RIP - Robin Hardy

Philly_Q

Robin Hardy, director of The Wicker Man, quite possibly my all-time favourite film, died on July 1 at the age of 86.

I wouldn't expect this to get a vast amount of attention, which is fair enough really as he was neither a household name nor a prolific filmmaker.  But nonetheless, RIP Mr Hardy.  And thank you.

TheBlueWolf

Arse The Wicker Man is a classic

ICBM

It's a really great film - Christopher Lee said it was the best film he'd ever been involved in. One of my favourites too.

I don't know any of his other work - a quick look on Wikipedia says he only made three more films, one of which is loosely related to The Wicker Man.

Philly_Q

ICBM said:

I don't know any of his other work - a quick look on Wikipedia says he only made three more films, one of which is loosely related to The Wicker Man.

The Fantasist is quite interesting, not a classic by any means but certainly worth a watch.

The Wicker Tree is... not good.  There are one or two elements which loosely connect it to The Wicker Man - a bit of paganism, basically - but the tone of the film is like a ropey 1970s British sex comedy.  Only worth seeing as a curiosity!

jd0272

I'll jump on the train with the sadness. Great film, great concept.

jonnyburgo

I've got a little piece of the actual wicker man, well a little piece of the wooden post that held it up anyway, my mate visited all the locations a few years ago. A fantastic piece of weird cinema. RIP.

Dominic

loved that film - it really freaked me out as a kid but has left me quite fascinated by Morris Men, Country folklore and paganism

merlin

I first saw it when I was about 14 years old, so four of years after it was made. I found it terrifying but I had some "relief" from Britt Ekland's body double. ;-)

Has anyone noticed she's got much longer hair than Britt?

RIP Robin Hardy, a fine piece of work was The Wicker Man. 

ToneControl

Excellent film

I have the extended (reconstructed) version

You do all know that Britt's entire dialogue was voiced over?

Her dialogue and singing voice were later dubbed by Scottish singer Annie Ross

This song always stuck in my head for some reason

ToneControl

"In 2008 the director Robin Hardy confirmed that he had indeed found Britt's body double in a Glasgow strip club. "We had to find someone quickly," he explained. After promising to have the stripper back in her regular job the next day he was surprised to discover her still enjoying herself with the crew two weeks later.

For Britt, the indignity did not stop there. Only much later did she discover that Scottish jazz singer Annie Ross had been brought in to dub not only her singing voice (the sexy dancing is done to a winsome folk song) but her speech.

"I knew my singing was not so fabulous but I thought my Scottish accent was pretty good. Again, nobody told me so there wasn't much I could say about it."

http://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/431492/Britt-Ekland-Being-in-The-Wicker-Man-was-a-real-horror

xSkarloey

Shame. Must re-watch The Wicker Man.

Robin Hardy was not a director per se I don't think. Wasn't he a writer too?

Either way I think the film is a great art work of ideas and folklore that is allied to a fabulous story.

A landmark piece of 20th century British art.

Philly_Q

merlin said:

I first saw it when I was about 14 years old, so four of years after it was made. I found it terrifying but I had some "relief" from Britt Ekland's body double. ;-)

I'd guess I saw it around the same time, and at a similar age - whenever it was first televised.

The first couple of times I saw it the only bits I remembered were, yes, the body double and - much more so - the amazing closing sequence.  The rest of the film I almost ignored.

But over the years I've found it gets better every time I see it - the odd casting, the eccentric supporting characters, the strange little songs, the pagan rituals which manage to be quaint, amusing and sinister all at the same time.  It's a wonderfully strange film.