Just watched the original over the weekend

[Barrett808]

It holds up remarkably well. The score is the most dated part -- it has an unfortunate Joan Baez/Silent Running quality. But it's great fun watching Christopher Lee as the jolly, murderous leader.

And I hadn't remembered all the nudity. Britt Ekland does a long "dance" in the buff, which really covers the price of entry.

(Not work-appropriate!)

Spoiler

More at:
http://www.steve-p.org/wm/gallery.htm

[mrbasehart]

I haven't seen the remake yet, but I did enjoy the original.  It has a sense of the uncanny or of "otherness" which I really appreciated.  Sure, the Britt Ekland dancing was neat too.   

[Minnesota]

if I'm not mistaken that is the first roundtable nude post, you might even say that the forum just lost its innocence 

[Bob]

if I'm not mistaken that is the first roundtable nude post, you might even say that the forum just lost its innocence 

True, but WOW is she pretty.

Better than looking at all the "cab forward faces" (Kevin's comment) that we have been subjected to recently

[mrbasehart]

if I'm not mistaken that is the first roundtable nude post, you might even say that the forum just lost its innocence 

I think we gave that up the moment we started seriously discussing which Disney character we would most like to bang.   

[Quicksilver]

I  believe I might have to rent this now, to objectively critique the movie of course.

[Sharktopus]

Finally a use for the spoiler button! We used it for everything for about a week then forgot about it.

Better than looking at all the "cab forward faces" (Kevin's comment) that we have been subjected to recently

That's funny, but I'm not sure I get it... I do remember Chrysler's innovative "cab forward" design nonsense, though. (Haven't listend to Wicker man Riff yet.)

[Tony Farms AKA Puma Man]

The original (and I haven't seen it in a while) made a hell of a lot more sense because they at least needed a virgin to sacrifice for their crops, not some dope to burn for some bees.

[Barrett808]

if I'm not mistaken that is the first roundtable nude post, you might even say that the forum just lost its innocence 

Glad to have played the...umm...serpent.

[MisterRiffley]

the original is unbelievable. i just finished it, and i seriously loved it.

to lose the religious aspect of it is to obviously ruin the movie. ditto the fertility rituals; the scene when the boys are dancing around the maypole and the girls are in the classroom learning about the phallic symbol stuff... in the 73 version it's perfectly done. in the nic cage remake it means nothing.

to be honest with you i'm glad i saw the remake first. it was humorous but had no emotional impact on me. but i actually enjoyed seeing the scenes that were similar, but emotionally powerful, in the original. i kept daring the movie to impress me -- like, particularly in the classic scene when he runs, in costume, to save rowan, which in the remake is probably the most ridiculous moment in the whole movie -- in the original it's really well done. and just about every scene that's notorious for being stupid in the remake is really dramatic in the original.

i loved how the cop's catholicism gave him faith through his investigation and then his faith seemed to flag at the end. that seemed like such a big part of the movie, the conflict of belief between him and christopher lee's character (and omg, christopher lee, what a rock star, right?), that moment at the end when they confront each other and neither of them seems entirely sure of their faith. and yet this test was approaching, and they both seemed to have this moment where they entertained a moment of doubt. for instance, here'sa question -- do you think they would actually sacrifice christopher lee's character in a season or two if the crops continued to fail? you can see that moment in his face when he entertains that possibility, and the cop, when the wicker man is burning you obviously see those moments when he wonders, truly, about the fate of his immortal soul.

wonderful. wonderful!

[Pak-Man]

So does the original fill in all the gaping plot holes and convoluted goings-on in the remake?

[MisterRiffley]

So does the original fill in all the gaping plot holes and convoluted goings-on in the remake?

not exactly, it's sorta this completely different movie that occasionally looks exactly like the remake would have been if it were any good.

seriously? see it. it's brilliant. it completely outpaces my ability to do it justice.

[Just Some Guy]

Yes and no to the plot holes.  The remake introduced a lot of incredibly stupid plot holes on its own.  The original made a good effort to explain why they wanted to sacrifice a policeman and why they behaved like they did.  I can't say I completely go along with the reasoning (sorry, but their actions are going to make a ton of police show up and start asking some much more harsh questions), but it makes a lot more sense than the remake.

[MisterRiffley]

wow, looking back over this i might have been just a little teeny bit too gushy in my praise.

but it was pretty good though.

[sarcasm_made_Easy]

Yes and no to the plot holes

but did it answer where his tapes went, and what was in the bag?