The Wicker Man - The Various Versions of "The Wicker Man"There can be few, if any, film fans in the world. Britain which popped up as a B- movie. The Wicker Man. From these lowly beginnings, the film has steadily grown in reputation. Most aficionados. But first, let's find out. Background. The Wicker Man began life in 1.

Wicker Park is a neighborhood of about 26,000 residents within the West Town community area in Chicago, Illinois. Situated just west of the Kennedy Expressway, Wicker. There can be few, if any, film fans in the world who haven't watched, at least once, a low-budget offering from Britain which popped up as a B-movie in 1973 – The. Slant Magazine's film section is your gateway to some of the web's most incisive and biting film criticism and features.

Christopher. Lee, independent film producer Peter Snell, and writer Anthony "Sleuth" Shaffer, got together. Shaffer. discovered a 1.

1. The original Planet of the Apes blew the minds of audiences in 1968. The movie, which tells the story of an astronaut named Taylor who ends up on a planet where apes.
2. Bob Calhoun muses on the deleted scenes from "The Wicker Man," now restored in a new version.

Ritual by David Pinner, and each of the three members of. Shaffer set to work adapting. It might be suggested. An old associate of Shaffer, small- time director Robin Hardy, who was convalescing after a heart. Hardy's. house near Maidenhead. During that weekend a framework was developed that ended up being very close. The film would concern a.

Christian police sergeant from the Scottish mainland, and the. Hebridean island called Summerisle. The pagan ways. of the islanders would be conveyed to the audience as they followed Howie's attempts to investigate.

Howie would become ever more deeply embroiled in the bizarre. The community's crops have failed and the islanders want Howie as a human sacrifice. The ultimate point the film was. Howie's religion (albeit a more mainstream one than the islanders'). Unless deities actually exist. The pagan details were to be entirely authentic; Shaffer's main research source being Sir James. George Frazer's 1.

The Golden Bough which details how early myths, rites and pagan. Hardy: "Everything you see in the film is absolutely. The whole series of ceremonies and details that we show have happened at different times. Britain and western Europe. Watch Chill Factor HD 1080P on this page.

What we did was to bring them all together in one particular. The wicker man itself is quite real. The Druids used the structure to burn their.

What we hoped would fascinate people is not that they would think these things. Europe, but that they would recognise an awful lot of these things as sort.

There are so many Christian holidays that are celebrated where there was previously. Easter is one of them, originally it was a hare feast. At Christmas, you set up a. Christmas tree because that was what the goddess Hera worshipped. Mistletoe is purely Druidic –. Golden Bough. My God, when you decorate your home for Christmas you are using. To complement the authentic on- screen rituals, the film was to be set to an original folk- music.

Paul Giovanni, an American musician who had earlier impressed Shaffer. Shakespeare's Twelfth Night on stage in Washington. DC. The finished script was presented to Snell, by this time head of British Lion, and received an. Lion was having its troubles at the time and thus it was asked that "the.

Christopher Lee, having been involved in the project from the outset and keen. Hammer Dracula cycle which he felt had typecast him, was cast as the island's. Lord Summerisle. The policeman, Sergeant Neil Howie, was to be played. Edward Woodward, then fresh from TV's Callan. Woodward was, in fact, third choice for. David Hemmings and Michael York had already turned it down. Ingrid Pitt, another veteran of British horror, was signed on for the role of keeper of the island's.

At this time, Pitt was the girlfriend. Rank Organization, George Pinches, and it seems possible that her.

Rank into choosing the film for its Odeon cinema chain. That relationship aside, Anthony Shaffer would also later report that he entered Pitt's. Peter Snell, the film's producer. Diane Cilento (at the time, Mrs Sean Connery; much later to be Mrs Anthony Shaffer) was persuaded. Miss Rose, after Shaffer had. London stage in Big Night.

The rest of the casting was more bizarre – mime- troupe leader Lindsay Kemp (later to work in. Derek Jarman) was drafted to play the innkeeper, and Britt Ekland was chosen to play. Willow. Ekland seemingly could not produce a reasonable Scottish accent.

Ekland's dialogue had to to be dubbed in post- production (by Glaswegian actress and. Annie Ross); with Ingrid Pitt – a Pole – already on board, there simply wasn't room for another. Unfortunately, the crude. Willow's voice remains a large flaw in the final film.

Filming took seven weeks during late autumn 1. The shooting was done in some 2. Newton Stewart, Scotland; none of the filming was actually done. Hardy: "In all the towns and villages where we shot, while all the buildings you. Matching up locations, tacking together. I find quite fun to do.""Autumn" was turned into "summer" by employing fake plastic apple trees and by decorating the. Locals were recruited to fill out the crowd scenes, and.

Generally, shooting proceeded smoothly but one minor problem was encountered when some of the. Fortunately, a reassurance from Shaffer soon calmed. Edward Woodward also broke a toe during one scene but due to a combination of cold. The dank and depressing Scottish autumn together with the monotony of the filming began to get. Britt Ekland. Feeling lonely and believing she was being sidelined by most of the other cast.

Sunday Express in which she described the film's base. Newton Stewart, as "the most dismal place in creation.. I've been to. in my life. Gloom and misery oozed out of the furniture," and added that she found the town to be. The Long Version. The film's editor was Eric Boyd- Perkins who, together with Hardy, finally assembled a cut running. Long Version or, on the DVDs, "The Director's.

Cut" or "The Extended Version"). Whilst most parties seemed satisfied with this, Christopher Lee. Already about 1. 5 minutes of filmed material had been jettisoned. Two large. sets of sequences went unused. The first showed Howie on the mainland investigating a pub that is. Howie making a bicycle journey to interview a mother on the.

Mrs. Grimmond" credit on the titles at the. Christopher Lee's main source of annoyance was that a great deal of the scene. Lord Summerisle explains the history of the island to Howie had also been removed, although.

Robin Hardy, this was too wordy and overlong in its original form and would have seriously. Quite a few other scenes – including most of the songs – were shortened. The Short Version.

By this point the troubled British Lion was on the verge of being taken over by EMI. New bosses. were appointed in the form of Barry Spikings and Michael Deeley. Neither was particularly keen on.

Deeley initially refused to release The Wicker Man. Britain, maintaining that it had no market value whatsoever (he famously described it to. Christopher Lee as one of the ten worst films he had ever seen). Shaffer: "If you live, like the. British Lion, on a diet of things like There's A Girl In My Soup or.

On The Buses or Carry On Farting, or whatever those things are called, inevitably. Snell (who was still at British Lion working out. Deeley's mind by promoting the film as much as possible – it. Cannes Film Festival that year, complete. From these screenings, the film was. Meanwhile, Deeley contacted Roger Corman in Hollywood, who had seen the wicker man prop at Cannes. American distribution, and sent him a.

Long Version of the film asking him to suggest changes to improve its marketability. Corman's suggestions were to aim the film for the American drive- in market. To facilitate this.

Corman suggested that the film needed shortening and proposed about 1. Deeley. realised that shortening the film would also allow it to play as a B- picture (a secondary, supporting. UK. So, following Corman's advice, Deeley. Short Version or, on the. DVDs, "The Theatrical Version"). Parts of the plot were changed around, moving some of the details. Howie's second night on the island (such as Willow's nude dance scene) forward to the first night.

All of the remaining footage of Howie on the mainland was deleted, which British Lion had always. British TV police show Z- Cars. A long sequence involving. Willow was also removed.

Hardy: "There was no consultation. This was the way the film was going to be, and – tough titty! Watch The Intelligence Men 4Shared more. Paul. Giovanni: "Whatever you think of the long version, the short one is laughable, very nearly silly.

Worst Remakes (According To Rotten Tomatoes)Remakes: while we like to think of them as a newer thing Hollywood has been doing to get us to the theaters, but the truth is, there have been remakes from just about the moment movies were invented. Iconic Western director John Ford, for example, made Three Godfathers in 1. Godfathers in 1. 94. Sidney Lumet made the classic film Twelve Angry Men 1. Franklin Schaffner. Still, there does seem to be an increase in remakes these days. Every year we get treated to new versions of classic horror or action movies, and in most cases, these new versions don’t live up to the original.

There are exceptions to that rule, but they are few and far between. Sometimes it can seem like Hollywood is doing remakes because they’re out of original ideas, but in truth, most remakes happen because audiences are more likely to see a movie if they already recognize the name. Therefore, studios are more willing to take a chance and spend money on a remake than on a wholly new idea. Sometimes, like with Jurassic World, the studio will get a little inventive and the remake will be called a reboot or have just enough mentions to the other movie to be a sequel. More often than not, though, as with Spider- Man (twice now) and Ghostbusters, they will just do a straight remake.

Here are The 1. 5 Worst Remakes (According To Rotten Tomatoes): 1. The Ladykillers – 5. Alexander Mackendrick’s The Ladykillers, released in 1.

Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers, has something very few movies can claim – universal acclaim. The movie, about a kindly old woman who gets tricked into helping a group of thieves pull off a sophisticated robbery, was nominated for an Academy Award and is today considered one of the greatest comedies ever made.

To reflect that, The original Ladykillers has a 1. Rotten Tomatoes. It would seem to be a fool’s mission to try and outdo the original film, but you would think that if anyone could do it, it would be the Coen Brothers. Add in that they cast Tom Hanks as the leader of the thieves, and you may wonder how the movie could end up on this list. The answer is simple – the Coen Brothers failed to capture the magic of the first in just about every way. Planet of the Apes – 4. The original Planet of the Apes blew the minds of audiences in 1.

The movie, which tells the story of an astronaut named Taylor who ends up on a planet where apes have evolved speech and intelligence while humans are hunted and treated like animals, was unlike any movie before it. The make- up work was so impressive that the Academy Awards, which didn’t have a category for make- up at the time, gave artist John Chambers an honorary Oscar for his impressive work. The movie, which is unarguably a science fiction classic, has a 9. Rotten Tomatoes. While the original Planet of the Apes was followed by four sequels and two TV shows, the franchise laid dormant for decades.

Then, in 2. 00. 0, director Tim Burton signed on to remake the original film, with Mark Wahlberg as the star. Once again, the movie was praised for its make- up effects, this time created by Rick Baker, but the story and acting did not live up to the standards of the original. Carrie – 4. 5%Brian De Palma’s Carrie, released in 1. Stephen King story, and it set the bar high for all those to follow. The movie, best remembered for the iconic shot of Carrie in her prom dress and covered in pig’s blood, wasn’t just a commercial success – it also did something that horror movies rarely pull off; it was nominated for multiple Academy Awards – Best Actress for Sissy Spacek and Best Supporting Actress for Piper Laurie. The movie stands at 9. Rotten Tomatoes. In 2.

Carrie was remade with Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore taking on the respective roles of Carrie and her mother. While critics pointed out the work of the talented cast, there was no denying that this version didn’t have the touches that made De Palma’s work so well.

Psycho – 3. 7%When Alfred Hitchcock wanted to make Psycho in 1. Paramount Pictures – which he was under contract with – was completely against the idea. In the end, Hitchcock was able to make the film, but he had to cover the budget himself, wasn’t allowed to film on the Paramount lot, and had to use the crew from his TV series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The movie, made for less than a million dollars, went on to gross $5. Hitchcock received 6. Today, the original Psycho holds a 9.

Rotten Tomatoes. After the smash success of Good Will Hunting, director Gus Van Sant finally had the clout to do something he always wanted to try – to remake a movie shot for shot and see how it turned out. Van Sant’s first choice wasn’t Psycho – in truth he wasn’t overly concerned with what movie he would remake – but Psycho is what he got. In some ways, Van Sant’s experiment worked – he proved that you can’t recreate the magic. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – 3.

Tobe Hooper‘s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, released in 1. The movie was, and still is, considered to be one of the most violent and terrifying movies ever made. Hooper’s ability to create such a raw, visceral movie turned off many reviewers and audience members at first, but over the years film lovers have come to see just how good the movie is. Today it has an 8. Rotten Tomatoes. Early in this century, some people got the idea in their heads that it was time to bring Leatherface and his freaky family back in a remake. This remake, produced by Michael Bay and starring Jessica Biel, was a huge commercial hit, but the reviews were brutal.

Arthur – 2. 6%To hear the story of Arthur, you would be shocked to find out just how successful it was. The movie, about a rich alcoholic who chooses the woman he loves over the woman his family wants him to marry but don’t worry he’s still super rich at the end, proved hard to promote – Orion Pictures went through six ad campaigns before finding one that the general public connected with and in the end it paid off. Arthur, starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli made back its budget 1. Academy Awards and four Golden Globes, and holds a 9. Rotten Tomatoes. In 2. Russell Brand and Jennifer Garner. This one, made for $4.

It did get two Golden Raspberry nominations, though! Fame – 2. 5%In 1. American audiences went to their local movie theater to see what the lives of the students at the High School of Performing Arts in New York City was like. The movie, Fame, was a critical and commercial success, winning two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe. If the movie would have done as well with the originally planned title of “Hot Lunch”, we’ll never know. As of today, Fame has an 8. Rotten Tomatoes. Out of Fame came a number of spin- offs, including a TV series that ran for six seasons and a stage version that has been performed in over 2.

In 2. 00. 9, the movie was remade and, while it was a moderate box office success, critics weren’t into it. Halloween – 2. 5%If you talk to die- hard horror fans, there will be some disagreement about this, but it is generally accepted that John Carpenter‘s and Debra Hill’s 1. Halloween was the start of the slasher genre. The movie, which turned Jamie Lee Curtis into a star was independently made for around $3. It also has one of the weirdest and most confusing franchise timelines, but that is a discussion for another day. The original Halloween holds a 9.

Rotten Tomatoes. In 2. Rob Zombie directed the remake to Halloween. His movie focused less on Laurie Strode, choosing instead to show us the life of Michael Myers. While the concept was interesting, Zombie just didn’t pull it off well, and the movie was ravaged by critics.

The Invasion – 1. In 1. 95. 4, while Americans were filled with dread at the idea of the “Red Menace” taking over the world, Allied Artists Pictures released Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Based on Jack Finney’s book, The Body Snatchers, the movie played as an allegory of communism taking over America and audiences ate it up. The movie shows a town that is slowly taken over, person by person, by alien life forms.