Cinema Dissection: The Wicker Man

Cinema Dissection: The Wicker Man

November 11, 2023

Film Talks

If ever there was a quintessential cult film, it would be The Wicker Man. Director Robin Hardy’s film saw release in its native Britain as a B-feature companion to Don’t Look Now. However, it had been cut significantly, and its subsequent US release was delayed and went unheralded. But slowly, through drive-in screening and television airings, The Wicker Man captivated audiences with its wicked bait-and-switch narrative—a stodgy policeman sent to find a missing young girl uncovers something much more sinister, leading to an unforgettably nightmarish climax. It has since become a defining film of the Folk Horror genre, one-third of its “Unholy Trinity”. Join facilitator and SIFF Programmer Dan Doody in traveling to the remote Hebrides, where we’ll unveil the secrets of Summerisle and its mysterious Mayday festivities.

There are multiple versions of The Wicker Man; this dissection will focus on “The Final Cut” (2013), the last version assembled and supervised by the film’s director Robin Hardy.

Tickets

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TICKETS
$20 | $15 Members | $19 Seniors and Youth

CLASS SPECIFICS
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2023, 10:00 AM–4:00 PM
SIFF Film Center

ABOUT CINEMA DISSECTION

Cinema Dissection affords film lovers an exciting opportunity to dig deeper into the films that they love. Inspired by Roger Ebert's annual Cinema Interruptus in Boulder, CO, attendees will participate with a facilitator in a six-hour scene-by-scene, and sometimes shot-by-shot, deconstruction of the featured film. While the facilitator will certainly share their thoughts, anyone in the audience may call out "Stop" and either ask a question of the group or make an observation around a certain shot or moment in the film.

About the Instructor: Dan Doody

About the Instructor:

A Seattle-area native, Dan Doody received a degree in English from Western Washington University, and began working for the Seattle International Film Festival in 1999. He programs both features and short films for the festival, serving on the WTF! committee and as the festival's lead coordinator for its Oscar® qualifying ShortsFest section. He is an enthusiast of the gothic in both film and literature, the pagan-haunted pastorals found in English ghost stories, and the seedy streets of film noir. He could quite happily live in a crumbling castle so long as it was within walking distance of a neon-lit diner on a rain-slicked city boulevard.