'The Wicker Man' Will Be Released Again in Theaters

The Wicker Man by Robin Hardy in 1973 was one of the greatest British films. Cinefantastique described it as the "'Citizen Kane' of Horror Film." According to LA Times, it will be in theaters after forty years of its premiere.

The thriller movie starring Christopher lee, Edward Woodward and Britt Ekland is all about pagan worshipers on a remote Scottish island. For the past year, the movie has only been seen in truncated versions.

Fortunately, Wicker Man worldwide rights holder Studiocanal has restored the complete U.S. version which Hardy described as the final cut of the movie.

On September 27, Rialto Pictures will be releasing the new digital restoration in New York as well as other cities such as Los Angeles, Washintong, D.C. and Chicago.

Many critics have given their review over the matter. Some people even say it has a cult status in the film industry.  "The Wicker Man" had been cut by the U.K. distributor then was further truncated for U.S. showings in the late 70s. The original camera negative were accidentally destroyed.

From 1970s to the 2000s, some missing scenes have turned up. Earlier this year, Studiocanal started a Facebook campaign to find all the missing parts of the movie. In the end, the results were the discovery of a 92-minute 35mm print at the Harvard Film Archive.

Hardy, now 83, authenticated the version and said that the complete U.S. version fulfills his vision.