The Wicker Man
Flesh to touch...Flesh to burn! Don't keep the Wicker Man waiting!
Country
Production
Genre
Budget
$810 000
Revenue
$357 033
Director
Actors
Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, Roy Boyd, Lesley Mackie, Walter Carr, Irene Sunters, Lindsay Kemp
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Peter Snell
Operator
Harry Waxman
Composer
Paul Giovanni
Artist
Audition
Maggie Cartier
Editing
Eric Boyd-Perkins
All team (30)
All team (30)
Short description
Police sergeant Neil Howie is called to an island village in search of a missing girl whom the locals claim never existed. Stranger still, however, are the rituals that take place there.
What's left behind the scenes
- Although the film is set in May, it was shot in November.
- Michael York and then David Hemmings were considered for the lead role, but when they didn't show much enthusiasm, Hardy invited television actor Edward Woodward (on the recommendation of screenwriter Anthony Shaffer and producer Peter Snell).
- Christopher Lee played his role for free. By that time, Lee was in dire financial straits, and he felt that the role of the lord was simply magnificent and would help him improve his situation.
- In the final scene, Woodward delivered his lines looking through the bars at nearby cliffs where giant transparencies with the text were placed.
- Michael York and then David Hemmings were considered for the lead role, but when they didn't show enthusiasm, Robin Hardy invited television actor Edward Woodward (at the recommendation of screenwriter Anthony Shaffer and producer Peter Snell).
- The boat that Sergeant Gowrie (played by Edward Woodward) sails away on after getting off the plane wasn't built specifically for the film. It belonged to one of the local residents. In 2004, it sank in a storm.
- According to director Robin Hardy, the film was mainly shot in Scotland, but aerial shots were taken in South Africa because the film's budget didn't allow for attaching foliage to the trees.
- The film's negatives and footage were stored at "Shepperton Studios", but when the company changed hands, its new owners ordered the storage to be cleared of all "old junk". The storage manager accidentally placed the negatives that had just arrived from the lab with those that had been selected for destruction.
- The film is set on the Hebrides Islands, where in the 1960s Gaelic languages were primarily spoken, but these languages are hardly used in the film. Moreover, some of the customs mentioned in the film are English, not Scottish.
- Filming took place from October to November, when there could simply be no flowering trees on the island. The trees in the scenes with the pregnant women were artificial.
- Filming Britt Ekland's dance sequence took 13 hours.
- Cinematographer Harry Waxman was imposed on director Robin Hardy by the executive producers. They feared that the key scene with the main character could not be shot on location and would require composite photography, and Waxman had the most experience in composite photography at the time (he shot Val Guest’s 1961 science fiction film “The Day the Earth Caught Fire”), so they hired him. Hardy was very unhappy with this situation, and he and Waxman constantly argued during filming.
- The director's cut of the film includes a scene where the characters of Edward Woodward and John Hallam are riding in a police car, which was actually filmed in a garage. The illusion of oncoming cars was created by two assistants waving flashlights in front of the windshield.
- The film's budget was so small that a significant portion of the actors – including Christopher Lee – worked without pay.
- During a break in filming the final scene, some members of the props department rushed to the leading actresses with coats. Ingrid Pitt noticed that they themselves were not wearing outerwear and, in solidarity with them, refused to put on a coat.
- On his days off from filming, Edward Woodward was repeatedly offered a trip to the location where the film's climax would be shot, but he refused each time, wanting to be there for the first time during the actual filming. Therefore, the structure known as 'The Wicker Man' was the first thing the actor saw when his character was dragged up the hill. The cry of 'Oh, God! Right God!' was half the actor's scream and half Sergeant Howie's. According to Woodward, throughout his acting career spanning over six decades, he had never been as frightened as when he was inside the burning 'Wicker Man'.
- The film studio's executives were so shocked by the film's ending that they demanded screenwriter Anthony Shaffer and director Robin Hardy, respectively, rewrite and reshoot it so that a sudden downpour would extinguish the flames and save Govi. Shaffer and Hardy flatly refused.
- A genuine cult has grown up around the film about occultism. Since 2004, the "Wicker Man" music festival has been held in the places where filming took place (Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland). At the end of the festival, a giant Wicker Man doll is burned – a sacrifice to the gods of the festival.
- Michael York and later David Hemmings were considered for the lead role, but since they showed no enthusiasm, Robin Hardy invited television actor Edward Woodward (upon the recommendation of screenwriter Anthony Shaffer and producer Peter Snell).
- The boat that Sergeant Gowrie (played by Edward Woodward) uses to depart after getting off the plane was not specially built for the film. It belonged to a local resident. It sank during a storm in 2004.
- According to director Robin Hardy, the film was mostly shot in Scotland; however, aerial shots were filmed in South Africa because the film's budget did not provide for gluing leaves onto trees.
- Filming the dance scene featuring Britt Ekland took 13 hours.
- Cinematographer Harry Waxman was imposed upon director Robin Hardy. The executive producers feared that a key scene featuring the protagonist could not be shot on location and would require composite shots; at the time, Waxman had the most experience with composite filming (having shot Val Guest's 1961 sci-fi film 'The Day the Earth Caught Fire'), so he was hired. Hardy was very dissatisfied with this arrangement, and he and Waxman argued constantly during filming.
- The director's cut of the film includes a scene in which the characters played by Edward Woodward and John Hellam are riding in a police car, which was actually filmed in a garage. The illusion of oncoming traffic was created by two assistants waving flashlights in front of the windshield.
- The film's budget was so small that a significant number of the actors—including Christopher Lee—worked without a fee.
- During a break in filming the final scene, several crew members from the props department rushed to the lead actresses with coats. Ingrid Pitt noticed that the crew members themselves were without outerwear and, in a gesture of solidarity, refused to put on her coat.
- On his days off, Edward Woodward was repeatedly invited to visit the location where the film's climax would be shot, but he refused every time, wishing to experience the site for the first time during the actual filming. Consequently, the actor first saw the structure known as the 'Wicker Man' as his character was being dragged up the hill. The cry 'Oh, Lord! Good God!' was half the actor's own reaction and half the cry of Sergeant Gowrie. According to Woodward, in an acting career spanning over six decades, he had never been as terrified as when he was inside the burning Wicker Man.
- The film company's management was so shocked by the movie's ending that they demanded screenwriter Anthony Shaffer and director Robin Hardy rewrite and reshoot it so that a sudden downpour would extinguish the flames and save Gowie. Shaffer and Hardy flatly refused.
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