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![]() First edition | |
Author | Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Genre | Horror |
Publisher | Crown Publishers |
Publication date | May 1978 |
Pages | 216 |
ISBN | 978-0-517-53259-1 |
OCLC | 3397108 |
The Wicker Man is a 1978 horror novel written by Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer. It was based on the 1973 cult horror film The Wicker Man , directed by Hardy and written by Shaffer. The novel includes a foreword by Allan Brown. The film itself is loosely based on the 1967 novel Ritual by the actor and novelist David Pinner.
The novelisation was written primarily by Robin Hardy, the director of the film, but Anthony Shaffer is credited as co-author, as Hardy re-used much of Shaffer's dialogue verbatim. Hardy has said that he began writing the novel before Shaffer had even finished the screenplay. The first edition of The Wicker Man was printed in the US by Crown Publishers in May 1978. Hamlyn followed with the UK edition in October 1979. At the time these hardback editions were printed, the newly restored version of the Wicker Man film was being shown in the US.
The Wicker Man novelization follows the plot of the film closely, but also expands upon the original story, incorporating additional backstory and new material that would have been unable to fit in the film. Some of the novel's scenes were originally shot for the film but were cut to reduce running time and have not been seen since the loss of the film negative. For example, the character of Lord Summerisle's gillie is restored, and the reader learns of Howie's interest in bird-watching.
The novelization reveals that Sergeant Neil Howie had originally attempted to become a priest, but that he was daunted by the prospect of preaching the minority faith of Episcopalianism in the staunchly Presbyterian Scottish Highlands. Howie's relationship with his fiancée, Mary Bannock, is explored in greater detail. Allan Brown writes that Howie's arguments with Lord Summerisle have more impact in the novel than they did in the film, as the casting of Christopher Lee, who is associated with many villainous roles, made it difficult for the film's audience to trust Lord Summerisle or consider his arguments seriously. In the novel, "the battle is more ambivalent, more unsettling – and, in the end, perhaps more in keeping with the treacherous moral landscape Shaffer initially envisioned." [1]
The novel expands upon the film's ending. The film ended with Howie being burnt to death as a sacrificial offering inside the Wicker Man; while the novel does include this scene, it also features an additional epilogue where Howie's seaplane is spotted on May Day, suggesting that he may have survived somehow. [2]
The Wicker Man is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt and Christopher Lee. The screenplay is by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 novel Ritual, and Paul Giovanni composed the film score.
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee was an English actor, singer, and military officer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horror and franchise films. Lee was knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009, received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011, and received the BFI Fellowship in 2013.
The Gunslinger is a dark-fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It is the first volume in the Dark Tower series. The Gunslinger was first published in 1982 as a fix-up novel, joining five short stories that had been published between 1978 and 1981. King substantially revised the novel in 2003; this version has remained in print ever since, with the subtitle RESUMPTION. The story centers Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger, who has been chasing his adversary, "the man in black," for many years. The novel fuses Western fiction with fantasy, science fiction, and horror, following Roland's trek through a vast desert and beyond in search of the man in black. Roland meets several people along his journey, including a boy named Jake, who travels with him part of the way.
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Anthony Joshua Shaffer was an English playwright, screenwriter, novelist, barrister, and advertising executive. He is best remembered for his Tony Award winning play Sleuth, and its acclaimed 1972 film adaptation.
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The Wicker Man is the soundtrack to the 1973 film of the same name. Composed, arranged and recorded by Paul Giovanni and Magnet, it contains folk songs performed by characters in the film. For example, Lesley Mackie, who plays the character of Daisy in the film, sings the opening song, and various others in the CD Soundtrack.
Paul Giovanni was an American playwright, actor, director, singer and musician. Giovanni wrote the music for the 1973 British horror film The Wicker Man.
Robin Moore Hardy is the author of more than twenty published books and several unpublished manuscripts. She currently resides in North Texas. Her first novel, Chataine's Guardian, was the runner-up for the Gold Medallion Book Award in 1985.
The Wicker Man is a 2006 horror film written and directed by Neil LaBute and starring Nicolas Cage. It is a remake and reimagining of the 1973 British film The Wicker Man, but also draws from its source material, David Pinner's 1967 novel Ritual. The film concerns police officer Edward Malus, whose ex-fiancée Willow Woodward informs him that her daughter Rowan has disappeared and asks for his help in her search. When he arrives at the island in the Pacific Northwest where Rowan was last seen, he suspects something sinister about the neo-pagans who live there. The film received negative reviews and grossed $38.8 million.
Robin St. Clair Rimington Hardy was an English author and film director. His most famous directorial work is The Wicker Man, and his last project was a film adaptation of his novel Cowboys for Christ, which was retitled The Wicker Tree.
A wicker man is a type of effigy.
"Willow's Song" is a ballad by American composer Paul Giovanni for the 1973 film The Wicker Man.
Summer Isles may refer to:
The Wicker Man is a series of two horror films directed by British author and director Robin Hardy. The films are not directly linked to one another, but all deal with the theme of paganism in the modern world.
The Wicker Tree is a 2011 British horror film written and directed by Robin Hardy. It contains many direct parallels and allusions to Hardy's 1973 film The Wicker Man, and is intended as a companion piece which explores the same themes.
Ritual is a horror novel by British actor and author David Pinner, first published in 1967.
Folk horror is a subgenre of horror film and horror fiction that uses elements of folklore to invoke fear and foreboding. Typical elements include a rural setting, isolation, and themes of superstition, folk religion, paganism, sacrifice and the dark aspects of nature. Although related to supernatural horror film, folk horror usually focuses on the beliefs and actions of people rather than the supernatural, and often deals with naïve outsiders coming up against these. The British films Blood on Satan's Claw (1971), The Wicker Man (1973) and Witchfinder General (1968) are regarded as pioneers of the genre, while The Witch (2015) and Midsommar (2019) sparked renewed interest in folk horror. Southeast Asian cinema also commonly features folk horror.
The Wicker Man: The Official Story of the Film is the sixth book by John Walsh, published October 24, 2023, as part of the film's 50th anniversary. Walsh has previously written, Harryhausen: The Lost Movies, Flash Gordon: The Official Story of the Film, Dr Who and the Daleks: The Official Story of the Films, and Conan the Barbarian: The Official Story of the Film. In 2024, his seventh book will be published, entitled, The Third Man: The Official Story of the Film.