The Wicker Man 4K 1973 The Final Cut Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

"The Wicker Man: The Final Cut" (1973) in 4K is a chilling cult classic. Sergeant Neil Howie investigates a girl's disappearance on a pagan Scottish island led by Lord Summerisle. The 4K restoration enhances the eerie atmosphere, Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee's performances, and the haunting music. The film explores religion, sacrifice, and modernity's clash with ancient beliefs. With its unforgettable climax and thought-provoking story, it's a timeless horror classic.

Review 4K Movie

The remake of recent years proved the masterpiece of the original, which some producers found too dark and first cut the tape in a brutal way, and then put it on the far shelf. As a result, now to the viewer has reached a very lumpy version. And judging by the interviews of the actors and director on the DVD-release, if the full version of the masterpiece had been preserved in the world - the cheesy movie with Cage would have been trampled into the mud much deeper. Because the 2006 film has twisted almost everything that the original had.

For one thing, the island has moved from the shores of Scotland to the shores of Canada in 33 years. Believe me, it didn't get any better. If it is still possible to imagine a secret pagan sect in the corners of Great Britain, where druids still gather at Stonehenge, it is impossible to do the same when the island of Manhattan is not far away. Besides, in the 1973 film the cult is given much more attention - we watch it longer in time, make sure that the island holds other ceremonies (based on the traditions of the 'flower children', i.e. hippies - reverence for nature and free love).

The protagonist was renamed, the actor, of course, was cast differently, and again a puncture: Nicolas Cage against the background of Edward Woodward himself looks like a wicker statue. In the 1973 movie, I see emotions, I see the quiet heat of passion, when the inspector almost struggling with himself - and he wants to leave, and the task to fulfill, and a new acquaintance as a magnet attracts him. Woodward's character beats like a butterfly against a window in search of a little girl who has been seen, then not seen, then seen again, but dead. He ends up making a fool of himself, literally.

The main downside of LaBute's remake is that instead of Lord Summerlail, the role of the leader of the crowd is played by some, pardon me, broad. In the original there was an excited male confrontation when Woodward's face showed 'I'm going to hit you like a punch', and the unsurpassed Christopher Lee smugly smirked as if answering 'I don't have enough strength'. But a woman will not be beaten - and this subtle play of characters is completely taken out of context and not replaced by anything. Just as there was no replacement for the lovely Britt Ekland, despite the mass of women in the remake.

A major Celtic ritual, the wicker man is engulfed in flames. Woodward unleashes terrible curses on the heads of the pagans, and my heart bleeds at that moment. Cage in his place mumbles something incomprehensible, causing no emotions except the desire to put his thumb down - let him burn. In other words, the ending is as screwed up as almost everything else. With all that said, a brilliant idea would have been to release the remake for March 8 with the slogan 'Congratulate your loved ones, otherwise...'. And about the original, I will say that shame on those who stashed it on the far shelves, because it's a movie with a unique atmosphere that will make your hair stand on end. The actors, the director, the music - everything went not to the theaters, but to the studio furnace. And on DVD, which is at least partially pleasing.