The Wicker Man: The Official Story of the Film
£28.50£38.00 (-25%)
The definitive guide to the making of the landmark horror movie The Wicker Man, lavishly illustrated and packed with insights into this classic chiller.
The Wicker Man is one of the greatest horror movies of all time – a chilling exploration of an isolated community with a terrible secret. Featuring a stellar cast including Christopher Lee, Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland and Ingrid Pitt, The Wicker Man has terrified audiences world-wide for fifty years.
Author and filmmaker John Walsh tells the story of how this singular – and somewhat unlikely – folk-horror classic came to be, illustrated with fascinating behind-the-scenes photography, new interviews, exclusive artwork, and never-before-seen material from the StudioCanal archives. Learn the secret history of Summerisle – if you dare…
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by SOG
John Walsh has done it again! The Wicker Man: The Official Story of the Film is another fascinating publication filled with in depth interviews, historical detail and fabulous high-resolution photographs and illustrations. The book is another intriguing insight into film history. The chapter on Anthony Shaffer is engrossing with an insight into the script creation as well as snippets from the original screen play. But that is not all, there is much more to interest any film buff. It is with great anticipation that I look forward to the next release from John Walsh!
by J. Scott
A gorgeously presented book by John Walsh which is an essential purchase for any fan of The Wicker Man. The book is much larger than I was expecting, but this really allows the high-quality photography and artwork to shine. The content covers all aspects of the film’s production and beyond. I’m particularly happy to see that the awesome artwork by Richard Wells has been included in chapter on legacy art. John has clearly gone to great lengths in his research and has gained access to some fascinating archival material. Don’t be a mainland fool, it is time to add this to your collection.
by L. Haynes
Probably my favourite book out there… I have been to Galloway to visits the sites and now I have a book that shows an A-Z deep dive about all the mystic about the wicker man. It also sheds light and insight to the production of the wicker man.. John has written many great books but this is my favourite.. Would recommend to anyone who has seen this movie or die hards like me
by Paul McCluskey
“I don’t think that I could have hoped at the time we made it, in my wildest dreams, that we’d be sitting here now, discussing the film in these terms.” – Robin Hardy.
So begins John Walsh’s excellent examination of the Citizen Kane of horror movies.
Walsh guides the reader on a fascinating journey, from the film’s troubled production history, all the way to its enduring legacy, 50 years after its release on a double bill with Nicolas Roeg’s haunting chiller, Don’t Look Now.
Featuring a wealth of images from the archives, interviews with the crew, and even a guide to the differences between the three version of the film that are available (helpful to anyone wishing to watch for the first time), this tome is essential for fans of horror cinema.
by Mr. R. Lamb
The Wicker Man is easily my favourite film of all time and I’ve read a lot of material around it over the years. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect but as with all John Walsh’s books on film, I inew it would offer a gorgeous presentation of archive material at the very least. It certainly does that!
The book is huge- an oversized hardback with beautiful print quality that gives plenty of space to artwork and allows fine detail to be seen. The textured cover is a nice touch too.
But this is more than that; it’s a wealth of interviews, film and social history and actually offers a lot of information I wasn’t previously aware of. The artwork section at the back collates theatrical material from all over the globe, covering originap and rerelease chirashi from Japan through to the woodcarving art used on Imprint’s bluray set (with the sequel companion art too).
There’s too much to cover in a single review but this has massively exceeded expectations in so many ways and I’m looking forward to delving in to it all in more detail.
by J. Scott
This book is amazing. An incredibly detailed journal of one of my favourite films.
The author John Walsh has certainly done his homework with this release. Incredibly detailed and featuring much rare material.
The book also features The Wicker Tree and other related work.
I have interviewed an actor from the famous maypole scene and the book holds true to the conditions and feel of the production.
A highly recommended book.
Get a copy while you can….
by torchwoodtwo
While still waiting to recieve my order, I did have a quick flick at a copy I found in physical store. First impressions are that it has a wealth of illustrations some new, some very familiar. My one gripe is the sizing of some photos, I would have preferred a greater quantity as opposed to one taking up nearly the entirety of two pages. The text looks informative if straight forward, I’m notcexpecting anything near as analytical as the issue of Cinefantastique from 1979 which lacked the abundance of pictures this book has. Already though I’m seeing new material I hadn’t seen so well worth adding to the collection. One Star is aimed at Amazon itself, but five for the book itself, based on my quick perusal.
by Dr. D. J. Jones
John Walsh’s superb and majestic homage to ‘The Wicker Man’ is replete with fascinating essays on the film, exclusive photographs and illustrations, informative charts detailing differences between film-versions and stunning posters. Additionally, the author zeroes in with uncanny precision on gaps in previous appreciations of the movie and also points out the myths that have accumulated about its creation. Walsh is an expert in film and foregrounds reasons for this cult work’s continued success, drawing the evidence of different experts and exclusive interviews with actors and the original film-team. This large-scale book is beautifully-produced with a blazing orange and brown cover, embossed and stippled for wicker effect; it is a must-have for any fans and scholars of this classic cult film. Thoroughly recommended!