50th Anniversary THE WICKER MAN Five Disc Collector’s Edition Revealed

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the folk-horror classic, STUDIOCANAL is set to release a glorious new 4K restoration of THE WICKER MAN.

All three versions of the film; The Final Cut, The Director’s Cut and The Theatrical Cut, have been painstakingly restored and will be released in an exclusive 5-disc Collector’s Edition as well as a 4-disc Steelbook version on 25th September 2023. The Final Cut will also be available on Digital the same day.

IT IS TIME TO KEEP YOUR APPOINTMENT WITH THE WICKER MAN

In the 50 years since its original release, THE WICKER MAN has achieved true cult status as one of the most revered horror films in cinema history, despite a difficult production and heavily cut original theatrical release. The search for the fabled missing scenes has only added to the myth surrounding a film that still inspires filmmakers to this day. THE WICKER MAN was directed by Robin Hardy and has a cast featuring Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland and Diane Cilento.

The film tells the chilling story of a puritan Police Sergeant who arrives on a remote Scottish Island in search of a missing girl only to find the Pagan locals claiming she never existed. THE WICKER MAN is also much celebrated for its soundtrack, composed by Paul Giovanni and overseen by Gary Carpenter, featuring haunting reworkings of traditional British folk songs.

5-DISC 4K UHD COLLECTOR’S EDITION WITH POP-UP PACKAGING

• 2 x UHD x 2 Blu-Ray
• Exclusive Heavenly Records EP: Katy J Pearson & Friends present songs from The Wicker Man
• 64 Page Booklet with exclusive introduction from Justin and Dominic Hardy, plus brand-new essays from Ritual author David Pinner, Editor of Den of Geek Rosie Fletcher, and author of the upcoming THE WICKER MAN book John Walsh from Titan.
• 3 x Summerisle postcards
• 2 x posters – New and Original artwork

FULL DISC BREAKDOWN

UHD 1

FEATURE – THE FINAL CUT (91 min)
Plus:

• Revisiting the locations of The Wicker Man – 11 min 49
• The Wicker Man at 50 – 10 min 44
• Robin Hardy’s Script – The Lost Ending – 10 min 44
• Britt Ekland interview – 10 min 22
• Worshipping The Wicker Man – 23 min
• The Music of The Wicker Man – 16 min
• Interview with Robin Hardy (2013) – 17 min
• Interview with Robin Hardy & Christopher Lee (1979) – 25 min
• New Trailer – 1 min
• Behind the scenes stills Gallery
• Burnt Offering: The Cult of the Wicker Man – 49 min
• Wicker Man Enigma – 35 min

UHD 2

FEATURE – THE DIRECTOR’S CUT (99 min)
FEATURE – THE THEATRICAL CUT (84 min)
Plus:

• Audio Commentary with Robin Hardy, Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward
• Making of The Commentary – 16 mins

BLU-RAY 1

FEATURE – THE FINAL CUT (91 min)
Plus:

• Revisiting the locations of The Wicker Man – 11 min 49
• The Wicker Man at 50 – 10 min 44
• Robin Hardy’s Script – The Lost Ending – 10 min 44
• Britt Ekland interview – 10 min 22
• Worshipping The Wicker Man – 23 min
• The Music of The Wicker Man – 16 min
• Interview with Robin Hardy (2013) – 17 min
• Interview with Robin Hardy & Christopher Lee (1979) – 25 min
• New Trailer – 1 min
• Behind the scenes stills Gallery
• Burnt Offering: The Cult of the Wicker Man – 49 min
• Wicker Man Enigma – 35 min

BLU-RAY 2

FEATURE – THE DIRECTOR’S CUT (99 min)
FEATURE – THE THEATRICAL CUT (84 min)
Plus:

• Audio Commentary with Robin Hardy, Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward
• Making of The Commentary – 16 mins

4-DISC STEELBOOK WITH BRAND NEW ARTWORK DESIGNED BY SOPHIE BLAND

– 2 x UHD
– 2 x Blu-Ray

THE RESTORATION OF THE FINAL CUT

The restoration was scanned in 4K by Silver Salt Restoration UK, from the original 35mm negative.
A second generation 35mm intermediate positive produced in 1973 was used to replace a small section with unrepairable damage in the original negative. The additional footage is sourced from 35mm prints, which are the only known sources for this material. Colour grading and restoration were completed by Silver Salt Restoration UK who dedicated over 500 hours to fix physical damage to the 35mm negative, manually clean and remove dirt, sparkle and scratches. The colour grade used was previously approved by Robin Hardy and replicated here.

This project was brought to you by STUDIOCANAL, supervised by Jahanzeb Hayat and is the newest addition to the ever-expanding Vintage Classics Collection from STUDIOCANAL.