Britt Ekland in “The Wicker Man.”
The Wicker Man final cut/1973/Rialto Pictures/88 min.
Actress Britt Ekland will attend the 7:30 p.m. showing of “The Wicker Man” final cut (1973, Robin Hardy) at the Nuart Theatre, on Friday, Nov. 1. She will introduce the movie and run the Q&A. In addition to her memorable performance in “The Wicker Man,” the Swedish beauty is also well known as the Bond girl in “The Man with the Golden Gun.”
Other notable film appearances include “The Night They Raided Minsky’s,” “Baxter!,” “The Double Man,” “Get Carter” and films with Peter Sellers, her husband from 1964-1968. In 1975, she provided whispers in French on the end of then-boyfriend Rod Stewart‘s song Tonight’s the Night. Ekland was one of the most photographed and talked-about celebrities in the world. In 1980, she published her best-selling autobiography, True Britt.
I recently saw “The Wicker Man” final cut and it’s a fun flick – so very 70s and so very British. A standup, stiff-upper-lip Scottish police sergeant (Edward Woodward) receives an anonymous note in the mail, claiming that a girl on an island village has gone missing. But, when he arrives on the island to investigate, he receives blank stares and puzzled looks from her fellow villagers.
No one seems to know who the girl is or why he is concerned. They’re more interested in drinking, dancing and pagan fertility rites. The sergeant digs his heels in and decides to stay a while longer; Ekland plays the sexy daughter of the innkeeper.
Inspired by writer/actor David Pinner‘s 1967 novel Ritual, Anthony Shaffer wrote the screenplay. Director Hardy elicits subtle performances, creating an atmosphere of low-key tension and muted anxiety. Cinematographer Harry Waxman shows the austere and rugged beauty of a remote part of the world. While the story might be short on action by today’s standards, this cult horror classic is nonetheless pretty entertaining and well worth viewing on the big screen. Seen for decades only in mutilated copies, this director-approved restoration by Studiocanal is the culmination of a worldwide search conducted via Facebook.
“The Wicker Man” final cut will play at the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles for one week: Nov. 1-8.
From FNB readers