The Wicker Man: The Final Cut

The Wicker Man: The Final Cut

Robin Hardy / United Kingdom 1973, 93 min / English with Slovenian subtitles

Police Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward), a devout Christian and sexually repressed virgin, arrives on a remote Scottish island to investigate the disappearance of a 12-year-old girl. Under the watchful eye of the island's leader, Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee), the villagers – including the lustful innkeeper's daughter (a naked Britt Ekland in an unforgettable mating dance) – lead him deeper into a labyrinth of traps and temptations, overflowing with sexuality and pagan rituals that demand a human sacrifice. In the clash of two dogmas, the power of faith does not count, but the dominance of its followers does.

The low-budget film The Wicker Man, now an (oc)cult classic of British horror, is the brainchild of actor Christopher Lee (seeking to escape his vampire typecasting from Hammer productions), independent producer Peter Snell, and screenwriter Anthony Shaffer, the author of thrillers Sleuth (1972) and Frenzy (1972). It was originally shown in British cinemas in an abridged 87-minute version, as a B-movie paired with Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973). The film copy of Hardy's "long version" (99′) is unlikely to be found (it was with Corman, but he misplaced it). The restored, digitized version of the film, titled The Final Cut, was thus created based on a 35mm distribution copy of the so-called "medium version," recently discovered in the Harvard Film Archive.

The screening will be accompanied by an introduction to the film and a discussion afterwards, led by film critic Marcel Štefančič Jr.

Screenwriter Anthony Shaffer and director Robin Hardy, along with a brilliant team of cinematographers, set designers, costume designers, musicians, and actors, created a film that is a blend of horror, detective story, ironic comedy, musical, and an allegory about the clash of two dogmas: one whose rigidity is immediately apparent and another whose full horror is only revealed at the end of the film. The Wicker Man is unlike any other film and is probably the only feature film in which you can see the mating of snails (accompanied by a bucolic ballad and a recitation of verses by Walt Whitman).

The movie evening is being organized in collaboration with the EKO 9 Triennial and the Association of Slovenian Film Critics FIPRESCI.