

Review: 

Admittedly, there is a bit of appeal in wondering what the fuss is about with the poster and a certain fact. The film is based on the 1955 novel First Train to Babylon, as written by Max Ehrlich. Joseph Stefano wrote the screenplay adaptation, and if you've seen the poster, that was the writer behind the screenplay adaptation for 1960's Psycho, likely his most famous accomplishment (in general, Stefano was involved more with television writing and occasional producing, such as the original The Outer Limits). Perhaps not surprisingly, the poster, and the last line of the film itself, as told to us by voiceover, do a gimmick similar to that film in not wanting audiences to be seated "during the last 13 minutes" (for a 97-minute film, but naturally it works to tell people to really hold in that break). Of course, now that one has that out of the way, this was the final film for its star in Cooper, who died of cancer on May 13, 1961, a month before the release of the film, which wasn't exactly a hit. He had worked with Anderson before with The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959); the film was shot in London and at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. 

The runtime is a funny one to have a "don't seat folks for the last couple" trick to, particularly for a film that seems to drag its tension out as much as possible. Really this is the kind of movie where people get suspicious of folks because of having the most amusing choice of words for phrasing, as evidenced by a scene where our lead is telling about raising money for a venture that came out because he "made a killing" on the stock market. One could possibly make a few edits and make it a comedy about a guy who does increasingly outlandish things with his wife that thinks he may be guilty (such as say, asking her to join him on the edge of a cliff - actually, that's in the film). The intro with a stabbing and the time spent with Cushing in the courtroom stuff does appeal to the most basic curiosities of mine, at least. Of course, Kerr was actually a pretty good actress in her own right to match up with Cooper (who was 20 years older than her). She makes those worries and doubts seem workable for something that really would've floundered under the weight of such amusing ambiguity with a lesser actress involved. That isn't to say that Cooper doesn't pair well with Kerr, but I think one can be forgiven for stating that there are times where a weary-seeming Cooper is not so much acting as it is a man trying to push through being tired. Cooper is worrisome enough to make Kerr's queries and fears over what really may be possible (or not) worth watching, although the best scene is with Cilento in terms of force and grace. Portman is at least adequate in the middle. The eventual ending is probably not ideal in the actual rundown, particularly with portions involving a struggle, but that doesn't sink the film completely at least because if one gets far enough to appreciate the film beforehand with its look in terms of cinematography (as shot by Erwin Hillier and Tony White) and bubbling dread, then one can't be too off. As a whole, it isn't exactly the finest hour for its stars or its director, but it has a nice look and probably enough ambiguity to seek out once if the curiosity factor is there enough to go in as cold as possible for its mystery, which for me just manages to make it over the finish line.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.