The Wicker Man (2006) DVD Review

Reviewed by Peter West "Danger Seeker"

DVD released by Warner Home Video

Directed by Neil LaBute

Written by Anthony Shaffer (1973 screenplay), Neil LaBute (2006 screenplay)

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Kate Beahan

102 minutes, rated PG-13

The Story: (From Warner Brother's PR material)

Out patrolling a California highway, police officer Edward Malus (Nicolas Cage) stops a station wagon to return a little girl's lost doll. Moments later, a runaway truck slams into the station wagon, igniting it into a fiery wreck with the mother and child trapped inside. Edward fails to save them before the car explodes...and then spends months of his life choking down pills to get the image of their faces out of his head. But Edward is about to get a second chance. A desperate letter from his former girlfriend, Willow (Kate Beahan), arrives at his home with no postmark. Willow came into his life and left just as unexpectedly years before. But now, her daughter Rowan has gone missing, and Edward is the only person she trusts to help locate her. She asks him to come to her home on a private island - Summersisle - a place with its own traditions where people observe a forgotten way of life. Edward seizes the opportunity to make his life right again, and soon finds himself on a seaplane bound for the islands of the Pacific Northwest. But nothing is what it seems on isolated Summersisle, where a culture, dominated by its matriarch Sister Summersisle (Ellen Burstyn), is bound together by arcane traditions and a pagan festival called "the Day of Death and Rebirth." The secretive people of Summersisle only ridicule his investigation, insisting that a child named Rowan never existed there... or if she ever did was no longer alive. But what Edward doesn't know is that Willow's plea for help has invited more into his life than a chance for redemption. In unraveling Summersisle's closely held secrets, Edward is drawn into a web of ancient traditions and murderous deceit, and each step he takes closer to the lost child brings him one step closer to the unspeakable. And one step closer to the Wicker Man.

The Picture:

Presented in a anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen, visually The Wicker Man is a trip. Filmed on Saturna Island in British Columbia, The Wicker Man has some amazing scenery. Combined that with modern technology, The Wicker Man has incredible picture quality. The DVD is sharp and crisp, I can only imagine how good the HD version must look!

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The Sound:

The Wicker Man has a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track. Original Music by Angelo Badalamenti works well with the pace of the film. The Wicker Man is a slow story that builds in intensity towards the climax, the music contributes to the feel of impending doom that is coming. Since it's a modern film there's plenty of surround effects, especially for the cheap thrills...

Extras:

There's two versions of the film on this "flipper" DVD, the original theatrical and alternate ending versions. A commentary highlighted by Director/Writer Neil LaBute and costars Kate Beahan and Leelee Sobieski as well as a trailer. It would have been nice to have a featurette on the filming though.

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Peter West's Danger Seeking Summary:

The original Wicker Man is a film that has been called by some "The Citizen Kane of Horror Movies", others think of it as a somewhat mediocre film of the 70's. While not worshiping the original, I did think it was a significant film of it's time. How can a remake compare to an original with such a reputation? Well it would have to take it to another level, something Neil LaBute attempted unsuccessfully... The first mistake that he made is turning Christopher Lee's great Lord Summersisle character into a female role (played by Ellen Burston) and to achieve a PG-13 rating, all of the sexual titillation is removed. Clearly a large part of the original film is the pagan sexual rites, without them the new film felt empty. The original plotline is kept for most of the film and with just a few modifications the story is pretty much the same.

I had seen so many bad reviews of this film that I was expecting a film that would be painful to watch. That's not the case at all though, while slow at times, the movie does not put you to sleep. I found it to be an interesting story that's quite suspenseful. Cage and Beaham give good performances, Burston is a bit over the top as she should be in her role. They did attempt to make a good film. I think a lot of the anger from fans of the original is because of the change from sexual paganism to a feminist society that uses men as sperm donors is so much of a deviation, it removed what was one of the original's major charms...

While I can't really say to go rush to buy or rent The Wicker Man, I really can't say to avoid it either. While not living up to the original, it's not a dog either. I enjoyed it a bit, and am not going to complain about losing two hours of my life as some have said. If you get a chance to see it you just might like it.

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Films that Peter West reviews are played on a Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi DVD player, viewed on a Mitsubishi WS-55413 HDTV and listened to on a THX Ultra 2 Pioneer Elite VSX-59TXi A/V Receiver through a 7.1 setup of JBL Northridge E series Speakers.