The Wicker Man
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 by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 novel Ritual, centres on the visit of Police 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 a form of Celtic paganism. Paul Giovanni composed the film score.
Plot
Police Sergeant Neil Howie journeys by seaplane to the remote Hebridean island Summerisle to investigate 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. They copulate openly in the fields, include children as part of the May Day celebrations, teach children of the phallic association of 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.
More details
author | Anthony Shaffer |
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contentLocation | Scotland |
director | Robin Hardy |
editor | Eric Boyd-Perkins |
events | Christianity paganism religion sexual morality |
genre | horror mystery thriller |
keywords | agronomist agronomy anonymous letter celt celtic christian claim climate of scotland crop failure disturb folk song free will green man hebridean hebrides human sacrifice may day may day celebrations may queen maypole middle english pagan police sergeant psalm 23 punch punch and judy scotland\'s climate seaplane sing sumer is icumen in victorian victorian era wicker man young girl |
musicBy | Paul Giovanni |
producer | Peter Snell |
productionCompany | British Lion Films |
publisher | British Lion Films |
recordedAt | Scotland |
theme | exploitation police police procedural |