the wicker man

The credit reads Anthony Shaffer's The Wicker Man. Great intelligent filmmaking. A cult favourite (after having suffered at the hands of a braindead studio management). A restoration that owes a lot to indie champion Roger Corman. A wonderful cast. A great performance by Christopher Lee (also noted an allegorical connection to the Big B's early unsung performances that spoke more about him as an actor than his subsequent and continuing mainstream efforts ever did!). And people intent on discussing theological interpretations will enjoy the clash between Christianity and Druidism; between a representative of a Christian state and a completely different view on evolution, life, death and all that other fun stuff. This Anchor Bay release seems to have been superseded by a 2-disc release which accomodates the lost footage that we hear about in the accompanying documentary and special features. Minor grouses are the painfully obvious flesh-coloured stockings that the dancing "naked" girls are wearing (can't really blame them, because this film set in May, was shot in October and November). Anthony Shaffer should be a familiar name, thanks to the wonderful Sleuth and his sole collaboration with the Master in Frenzy.