I saw this film for the first time recently, and was intrigued by the themes in the film, notably the information on pagan philosophy etc.
I will not comment on the technical aspects of the film, as they have been covered in other reviews, though I must say I thought Woodward in particular played his role very well.
I think any viewer knew "something bad" was in store for Howie when his seaplane failed to start when he wanted to return to the mainland for reinforcements ! What I do want to say is this. I am a Christian, and for me the most ironic part of the whole film was when the pagan Lord (Christopher Lee) said to Howie "you know nothing about real sacrifice." The great irony is that Howie knew more about real sacrifice than ANY of the island people, as he knew the Lord Jesus Christ had died for his sins in His sacrificial death. And that though he died a painful death, Howie ultimately had the "last laugh" as he would be with the Lord forever...whereas unless the pagans repented of their evil deeds, they would be damned forever.
I think the film makers "acknowledged" something of this when we see Howie about to die in the Wicker Man at the end of the film. Although the islanders were celebrating etc we also see Howie praying and praising God, knowing that when he died he would be with the Lord Jesus Christ. And I believe the film-makers captured something of this paradoxical hope and joy that Howie had. (Reminded me of the Protestant martyrs who were burnt at the stake under Queen Mary.) I also appreciated the tactic Howie used to try and appeal to the islanders when he was about to be taken to his death. He appealed to them that by killing him would NOT guarantee a good harvest - and then he used the tactic of saying "and if you do not get a good harvest, then next year you will have to sacrifice your leader" (referring to Christopher Lee.) For a few seconds, you could see Lee realising what Howie said was true, and had a look of fear - but quickly hid this by saying "but we WILL get a good harvest this year !" and then encouraging everyone to continue taking Howie to his death.
So, I think the real twist of this film is that though the islanders SEEM to have won, it is actually Howie who gets the real victory.
I will not comment on the technical aspects of the film, as they have been covered in other reviews, though I must say I thought Woodward in particular played his role very well.
I think any viewer knew "something bad" was in store for Howie when his seaplane failed to start when he wanted to return to the mainland for reinforcements ! What I do want to say is this. I am a Christian, and for me the most ironic part of the whole film was when the pagan Lord (Christopher Lee) said to Howie "you know nothing about real sacrifice." The great irony is that Howie knew more about real sacrifice than ANY of the island people, as he knew the Lord Jesus Christ had died for his sins in His sacrificial death. And that though he died a painful death, Howie ultimately had the "last laugh" as he would be with the Lord forever...whereas unless the pagans repented of their evil deeds, they would be damned forever.
I think the film makers "acknowledged" something of this when we see Howie about to die in the Wicker Man at the end of the film. Although the islanders were celebrating etc we also see Howie praying and praising God, knowing that when he died he would be with the Lord Jesus Christ. And I believe the film-makers captured something of this paradoxical hope and joy that Howie had. (Reminded me of the Protestant martyrs who were burnt at the stake under Queen Mary.) I also appreciated the tactic Howie used to try and appeal to the islanders when he was about to be taken to his death. He appealed to them that by killing him would NOT guarantee a good harvest - and then he used the tactic of saying "and if you do not get a good harvest, then next year you will have to sacrifice your leader" (referring to Christopher Lee.) For a few seconds, you could see Lee realising what Howie said was true, and had a look of fear - but quickly hid this by saying "but we WILL get a good harvest this year !" and then encouraging everyone to continue taking Howie to his death.
So, I think the real twist of this film is that though the islanders SEEM to have won, it is actually Howie who gets the real victory.
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