To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the folk-horror classic, Studiocanal is 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. The Final Cut will also be available on Digital the same day.

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.

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.

The Wicker Man will be released on 25 September 2023 by Studiocanal as a five-disc Collector's Edition consisting of 2 x UHD, 2 x Blu-rays, and a Heavenly Records EP, Katy J Pearson & Friends present songs from The Wicker Man.

COLLECTOR'S EDITION CONTENTS:

• 64 Page Booklet with exclusive introduction from Justin and Dominic Hardy, plus brand-new essays from Ritual author David Pinner.
• 3 x Summerisle postcards
• 2 x posters – New and Original artwork

UHD 1 – THE FINAL CUT (91 min):

• Revisiting the locations of The Wicker Man (12 mins)
• The Wicker Man at 50 (11 mins)
• Robin Hardy's Script – The Lost Ending (11 mins)
• Britt Ekland interview (10 mins)
• Worshipping The Wicker Man (23 mins)
• The Music of The Wicker Man (16 mins)
• Interview with Robin Hardy (2013) (17 mins)
• Interview with Robin Hardy & Christopher Lee (1979) (25 mins)
• New trailer (1 min)
• Behind the scenes stills Gallery
• Burnt Offering: The Cult of The Wicker Man (49 mins)
• Wicker Man Enigma (35 mins)

UHD 2 – THE DIRECTOR'S CUT (99 min) & THE THEATRICAL CUT (84 min):

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

BLU-RAY 1 – THE FINAL CUT (91 mins):

• Revisiting the locations of The Wicker Man (12 mins)
• The Wicker Man at 50 (11 mins)
• Robin Hardy's Script – The Lost Ending (11 mins)
• Britt Ekland interview (10 mins)
• Worshipping The Wicker Man (23 mins)
• The Music of The Wicker Man (16 mins)
• Interview with Robin Hardy (2013) (17 mins)
• Interview with Robin Hardy & Christopher Lee (1979) (25 mins)
• New trailer (1 min)
• Behind the scenes stills Gallery
• Burnt Offering: The Cult of The Wicker Man (49 mins)
• Wicker Man Enigma (35 mins)

BLU-RAY 2 – THE DIRECTOR'S CUT (99 min) & THE THEATRICAL CUT (84 min):

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

EP: KATY J PEARSON & FRIENDS PRESENT SONGS FROM THE WICKER MAN.

The Wicker Man will also be released as a 4-disc (2 x UHD, 2 x Blu-ray, contents as detailed above) Steelbook Edition with new artwork by Sophie Bland.

You can read out reviews of the 2006 Optimum 3-disc DVD release here and the 2013 Studiocanal Blu-ray release here.