Plot: What’s it about?
About ten years ago I was watching Ebert and (then) Siskel and Roger Ebert was giving his rundown of the years best villains in film. One of his choices was the character “Chad” from the movie “In the Company of Men”. Id never heard of it, so I finally tracked it down (on VHS no less), watched it and loved it. Now judge me all you like, but Chad was one hell of a mean guy and I was enthralled by director Neil Labutes views on the subject matter. This is relevant, of course, because a decade later Labute has helmed the remake of the popular English movie “The Wicker Man” and put Nicholas Cage in the lead. Remakes are a dime a dozen in Hollywood, but the preface is that the remake will always be better – or to a lesser extent at least make money. To my knowledge this was neither, but its visually and stylistically something to write about. And wouldnt you know it, thats what Im doing.
Edward Malus (Nicholas Cage) is a psychologically damaged policeman who travels to the mysterious Summersisle in response to a note from his ex-fiancée. It seems her daughter is missing, and she fears the feminist, pagan cult, to which she belongs, has kidnapped her. Edward takes the obvious tact of falling through rotting barn floors, locking himself in a submerged crypt, and getting stung by bees in order to solve the crime. And while it might not be clever detecting, it does allow for something to happen in the otherwise dead second act of the film. He also takes time out to have irrelevant dreams so that supernatural-looking events could get stuck in the trailer. Add to this Ellen Burnstyn and the allure of Leelee Sobeiski and weve got a lot going on without much explanation. The truth is that the original is far superior and though Labutes heart was in the right place, this just didnt work out for him. He needs his material a little more pointed and though his typical anti-women sentiment is radically present here, its one that will suffice as a rental.
Video: How does it look?
As I mentioned earlier, “The Wicker Man” is a visually enticing film full of hallucinations and the like. The 2.40:1 VC-1 looks outstanding as did the standard DVD, too. Having just watched the standard DVD about a month ago, I did notice that the usual attributes were still intact when it came to HD DVD. That being a sharper and more defined picture, colors seemed a bit more lush and the lack of any edge enhancement. It all sounds like the same old thing, I know but compare the same movie side by side and youll see the difference – no pun intended. “The Wicker Man” is a nice, though “weird”, way to experience the movie but as far as looks go, this ones hard to beat.
Audio: How does it sound?
“The Wicker Man” not only benefits from a great-looking picture, but also gets the full Dolby TrueHD soundtrack to boot. Yes, we all wish that some other titles out there would be so lucky, but some things are just out of our control. I noticed, almost immediately, that there was a depth to this track that I hadnt heard on the Dolby Digital 5.1 track of the standard DVD (which is also included on the disc). Dialogue still retains the same clarity as before, but the surround effects seem a bit more robust. And thats the thing with a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack – everything sounds the same, just a little bit better.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Unlike the standard DVD, this HD DVD only contains the Unrated version of the movie without the option of the theatrical cut. The same supplements are also ported over as well, beginning with a commentary track by Writer/Director Neil Labute, Leelee Sobieski and some more members of the crew. Contrary to what you might think, they dont spend the 102 minutes saying “Im sorry” but LaBute does give some insights into the casting, production and shoot of the movie. Though I cant recommend this movie to everyone, true fans will find this feature more than adequate. Lastly, the original theatrical trailer is also included.
