Christopher Lee is a Horror Icon, he famously played Dracula in 7 movies for Hammer Films ( iconic British film studio) , he was in Howling II, Gremlins 2, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory & Sleepy Hollow W/ Johnny Depp
@@2apocalypse-X Christopher Lee was very well received on the location of that movie he helped liberate I think from the Nazis in his S.a.S service in WW 2
They explained the reason they chose a police officer in their list of things he represented: A man who would come here of his own free will. A man who has come here with the power of a king by representing the law. A man who would come here as a virgin. A man who has come here as a fool. The "mayday" procedure word was conceived as a distress call in the early 1920s by Frederick Stanley Mockford, officer-in-charge of radio at Croydon Airport, England. He had been asked to think of a word that would indicate distress and would easily be understood by all pilots and ground staff in an emergency. Since much of the air traffic at the time was between Croydon and Le Bourget Airport in Paris, he proposed the term "mayday", the phonetic equivalent of the French m'aidez ("help me") or m'aider (a short form of venez m'aider, "come [and] help me"). The term is unrelated to the holiday May Day.
"Oh, my!" That's Swedish actress Britt Ekland as Willow, Jen. She was quite famous in the 1970s, having also starred in The Man With The Golden Gun along with Christopher Lee and Roger Moore. She was also married to actor Peter Sellers and dated singer Rod Stewart.
Ingrid Pitt is another Horror Icon, she starred in Countess Dracula ( about Elizabeth Bathory) for Hammer Studios and she was in Amicus Productions ( UK Located , American Owned Studio) Horror anthology : The House That Dripped Blood
A Corn Rig is a strip of farming land used in the Runrig system of small farms (Crofts). instead of large flat fields crops were grown on a series of ridges with drainage ditches in between. Hence he is having a happy night among the rigs with Annie.
I love the attitude filmmakers had in the early to mid '70s, 'we're going to tell you this story, but we're gonna tell it in our own way'. You can pick out a handful of famous and/or cult movies from that time period and each one will feel unique. It works in this movie because there always something vaguely disturbing about what's going on. No offense to people who take part in this stuff, but women walking around in flowing dresses while waving their arms around as they wander through trees and other plant life will never seem not creepy to me. If they put on a crown of flowers now I'm disturbed. Edward Woodward also did a great and highly underrated movie called Breaker Morant(1980), that one is well worth watching too.
The filming was done in southern Scotland, and if I'm right, in November, so the actors were a lot colder than they're letting on! It's a beautiful area that does attract Wicker Man fans. And yes, it's not a diverse cast, but rural Scotland really isn't even 50 years later.
I live in Scotland the the climate is MILD. People seem to put on this big pretense of Scotland's weather being like Iceland or northern Finland or something. People from Minnesota or Manitoba would probably be walking around in shorts and T shirts if the visited Scotland in November. But people love to complain about the weather so 5 degrees Celcius in Scotland is seemingly cause for constant whining about the bloody weather.
Christopher Lee was more proud of this movie than any other he was in and would talk about it enthusiastically decades after he made it. The movie was filmed on an actual island with the townspeople participating (and I believe they still practiced benign pagan rituals at the time of the filming). All the music was made by a local songwriter and his band, "Magnet". When I first saw this movie (about a year or two ago), I had no idea what it was about, or even what genre, it was just a title I had on my list. For the first 45-minutes I thought it was a weird early 70s musical! At first I didn't like the music, but then - like the movie itself - it won me over. That haunting song in the bar, and the song that she sings to seduce him started to suck me in (certainly not the unlikable main character!). The songwriter died a few years later, this movie is his only legacy./I wouldn't look for diversity in a remote island in Scotland anymore than I'd look for it in Yemen! Another really great movie that is filmed spectacularly in Scotland is the early 80s comedy "Local Hero". Beautiful movie! / Willow was played by Britt Ekland who was well-known in the 60s and 70s, famously married to Peter Sellers for a while.
This is how I've understood it. For the villagers, the sacrifice must be an envoy of the king (police officer), virgin, fool (because they tricked him) who had to come to the island of his own volition. Sergent ticked all the boxes :(
Britt Ekland played Miss Goodnight (bond girl) in the James Bond movie The Man With The Golden Gun starring Roger Moore & Christopher Lee ( as Francisco Scaramanga)
Only mention in actual history ... In Julias Caesar’s account of his battles in Gaul, he describes the culture of the pagan Celtic peoples he encountered and mentions they sacrifice animals and people in a giant wicker man that they burn ... usually criminals and thieves ... but if none are available ... sometimes innocents are used.
On one of the DVD extras, they said that they were making a musical without letting anyone know about it! Also that this is the first time - and possibly the only time ever - that when a character shouts "Jesus Christ!" it's not swearing, it's a genuine prayer. They actually filmed this in several locations in Scotland; there are "Wicker Man locations" sites There's a triple-disc set: the film, a DVD of extras, and a music CD.
I've said to you before Jen that I love this movie and it's my second favourite of all time after The Exorcist. Even just watching your reaction seeing him getting pulled up the hill and seeing the wicker man for the first time still gets my heart pounding. Christopher Lee said that this was his favourite role to play. I think someone has said that another really good and uncomfortable British film to watch is Blood On Satan's Claw. Mayday is a celebration here in England and is worth reading up on for it's history. There's no sequel to this, just an insulting remake, Lol.
@@jamesdodds9407 Actually you're right, I forgot all about that. To be honest I don't remember anything about it so I guess that shows what impact it had, Lol. May have to give it another go now though.
@@garrywalker435 don't don't DON'T..I watched it once after being on an enjoyable break away from home with watching it as the final reward upon getting back instead it ruined the whole time.
I really enjoyed this one! As weird as it is haha I like the more psychological style of horror movies and there was a lot to unpack here. I definitely need to watch more Christopher Lee films, so talented! Ah okay good to know! I’ll check it out. Thanks for watching!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for watching this; very few people react to this masterpiece of cinema. I have been a fan of The Wicker Man since I saw it when I was about 15. It is arguably the greatest British horror film of all time & rightly so. Over the years, I visited several of the filming locations in Scotland; Plockton where Sgt Howie lands is an amazing little village near Kyle of Lochalsh on the north west coast. Back in 2007 I had the great honour of meeting Sir Christopher Lee. I’ve been a fan of his for as long as I could remember, thanks due to his incredible body of work with Hammer Films. We had a lengthy conversation about those films & the production of The Wicker Man. Right up until to his death, Lee remained adamant that there was a much longer cut of this film. Rumour has it, British Lion films disposed of hundreds of reels; one of which was this much longer cut of The Wicker Man. Then in 2013, we got The Final Cut of The Wicker Man. This involved a restoration of the original theatrical print & also the few additional scenes that had been re-edited into it for the directors cut several years earlier. Which ever version you watch, The Wicker Man always leaves a last impression on you. Fun Fact: when I was at first school (age 5-10 here in the UK at the time) we had an annual May Day Fair…….complete with May Pole Dancing. What can I say, I grew up in a village in the Yorkshire Dales. Several places in Cornwall still hold festivals around that time of the year. The most famous being the Obby 'Oss festival, which is held in Padstow every May Day.
If you like folk horror, there is a great collection of films in this genre on Shudder. Edit: Edward Woodward also played the head of the NWA in Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz.
May Day, May 1st, is also Beltane, an ancient Celtic holiday... Despite Christianization, Beltane/May Day was celebrated in parts of Scotland until fairly recent times... and now again, with neo-paganism. This film is very popular among neo-pagans. The costumes and dancing is connected to Morris dancers, which are more common in Wales and Cornwall (other very Celtic parts of Britain). Morris dancing's origins are mysterious and some think it may have old pagan links, while some think that's just a neo-pagan interpretation... A lot of this was filmed on, or near the Isle of Skye in Scotland - - the unusual rock outcroppings when Howie flies in are Skye. Skye is warmer than normal for somewhere so far north, due to the Gulf stream. The hand candle is known as The Hand of Glory - - usually (but not always) made from the hand of a hanged criminal, supposedly it could keep people under a spell, asleep... in the old days, thieves/burglars might use a Hand of Glory in hopes it would help them accomplish their theft without anyone noticing.
Some of you maybe interested to know that this year marks The Wicker Man's 50th anniversary, there are some cinema's in the UK that will be playing The Final Cut version.
Sad story about that plane - not long after making this film it was crash landed without any casualties or severe damage, but was then destroyed by vandals before it could be recovered.
For the last 25 years, me and my mates meet up on May 1st, start drinking maybe around 6 and start watching this movie around 9 ish. We all have masks and put them on round the time Howie starts his interference. We know all the words. We know the dance. We perform it with gusto. It's one of the most disturbing movies ever made and has been described as the Citizen Kane of UK horror.
Well, if Howie would have made it with Willow (Britt Ekland) then he would no longer be a virgin and not considered to be a worthy sacrifice. He was a worthy sacrifice, offered to the gods and goddesses and hopes that the crops on Summerisle were productive. Ahhh, little Britt Ekland.
The Wicker Tree sequel had me incandescent at the so called fans of the original who somehow gave it a bad review. Everything made it absolutely clear---- this was the sequel. The time lag was perfect. Howies death had of course exposed the island. The Crazy Lord had survived enough to be remembered but the Islanders had migrated to mainland Scotland. They had kept their faith but now sacrificed May Queens. Still present are the themes of spiritual music warped ritual sex. But now added was the theme of American naivete abroad as in the American Werewolf in London. Every bit as warped and suspenseful with a perfectly chilling ending. The critical reception it received was nothing short of travesterial.
The Wicker Man was filmed almost entirely in the small Scottish towns of Gatehouse of Fleet, Newton Stewart, Kirkcudbright, Anwoth and Creetown in Galloway as well as Plockton in Ross-shire. Some scenes were filmed in and around the Isle of Whithorn, where the owners of the castle, Elizabeth McAdam McLaughland and David Wheatley, plus several other local people, featured in various scenes. Culzean Castle in Ayrshire and its grounds and Floors Castle were also used for the shooting. Some of the opening flying shots feature the Isle of Skye, including the pinnacles of The Storr and the Quiraing. The cave scenes were filmed inside Wookey Hole in Somerset.
Where to start, I grew up in a village in England, Kent that had aspects of this film occurring and permeating it. The maypole dance, the odd Christian “facade” covering a pagan heart. We would do a pilgrimage every year to our local Celtic standing stones… and lots more, the earth was respected in many special ways. Enjoy a great film.
Christopher Lee recorded heavy metal albums, held a couple world records (tallest leading man, most sword fights on film)..He took a pay cut for this movie as a favor to ensure the movie got made.
And did something very secret during WWII that involved him knowing exactly what noise people make when they've been stabbed in the back. And he's descended from a pope.
The first time I saw this movie I was fairly young, and didn't understand it all, and saw it as a horror movie. The second time I saw it I was older, and found Sgt. Howie to be so unrelentingly cruel, condescending, and judgmental that I couldn't identify with or support him at all. The islanders need to be sure they have the right person. He needs to come of his own free will with the power of the King. They bait their hook, and he comes. As a police officer, he represents the Crown, and thus qualifies. He then needs to be a virgin. They test him, giving him a very easy way to disqualify himself, but he holds firm to his beliefs, and resists Willow. Again he qualifies. Here's where it gets interesting. He has to be a fool. He qualifies as that by dressing as Punch. They provide the opportunity, but it's another test. It's his choice. If he'd held true to the rules of his own faith, and not let his anger and hatred of the islanders and their culture control him, he wouldn't have. It was his choice to assault someone and steal the costume, breaking one of the ten commandments. It's his own hypocrisy that dooms him in the end.
Midsommer took from this .original . The original Wickerman and Let’s Scare Jessica to Death are the best cult classic horror movies of the 70 s . I don’t consider Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the Exorcist cultish because they became mainstream successes . All copies of Nick Cage’s Wicker Man should be put in a giant wicker Portapotty and set on fire
Christopher Lee, despite having hundreds of acting credits, probably had a more interesting life than most of his characters. (Air Force Intelligence during World War 2, post war Nazi hunter, related to royalty, was best friends with Boris Karloff/Vincent Price/Peter Cushing, did his own stunts and swordfights for most of his career, got into heavy metal in his 80s) Edward Woodward became more popularly known to general audiences when he was in the 80s tv series The Equalizer.
Rachel and Benjamin were Rowan’s grandparents so Howie is saying they were given Christian names deducing that 50-70 years ago when they were born the island was still at least somewhat Christian. It’s illustrating that the decent to paganism was building for years but still somewhat recent. It’s a great detail. I find this movie as prophetic as Orwell’s masterpiece 1984. Of course this is what happens when Christianity fades. Rampant over sexualization including the youth, and a reversion to pre-Christian religious including the forcing of sacrifices to magically keep the climate from changing. In other words what we see today right now. By the way May Day is a real, It’s the primary holy day that pagan believes revolve around, you know it oh course as earth day. Still practiced today by those who still believe in forcing sacrifices to appease the “living earth” god.
i've seen both versions of the wicker man (this version and the nicolas cage remake) and i can tell you that in my opinion of the two movies, one of them is a fantastically creepy erotic mysterious compelling and clever suspenseful thriller and the other is the biggest pile of rancid pigsh!t i've ever seen in my life. but which is which? hmm...
@@rxlxviii no i keep meaning to check it out but then i think well, might as well just watch the wicker man. one day i'll watch it, ive heard it's quite good. did you like it?
@@stuartfraser9745 I think if I didn't see the 1973 Wicker Man, I think I would have found Midsommar much better. But, it's hard not to make comparisons. It is worth a watch though to stay up on contempory stuff. I suggest to those who liked Midsommar to watch this version of it since I found this version better.
Both of those films are great but unfortunately very underappreciated --- the former is quite disturbing, dark and atmospheric, the latter is mysterious, ethereal and dreamlike.
This is a remote Scottish Island so geographically speaking there would have been no diversity at all. Even now on these Islands you'll find it's only certain families of extended generations that live there, very rarely would you get "outsiders" travelling up there, even Scott's from the mainland wouldn't move there. They are mostly blonde again to their geographic positioning, these islands are closer to Norway, Sweden and Denmark than they are to mainland Scotland so people's colouring will be Nordic, viking influenced. You'll notice Christopher Lee is also the only English person on the Island and that's about as diverse as it gets up there lol
Most of the music is genuine old bawdy folk songs, some of them going back centuries. Christopher Lee became obsessed with tracking down complete lyrics for The Tinker of Rye, but there are so many versions it's impossible.
Corn Rigs song in particular is based on the work of poet Robert Burns (Rabbie Burns) it happens to be Burns Night on 25th of January I encourage you all to have a Burns Supper addressing a Vegan Haggis and other activities on this night.
I absolutely LOVE this movie! What great reactions you had, Jen! The film isn't... SCARY... but it's DISTURBING. They really manage to pull off the "town with a secret" plot WELL. Most films can't. I first saw this as a kid, and it did scare me then... now... it disturbs me on a deeper level - in a wonderful way. Fun facts: The pub owner was David Bowie's boyfriend/mentor at the time. Britt Ekland was dating Rod Stewart at the time. Christopher Lee did this for free, and considered it his favourite role. Now for me... the reaction Constable Howie has when he sees the Wicker Man BEFORE the audience does is totally bone chilling. Apparently they didn't let Edward Woodward see it until then, and he really DID get creeped out. Also, when the Wicker Man collapses and you see the sun it's being sacrificed to is stunningly magnificent cinema. This is truly a very quiet, yet very spectacular film. Thanks for sharing your reaction! HAVE to subscribe now!
For the sacrifice they needed a fool sent by the king, a virgin who goes to the sacrifice of his own free will. I think Summerisle would be a really nice place to live if it weren't for all the human sacrifices.
Christopher Lee became a horror legend in the 1950s and 1960s while working for the British studio, Hammer Films, which was notorious for doing gothic-style horror with gratuitous amounts of gore and nudity. He was most famous for having played Count Dracula in seven Hammer films as well as the Frankenstein Monster in The Curse of Frankenstein, along with having appeared in several other Hammer productions such as Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, The Gorgon, The Mummy, and The Hound of the Baskervilles. He was also famous for playing villains, such as Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film, The Man With The Golden Gun, and Saruman in The Lord of The Rings trilogy.
Christopher Lee, however, had no part at all in the amazing film 'Dr Tongue's House of 3-D Stewardesses'. (SCTV) Sorrry, but that long list of names just screamed for one more...
So excited to wake up and see this. The Wicker Man is possibly my favourite film ever. 'Won't you sit down Sergent. Shocks are so much better absorbed with the knees bent!' Christopher Lee actualy turned down a fee for the film and did it all out of love.
i always assumed that Woodward's character was a member of the Wee Free a strict Scottish Christian sect, which is partially why he is so offended by the islanders religion. also it was the 70's in Scotland so not exactly a hotbed of depravity ;)
This is more creepy and scary now than when I saw this as a kid in the 70's. I guess I didn't understand it that well being young. I know it didn't scare me after all I saw Exorcist in 1973 at 8. I just know a bunch of us little boys all loved Willow, beautiful Swedish actress Britt Ekland. Polish actress Ingrid Pitt is in this also. She's in some great cult and horror films in the 60's and 70's. I have a couple dvd's where Ingrid (RIP) is on the commentary tracks. She really loved her sexy horror roles. You should check out some of her films.
I hadn't seen this movie until recently, and was intrigued by the comparison with "Midsommar" (2019). "The Wicker Man," though it has a much lower body count, is scarier than that Hipster Horror fave. Small towns, especially on islands, have deep "beneath the surface" secrets. 17:02 Before the turn of the century, in the 1970's, I had a darkroom, even in college, though not the 24/7 kind.
Eyes on a boat is a old tradition, its been in so many cultures the greeks, the chinese, the ancient Phoenicians, a lot of times the ashes from the wicker man was used to fertilise the ground so in the ancient times it worked. sort of
The scary thing about this is that every mistake Howie makes are the mistakes we would have made. Willow was Britt Ekland. Please don't watch that Nick Cage remake. Please.it would hurt.
There is an interview with Christopher Lee on TH-cam where he talks about The Wicker Man that it was not popular at the time and that he said it was a spectator film. I think he also mentions about the cult following it has to day cant remember its been a long time since i seen the interview video.
Late to the party, but for what it is worth: the Nick Cage version is an abomination. Edward Woodward (Howie) is one of the most underrated British actors and Britt Ekland (innkeeper's daughter) is amazing and would have had a great career if her husband hadn't sabotaged it. Also, Christopher Lee considers Wicker Man his best movie.
The ending to this film is so terrifying,with the residents of Summerisle smiling and singing,while Howie singing his Christian hymns. While the Wicker Man continues to burn.
I love this movie especially the director's cut. Also the soundtrack is amazing, I own it on vinyl. The mystery and subtle horror of this film is so captivating. It's interesting that in the islanders eyes the cop is a "willing" sacrifice. He volunteered for this case, he turned down his chance to have sex and participated in the ritual in costume. There is a spiritual sequel called the Wicker tree (2011) though I've not seen it.
I just landed a copy of the LP Soundtrack! I'm SOOOO in love with this movie, and the music - well, it struck me as odd when I first saw it, but the more I see it, the more brilliant it really is. Had to get the soundtrack!
3:06 I knew I'd seen you before. Yes I can understand that vibe about the place. I feel this is more terrifying though. In the Village they want to keep Number 6 alive.
There's also another film very similar in plot line to this one called, "Eye Of The Devil" from 1966. In Eye though, the wine crops fail for a family vineyard, and the only way to rectify this problem, is that the head of the family must be sacrificed for the harvest to flourish next year. It's a slow burner film, but very good, if you like those sort of films.
this is my facorite movie, the soundtrack is outstanding, and the ending is the best. not many youtubers react to this one, so thank you. i would recommend a movie named "Let the right one in". its Swedish, but the subtitles are very good. also a horror genre, not a slasher type. kind of obscure. Also, it wouldnt ruin anything to watch the Nick Cage version of this movie since you've now seen the original.
They decided after experimentation that the Wicker man should look something like the Frankenstein monster, & so that was the look they chose I think it was...25ft tall and it worked perfectly.
For me, this film is important because it is a warning of the the dangers of “group-think” in the extreme. It is a tale of how an isolated community commits an evil act but they believe they are doing good. Group-think and the danger of a religion that is unchecked (David Koresh and his cult comes to mind) is so relevant especially today.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks Well, generally the malignant tendencies of the Christian church leadership has disappeared over the centuries. That cannot be said for all the major religions though.
The movie is as much about the martyrdom of a Christian being killed for his beliefs as it is about an entire community playing a cruel trick on an individual. After half a century it holds up well as an imaging of what it might be like if the old religion had been restored to a community. What a total paradigm shift it would be in how life is lived and the world is seen by the community of Summerisle. Where the restoration of the old religion in the community is taken seriously. Summerisle does tell Sgt. Howie that what was started out of expediency by his grandfather was continued by his father out of love. It would have made more sense to hire an actor younger than the then 42 year old Edward Woodward to portay Howie. Difficult to imagine another actor doing a better job with the epic dialogue just before the sacrifice of Howie. Especially the way his voice echoes when he yells, "I believe in the life eternal as promised to us by our Lord Jesus Christ!". "That is good. And for believe what you do, we confer upon you a rare gift these days. A martyr's death. You will not only have life eternal. But you will sit with the saints among the elect..."
Christopher Lee is a Horror Icon, he famously played Dracula in 7 movies for Hammer Films ( iconic British film studio) , he was in Howling II, Gremlins 2, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory & Sleepy Hollow W/ Johnny Depp
He was in lots of Hammer movies, not just Dracula films.
I love The Howling 2. Even though it's not the best movie in the world, Christopher Lee's performance in it is great.
@@2apocalypse-X
Christopher Lee was very well received on the location of that movie he helped liberate I think from the Nazis in his S.a.S service in
WW 2
Christopher Lee did the movie for free.
He was also in Corpse Bride. He held Tim Burton in very high regard.
They explained the reason they chose a police officer in their list of things he represented:
A man who would come here of his own free will.
A man who has come here with the power of a king by representing the law.
A man who would come here as a virgin.
A man who has come here as a fool.
The "mayday" procedure word was conceived as a distress call in the early 1920s by Frederick Stanley Mockford, officer-in-charge of radio at Croydon Airport, England. He had been asked to think of a word that would indicate distress and would easily be understood by all pilots and ground staff in an emergency. Since much of the air traffic at the time was between Croydon and Le Bourget Airport in Paris, he proposed the term "mayday", the phonetic equivalent of the French m'aidez ("help me") or m'aider (a short form of venez m'aider, "come [and] help me"). The term is unrelated to the holiday May Day.
On the other hand, it did make for a short but funny scene in Red Dwarf.
@@simonoleary9264 Marooned
Ascension Sunday ascension Sunday
such a cute explanation of sin
Edward Woodward starred in the 80s TV series The Equalizer, he played Robert McCall
Breaker Morant
Callan
And it has the greatest Theme tune ever
Before he played Callan in an UK tv series of the same name in the 60s and 70s.
@@TerryNutkins3 Callan's theme tune is indeed one of the greatest ever made.
The Nicholas Cage version is complete crap
As an unintended comedy it is hilarious.
Christopher Lee was 6' 5" and was fluent in five languages.
"Oh, my!"
That's Swedish actress Britt Ekland as Willow, Jen. She was quite famous in the 1970s, having also starred in The Man With The Golden Gun along with Christopher Lee and Roger Moore. She was also married to actor Peter Sellers and dated singer Rod Stewart.
Ingrid Pitt is another Horror Icon, she starred in Countess Dracula ( about Elizabeth Bathory) for Hammer Studios and she was in Amicus Productions ( UK Located , American Owned Studio) Horror anthology : The House That Dripped Blood
I am confused by your comment. Because that is definitely Swedish actress Britt Ekland.
They are both in The Wicker Man, the landlords daughter and the librarian (I think that is Ingrid's character)
Not only that, she was one of the most beautiful women. She was also imprisoned by the Nazis. She was freed by the Allies unscathed.
A Corn Rig is a strip of farming land used in the Runrig system of small farms (Crofts). instead of large flat fields crops were grown on a series of ridges with drainage ditches in between. Hence he is having a happy night among the rigs with Annie.
Thank you for that information.
I love the attitude filmmakers had in the early to mid '70s, 'we're going to tell you this story, but we're gonna tell it in our own way'. You can pick out a handful of famous and/or cult movies from that time period and each one will feel unique. It works in this movie because there always something vaguely disturbing about what's going on. No offense to people who take part in this stuff, but women walking around in flowing dresses while waving their arms around as they wander through trees and other plant life will never seem not creepy to me. If they put on a crown of flowers now I'm disturbed. Edward Woodward also did a great and highly underrated movie called Breaker Morant(1980), that one is well worth watching too.
That shot where they’re all standing on top of the hill with masks and swords is so intense
The filming was done in southern Scotland, and if I'm right, in November, so the actors were a lot colder than they're letting on! It's a beautiful area that does attract Wicker Man fans. And yes, it's not a diverse cast, but rural Scotland really isn't even 50 years later.
I live in Scotland the the climate is MILD. People seem to put on this big pretense of Scotland's weather being like Iceland or northern Finland or something. People from Minnesota or Manitoba would probably be walking around in shorts and T shirts if the visited Scotland in November. But people love to complain about the weather so 5 degrees Celcius in Scotland is seemingly cause for constant whining about the bloody weather.
@@John-k6f9kI live in Scotland too but the weather is really dependent on where in Scotland you are.
This movie is a lot darker and more serious than the remake.
Or "Midsommar" (2019).
I did feel being so familiar with Wickerman made Midsommer much less impactfull.
Christopher Lee was more proud of this movie than any other he was in and would talk about it enthusiastically decades after he made it. The movie was filmed on an actual island with the townspeople participating (and I believe they still practiced benign pagan rituals at the time of the filming). All the music was made by a local songwriter and his band, "Magnet". When I first saw this movie (about a year or two ago), I had no idea what it was about, or even what genre, it was just a title I had on my list. For the first 45-minutes I thought it was a weird early 70s musical! At first I didn't like the music, but then - like the movie itself - it won me over. That haunting song in the bar, and the song that she sings to seduce him started to suck me in (certainly not the unlikable main character!). The songwriter died a few years later, this movie is his only legacy./I wouldn't look for diversity in a remote island in Scotland anymore than I'd look for it in Yemen! Another really great movie that is filmed spectacularly in Scotland is the early 80s comedy "Local Hero". Beautiful movie! / Willow was played by Britt Ekland who was well-known in the 60s and 70s, famously married to Peter Sellers for a while.
I bet that songwriter's death wasn't by natural cause. The songs worked quite well.
This is how I've understood it. For the villagers, the sacrifice must be an envoy of the king (police officer), virgin, fool (because they tricked him) who had to come to the island of his own volition. Sergent ticked all the boxes :(
Now do The Lair Of The White Worm
(Oh my!)
the little known other bramstoker book turned into a movie
"All their songs are about fornication!"
This isn't Canada, Jen. Not everyone can make all their songs about beer. 🍺😜
Haha we also have a wide selection of songs about trucks and hockey
That's right, Jen. Let him have it!
And summer fun in 1969.
"She's just... suggestively banging all the different obje... I shouldn't have said banging." LMAO 🤣🤣🤣
Nice reaction. Don’t look now (1973) is another classic that’s well worth a watch.
I second the Don't Look Now recommendation!
Also damn spicy.
Britt Ekland played Miss Goodnight (bond girl) in the James Bond movie The Man With The Golden Gun starring Roger Moore & Christopher Lee ( as Francisco Scaramanga)
If he'd only slept with Britt Ekland's character, he would have survived.
Only mention in actual history ...
In Julias Caesar’s account of his battles in Gaul, he describes the culture of the pagan Celtic peoples he encountered and mentions they sacrifice animals and people in a giant wicker man that they burn ... usually criminals and thieves ... but if none are available ... sometimes innocents are used.
Interesting. Similar to something I just watched.
th-cam.com/video/kNkA9BRRwpY/w-d-xo.html
On one of the DVD extras, they said that they were making a musical without letting anyone know about it!
Also that this is the first time - and possibly the only time ever - that when a character shouts "Jesus Christ!" it's not swearing, it's a genuine prayer.
They actually filmed this in several locations in Scotland; there are "Wicker Man locations" sites
There's a triple-disc set: the film, a DVD of extras, and a music CD.
I've said to you before Jen that I love this movie and it's my second favourite of all time after The Exorcist. Even just watching your reaction seeing him getting pulled up the hill and seeing the wicker man for the first time still gets my heart pounding. Christopher Lee said that this was his favourite role to play. I think someone has said that another really good and uncomfortable British film to watch is Blood On Satan's Claw. Mayday is a celebration here in England and is worth reading up on for it's history. There's no sequel to this, just an insulting remake, Lol.
The Wicker Tree is supposed to be sequel but I didn't want to mention it.
@@jamesdodds9407 Actually you're right, I forgot all about that. To be honest I don't remember anything about it so I guess that shows what impact it had, Lol. May have to give it another go now though.
@@garrywalker435 don't don't DON'T..I watched it once after being on an enjoyable break away from home with watching it as the final reward upon getting back instead it ruined the whole time.
@@jamesdodds9407 Haha!, Maybe some things are best left forgotten then.
I really enjoyed this one! As weird as it is haha I like the more psychological style of horror movies and there was a lot to unpack here. I definitely need to watch more Christopher Lee films, so talented! Ah okay good to know! I’ll check it out. Thanks for watching!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for watching this; very few people react to this masterpiece of cinema.
I have been a fan of The Wicker Man since I saw it when I was about 15. It is arguably the greatest British horror film of all time & rightly so.
Over the years, I visited several of the filming locations in Scotland; Plockton where Sgt Howie lands is an amazing little village near Kyle of Lochalsh on the north west coast.
Back in 2007 I had the great honour of meeting Sir Christopher Lee. I’ve been a fan of his for as long as I could remember, thanks due to his incredible body of work with Hammer Films. We had a lengthy conversation about those films & the production of The Wicker Man.
Right up until to his death, Lee remained adamant that there was a much longer cut of this film. Rumour has it, British Lion films disposed of hundreds of reels; one of which was this much longer cut of The Wicker Man.
Then in 2013, we got The Final Cut of The Wicker Man. This involved a restoration of the original theatrical print & also the few additional scenes that had been re-edited into it for the directors cut several years earlier.
Which ever version you watch, The Wicker Man always leaves a last impression on you.
Fun Fact: when I was at first school (age 5-10 here in the UK at the time) we had an annual May Day Fair…….complete with May Pole Dancing. What can I say, I grew up in a village in the Yorkshire Dales.
Several places in Cornwall still hold festivals around that time of the year. The most famous being the Obby 'Oss festival, which is held in Padstow every May Day.
If you like folk horror, there is a great collection of films in this genre on Shudder.
Edit: Edward Woodward also played the head of the NWA in Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz.
When i was a child i used to watch “The Equilizer”
He starred in the 1980s TV series The Equalizer, a really good show and well played.
@@guymorris6596 He did comedy as well . I remember him in a programme called Common as Muck , about refuse collectors .
@@shspurs1342 Hopefully you used soap.
May Day, May 1st, is also Beltane, an ancient Celtic holiday... Despite Christianization, Beltane/May Day was celebrated in parts of Scotland until fairly recent times... and now again, with neo-paganism. This film is very popular among neo-pagans.
The costumes and dancing is connected to Morris dancers, which are more common in Wales and Cornwall (other very Celtic parts of Britain). Morris dancing's origins are mysterious and some think it may have old pagan links, while some think that's just a neo-pagan interpretation...
A lot of this was filmed on, or near the Isle of Skye in Scotland - - the unusual rock outcroppings when Howie flies in are Skye. Skye is warmer than normal for somewhere so far north, due to the Gulf stream.
The hand candle is known as The Hand of Glory - - usually (but not always) made from the hand of a hanged criminal, supposedly it could keep people under a spell, asleep... in the old days, thieves/burglars might use a Hand of Glory in hopes it would help them accomplish their theft without anyone noticing.
Some of you maybe interested to know that this year marks The Wicker Man's 50th anniversary, there are some cinema's in the UK that will be playing The Final Cut version.
Nice! That’s awesome!
Sad story about that plane - not long after making this film it was crash landed without any casualties or severe damage, but was then destroyed by vandals before it could be recovered.
For the last 25 years, me and my mates meet up on May 1st, start drinking maybe around 6 and start watching this movie around 9 ish. We all have masks and put them on round the time Howie starts his interference. We know all the words. We know the dance. We perform it with gusto.
It's one of the most disturbing movies ever made and has been described as the Citizen Kane of UK horror.
Well, if Howie would have made it with Willow (Britt Ekland) then he would no longer be a virgin and not considered to be a worthy sacrifice. He was a worthy sacrifice, offered to the gods and goddesses and hopes that the crops on Summerisle were productive.
Ahhh, little Britt Ekland.
The Wicker Tree sequel had me incandescent at the so called fans of the original who somehow gave it a bad review. Everything made it absolutely clear---- this was the sequel.
The time lag was perfect.
Howies death had of course exposed the island. The Crazy Lord had survived enough to be remembered but the Islanders had migrated to mainland Scotland.
They had kept their faith but now sacrificed May Queens. Still present are the themes of spiritual music warped ritual sex.
But now added was the theme of American naivete abroad as in the American Werewolf in London.
Every bit as warped and suspenseful with a perfectly chilling ending. The critical reception it received was nothing short of travesterial.
Definitely a surreal masterpiece, with an ending that had my wife screaming like Edward Woodward.. lol..
Though most people see it as a Folk Horror film, the director Robin Hardy saw it as a Horror Musical.
The Wicker Man is based on David Pinner's 1967 novel Ritual, and was adapted into a screenplay by screenwriter Anthony Shaffer, Jen. 😊
Christopher Lee was 6'5".
The Wicker Man was filmed almost entirely in the small Scottish towns of Gatehouse of Fleet, Newton Stewart, Kirkcudbright, Anwoth and Creetown in Galloway as well as Plockton in Ross-shire. Some scenes were filmed in and around the Isle of Whithorn, where the owners of the castle, Elizabeth McAdam McLaughland and David Wheatley, plus several other local people, featured in various scenes. Culzean Castle in Ayrshire and its grounds and Floors Castle were also used for the shooting. Some of the opening flying shots feature the Isle of Skye, including the pinnacles of The Storr and the Quiraing. The cave scenes were filmed inside Wookey Hole in Somerset.
I visited the majority of the locations before lockdown. Still need to get up to Plockton.
I have a copy of the soundtrack!
i lOVE LOVE LOVE this movie.
if he had taken his chance to leave or slept with the woman they would have sacrificed the girl instead
Where to start, I grew up in a village in England, Kent that had aspects of this film occurring and permeating it. The maypole dance, the odd Christian “facade” covering a pagan heart. We would do a pilgrimage every year to our local Celtic standing stones… and lots more, the earth was respected in many special ways. Enjoy a great film.
Ah, the 70's wickerman, now we are getting somewhere ;)
Thank for watching!
@@ReelReviewsWithJen there another hand of glory here in 3rd story (Vincent Price) th-cam.com/video/nNnJHHK5Qdc/w-d-xo.html
The Final Cut of this movie is the best version of The Wicker Man, because it puts back some scenes that were taken out of the movie
i read scripts years gone that suggested there were many more scenes filmed that are forver gone
Christopher Lee recorded heavy metal albums, held a couple world records (tallest leading man, most sword fights on film)..He took a pay cut for this movie as a favor to ensure the movie got made.
Also as supervillian Mr Midnight sang in film The Return of Captain Invincible which would be a great film for Jen to review.
And did something very secret during WWII that involved him knowing exactly what noise people make when they've been stabbed in the back. And he's descended from a pope.
I thought I was the only one who knew about Captain Invincible.
@@clarencewalker3925 I think most people who knew about actively tried to forget, to be honest. Not the most well-recieved movie in the world.
Not just a pay cut but did it for free.
The first time I saw this movie I was fairly young, and didn't understand it all, and saw it as a horror movie. The second time I saw it I was older, and found Sgt. Howie to be so unrelentingly cruel, condescending, and judgmental that I couldn't identify with or support him at all.
The islanders need to be sure they have the right person. He needs to come of his own free will with the power of the King. They bait their hook, and he comes. As a police officer, he represents the Crown, and thus qualifies. He then needs to be a virgin. They test him, giving him a very easy way to disqualify himself, but he holds firm to his beliefs, and resists Willow. Again he qualifies.
Here's where it gets interesting. He has to be a fool. He qualifies as that by dressing as Punch. They provide the opportunity, but it's another test. It's his choice. If he'd held true to the rules of his own faith, and not let his anger and hatred of the islanders and their culture control him, he wouldn't have. It was his choice to assault someone and steal the costume, breaking one of the ten commandments. It's his own hypocrisy that dooms him in the end.
The ending has stayed with me. It's a great film and so memorable. Wonderful review ❤
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the video!
Midsommer took from this .original . The original Wickerman and Let’s Scare Jessica to Death are the best cult classic horror movies of the 70 s . I don’t consider Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the Exorcist cultish because they became mainstream successes . All copies of Nick Cage’s Wicker Man should be put in a giant wicker Portapotty and set on fire
Britt had a body double for the “Oh My”. Section.
She was pregnant at the time she was making the movie and didn’t know about body double who was filmed while she wasn’t on set.
How much Wood would Edward Woodward chuck if Edward Woodward would chuck Wood
The beetle is Officer Howie. 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪
Please, for your mental safety, avoid the remake with Nicholas Cage. 😰😰😰😰😰😰
Awesome classic. It is "Midsommar" that reminds you "The Wicker Man" now...
Midsommer is a really cheap imitation of this film that gets praise because it’s artsy
Christopher Lee, despite having hundreds of acting credits, probably had a more interesting life than most of his characters. (Air Force Intelligence during World War 2, post war Nazi hunter, related to royalty, was best friends with Boris Karloff/Vincent Price/Peter Cushing, did his own stunts and swordfights for most of his career, got into heavy metal in his 80s)
Edward Woodward became more popularly known to general audiences when he was in the 80s tv series The Equalizer.
Rachel and Benjamin
were Rowan’s grandparents so Howie is saying they were given Christian names deducing that 50-70 years ago when they were born the island was still at least somewhat Christian.
It’s illustrating that the decent to paganism was building for years but still somewhat recent.
It’s a great detail.
I find this movie as prophetic as Orwell’s masterpiece 1984.
Of course this is what happens when Christianity fades.
Rampant over sexualization including the youth, and a reversion to pre-Christian religious including the forcing of sacrifices to magically keep the climate from changing.
In other words what we see today right now.
By the way May Day is a real,
It’s the primary holy day that pagan believes revolve around, you know it oh course as earth day.
Still practiced today by those who still believe in forcing sacrifices to appease the “living earth” god.
I love the wicker man soundtrack
i've seen both versions of the wicker man (this version and the nicolas cage remake) and i can tell you that in my opinion of the two movies, one of them is a fantastically creepy erotic mysterious compelling and clever suspenseful thriller and the other is the biggest pile of rancid pigsh!t i've ever seen in my life. but which is which? hmm...
Did you see the other remake, Midsommar? I think this film is still much better.
@@rxlxviii no i keep meaning to check it out but then i think well, might as well just watch the wicker man. one day i'll watch it, ive heard it's quite good. did you like it?
@@stuartfraser9745 I think if I didn't see the 1973 Wicker Man, I think I would have found Midsommar much better. But, it's hard not to make comparisons. It is worth a watch though to stay up on contempory stuff. I suggest to those who liked Midsommar to watch this version of it since I found this version better.
“What’s a corn rig?”… bawahahaha!..
Your timing is excellent..
Another folkhorror movie to recommend is Blood on Satan's Claw.
I also recommend Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) directed by Peter Weir.
Picnic At Hanging Rock is a masterpiece.
Both of those films are great but unfortunately very underappreciated --- the former is quite disturbing, dark and atmospheric, the latter is mysterious, ethereal and dreamlike.
This is a remote Scottish Island so geographically speaking there would have been no diversity at all. Even now on these Islands you'll find it's only certain families of extended generations that live there, very rarely would you get "outsiders" travelling up there, even Scott's from the mainland wouldn't move there.
They are mostly blonde again to their geographic positioning, these islands are closer to Norway, Sweden and Denmark than they are to mainland Scotland so people's colouring will be Nordic, viking influenced. You'll notice Christopher Lee is also the only English person on the Island and that's about as diverse as it gets up there lol
Actually, Lord Summerisle is also a Scot, but the upper-class Scottish accent is not distinguishable from an RP English one.
Don't be silly, that wasn't a real frog... it was a toad.
🐸🐸🐸
"Those things freak me out". Nah ... Dancing the maypole is a wonderful experience :)
seeing this movie makes you wonder with all the islands around england if the people live anywhere like this
Most of the music is genuine old bawdy folk songs, some of them going back centuries. Christopher Lee became obsessed with tracking down complete lyrics for The Tinker of Rye, but there are so many versions it's impossible.
The words "May-day", the phonetic equivalent of "M'aidez", the French for "Help me.”
May Day (as used in this film) or Beltane as it is also known is a Pagan holiday. One of the 8 Sabbats.
May day is very important in all pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon and Nordic religions....I thought everyone knew that lol.
Huh. So that's where the phrase "frog in your throat" comes from.
O God! O Jesus Christ!
I haven't seen this movie in such a long time. All the songs make it seem like some sort of messed up musical.
Corn Rigs song in particular is based on the work of poet Robert Burns (Rabbie Burns) it happens to be Burns Night on 25th of January I encourage you all to have a Burns Supper addressing a Vegan Haggis and other activities on this night.
I absolutely LOVE this movie! What great reactions you had, Jen! The film isn't... SCARY... but it's DISTURBING. They really manage to pull off the "town with a secret" plot WELL. Most films can't. I first saw this as a kid, and it did scare me then... now... it disturbs me on a deeper level - in a wonderful way. Fun facts: The pub owner was David Bowie's boyfriend/mentor at the time. Britt Ekland was dating Rod Stewart at the time. Christopher Lee did this for free, and considered it his favourite role. Now for me... the reaction Constable Howie has when he sees the Wicker Man BEFORE the audience does is totally bone chilling. Apparently they didn't let Edward Woodward see it until then, and he really DID get creeped out. Also, when the Wicker Man collapses and you see the sun it's being sacrificed to is stunningly magnificent cinema. This is truly a very quiet, yet very spectacular film. Thanks for sharing your reaction! HAVE to subscribe now!
For the sacrifice they needed a fool sent by the king, a virgin who goes to the sacrifice of his own free will. I think Summerisle would be a really nice place to live if it weren't for all the human sacrifices.
Christopher Lee became a horror legend in the 1950s and 1960s while working for the British studio, Hammer Films, which was notorious for doing gothic-style horror with gratuitous amounts of gore and nudity. He was most famous for having played Count Dracula in seven Hammer films as well as the Frankenstein Monster in The Curse of Frankenstein, along with having appeared in several other Hammer productions such as Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, The Gorgon, The Mummy, and The Hound of the Baskervilles. He was also famous for playing villains, such as Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film, The Man With The Golden Gun, and Saruman in The Lord of The Rings trilogy.
Christopher Lee, however, had no part at all in the amazing film 'Dr Tongue's House of 3-D Stewardesses'. (SCTV)
Sorrry, but that long list of names just screamed for one more...
@@edwardthorne9875 LMAO 🤣
So excited to wake up and see this. The Wicker Man is possibly my favourite film ever.
'Won't you sit down Sergent. Shocks are so much better absorbed with the knees bent!' Christopher Lee actualy turned down a fee for the film and did it all out of love.
The Christmas Tree, the Wreath, Tinsel, and Silver Balls all are Fertility Symbols.
i always assumed that Woodward's character was a member of the Wee Free a strict Scottish Christian sect, which is partially why he is so offended by the islanders religion. also it was the 70's in Scotland so not exactly a hotbed of depravity ;)
70s Creepy psychological horror recommendation: Picnic at Hanging Rock
I’ve seen it! So many questions about the ending but a great film!
This is more creepy and scary now than when I saw this as a kid in the 70's. I guess I didn't understand it that well being young. I know it didn't scare me after all I saw Exorcist in 1973 at 8. I just know a bunch of us little boys all loved Willow, beautiful Swedish actress Britt Ekland. Polish actress Ingrid Pitt is in this also. She's in some great cult and horror films in the 60's and 70's. I have a couple dvd's where Ingrid (RIP) is on the commentary tracks. She really loved her sexy horror roles. You should check out some of her films.
One of the greatest ever British Movies.
I have The Wicker Man Final Cut on dual format steelbook edition
I hadn't seen this movie until recently, and was intrigued by the comparison with "Midsommar" (2019). "The Wicker Man," though it has a much lower body count, is scarier than that Hipster Horror fave. Small towns, especially on islands, have deep "beneath the surface" secrets. 17:02 Before the turn of the century, in the 1970's, I had a darkroom, even in college, though not the 24/7 kind.
Eyes on a boat is a old tradition, its been in so many cultures the greeks, the chinese, the ancient Phoenicians, a lot of times the ashes from the wicker man was used to fertilise the ground so in the ancient times it worked. sort of
The scary thing about this is that every mistake Howie makes are the mistakes we would have made.
Willow was Britt Ekland.
Please don't watch that Nick Cage remake. Please.it would hurt.
There is an interview with Christopher Lee on TH-cam where he talks about The Wicker Man that it was not popular at the time and that he said it was a spectator film. I think he also mentions about the cult following it has to day cant remember its been a long time since i seen the interview video.
Excellent choice Jen👏👏👏
"How tall is Christopher Lee?" He was six feet-five inches tall, Jen. About 1.95 meters in Canada. 😆
Haha thank you for the conversion! That’s so tall!
Not in Canada, IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. The world is metric except for some outlier weirdoes. :-D
Late to the party, but for what it is worth: the Nick Cage version is an abomination. Edward Woodward (Howie) is one of the most underrated British actors and Britt Ekland (innkeeper's daughter) is amazing and would have had a great career if her husband hadn't sabotaged it. Also, Christopher Lee considers Wicker Man his best movie.
this is scotland my dear, we welcome tourists but we sacrifice them to the elder gods all the time.
The ending to this film is so terrifying,with the residents of Summerisle smiling and singing,while Howie singing his Christian hymns. While the Wicker Man continues to burn.
People had instruments in pubs because there were no jukeboxes. American Werewolf came after this
Midsummer was actually inspired from this movie oh yeah also this movie got a sequel
And they messed it up
what sequal?
@@alihanbaruk1590 The Wicker Tree(2011)
I love this movie especially the director's cut. Also the soundtrack is amazing, I own it on vinyl. The mystery and subtle horror of this film is so captivating. It's interesting that in the islanders eyes the cop is a "willing" sacrifice. He volunteered for this case, he turned down his chance to have sex and participated in the ritual in costume.
There is a spiritual sequel called the Wicker tree (2011) though I've not seen it.
I just landed a copy of the LP Soundtrack! I'm SOOOO in love with this movie, and the music - well, it struck me as odd when I first saw it, but the more I see it, the more brilliant it really is. Had to get the soundtrack!
Talking about horror, Christopher Lee witnessed the last execution by guillotine in France when he was a teenager.
3:06 I knew I'd seen you before. Yes I can understand that vibe about the place. I feel this is more terrifying though. In the Village they want to keep Number 6 alive.
There's also another film very similar in plot line to this one called, "Eye Of The Devil" from 1966. In Eye though, the wine crops fail for a family vineyard, and the only way to rectify this problem, is that the head of the family must be sacrificed for the harvest to flourish next year. It's a slow burner film, but very good, if you like those sort of films.
this is my facorite movie, the soundtrack is outstanding, and the ending is the best. not many youtubers react to this one, so thank you. i would recommend a movie named "Let the right one in". its Swedish, but the subtitles are very good. also a horror genre, not a slasher type. kind of obscure. Also, it wouldnt ruin anything to watch the Nick Cage version of this movie since you've now seen the original.
Britt Ecklund is a grat dancer
You do know,that was not Eklund,as she was heavily pregnant at the time !😂😂
They decided after experimentation that the Wicker man should look something like the Frankenstein monster, & so that was the look they chose I think it was...25ft tall and it worked perfectly.
For me, this film is important because it is a warning of the the dangers of “group-think” in the extreme. It is a tale of how an isolated community commits an evil act but they believe they are doing good. Group-think and the danger of a religion that is unchecked (David Koresh and his cult comes to mind) is so relevant especially today.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks Well, generally the malignant tendencies of the Christian church leadership has disappeared over the centuries. That cannot be said for all the major religions though.
"I bet they're gonna sing to him as they burn him"
Worth price of admission alone.
There are so many great stories that go with this film. Worth doing some research on it . Some of the documentaries are fascinating.
We do still have May Day also known as May Bank Holiday in the UK.
After this Zardoz😃
Ah,yes,Sir Sean Connery(RIP),with a pigtail and wearing a red thong ! 😂😂
The movie is as much about the martyrdom of a Christian being killed for his beliefs as it is about an entire community playing a cruel trick on an individual. After half a century it holds up well as an imaging of what it might be like if the old religion had been restored to a community. What a total paradigm shift it would be in how life is lived and the world is seen by the community of Summerisle. Where the restoration of the old religion in the community is taken seriously. Summerisle does tell Sgt. Howie that what was started out of expediency by his grandfather was continued by his father out of love. It would have made more sense to hire an actor younger than the then 42 year old Edward Woodward to portay Howie. Difficult to imagine another actor doing a better job with the epic dialogue just before the sacrifice of Howie. Especially the way his voice echoes when he yells, "I believe in the life eternal as promised to us by our Lord Jesus Christ!".
"That is good. And for believe what you do, we confer upon you a rare gift these days. A martyr's death. You will not only have life eternal. But you will sit with the saints among the elect..."
It's funny you mention the soundtrack. The writer of the songs thought that "Gently Johnny" would be a big hit but was cut from the original release.