ANCHOR BAY ENTERTAINMENT has released "THE WICKER  MAN" on dvd in two versions. It's available in the theatrical version, with a featurette, or as a limited "SPECIAL EDITION" with both the theatrical and "extended" version. For this review, we're commenting on the theatrical version now available. 

The theatrical version won cult status since its 1973 release, and it's well deserved.  To begin with, the script by Anthony Shaffer, is brilliant!  Edward Woodward gives one of his best performances as a straight and narrow police investigator sent over to a Scottish island to investigate the report of a missing girl.  Right from the start, his conservative, moralistic attitude is at odds with the seemingly simple but "free" townfolk.  Making matters more difficult is the enigmatic Lord Summerisle, played brilliantly by Christopher Lee, a man who is revered by the townfolk who don't mind jumping naked over bonfires for him.  The detective is just as disgusted by the Pagan rituals he sees, as he is motivated to find the missing girl.  And as his time on the island moves forward, we're led into a maze of clues, red herrings and much more until we arrive with the detective at a horrifying conclusion.  The ending of the film is very disturbing, and will probably turn off quite a few viewers, but one can't deny its impact.  This isn't a feel-good film! It's a thriller and it shocks!

ANCHOR BAY has included a long documentary/featurette, "THE WICKER MAN ENIGMA".  It includes retrospective interviews with the cast filmmakers, and fans will delight in the extensive information covered here, trekking it's pre-development and production.  There is also a 24 minute interview with director Robin Hardy and Lee, but it's an old one, and while fans will be entertained by the two, it's not as informative as the documentary.

The film is presented in the correct 1.85:1 aspect ratio and 16:9 enhancement.  The colors are more vibrant now than in the theater presentation.  While there's still an abundance of grain in certain scenes, the overall image is well-polished. The contrast is fine, with generally deep blacks and grays.  Although there are some age related defects, this is a generally impressive image.

While there's a new Dolby Digital 5.1 remix, it seldom differentiates from the Dolby 2.0 track, and while there are some surround effect moments, they're few and far between. The dialogue is free from distortion.

We loved both versions, but for real fans of the film, the "Special Edition" is the version we recommend!  To begin with, even at double the cost of the theatrical only version, it is presented in one of the greatest promotional cases we've seen so far!  A wicker box, with an image of the wicker man burnt into it, with a nice latch, opens to reveal the lobby card and chapter listings for both versions of the film.  Each version is contained within its own disc. The extended version offers about 11 minutes of extra scenes, and most of them actually add to the character development, particularly in relation to the detective's strong moral convictions, near the beginning.  A particular scene, "Siren's Song" chapter 17-extended version, offers an interesting plot development, left out of the theatrical version altogether.

While the extended version is in mono only, as mentioned, there's generally little difference between the mono and 5.1 mix.