Despite the age of the book I am not going to engage in spoilers as I suspect that despite the success of the 1973 film relatively few below a certain age will have read it.Actors & Writers London (AWL) cannot accept responsibility for any issues arising from the biographical or photographic content of any personal page on this website.Īll personal information about AWL members in this website is supplied by the individuals themselves. The ending of the film is 'a spectacular' and by and large what it is remembered for but the ending of the book is far more complex and a very well written examination of the police inspector's mental state.

The book and the film run parallel until about two thirds through but the endings are markedly different. The book is set in Cornwall rather than the Scottish Highlands but aside from the added remoteness of Scotland that is really neither here nor there. I found Ritual, the original book, to be an excellent read the detail of which added different perspectives to the story. Of the films, arguably the 1973 version starring Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Ingrid Pitt and Diane Cilento is the best and well worth watching. Ritual (1967) is the original novel upon which the films The Wicker Man (19) and The Wicker Tree (2011) are based. Overall, as a fan of The Wicker Man, I greatly enjoyed Ritual, and I definitely recommend it to fellow fans and lovers of crime/mystery thrillers. As for the ending itself, the only thing I'll say is that it's definitely unlike The Wicker Man it wraps up the mystery and the hints throughout make sense, but it's its own unique shocking entity. His performance makes the story all the more engaging, perfectly fitting the book's tone and atmosphere right to the end. Ric Jerrom does a fantastic service in his narration, providing the energy and flavour that helps bring the fleshed-out characters to life, from the cruel Fat Billy to the flamboyant hammy Cready.

The plot does feel disjointed at times, but at the same time it does add to Hanlin's growing desire to solve the case. Howie in The Wicker Man he's less composed and more expressive in his frustrations, possessing weaknesses that make him interesting and vulnerable. The atmosphere is dark yet with a sense of humour, and candidates are laid out nice and distinctively as the protagonist David Hanlin investigates. It's in Cornwall rather than the isolated Scottish island of Summerisle, for one. While the film loosely retained the book's premise - a policeman investigating what happened to a girl in a village whose religion clashes with his Christianity - the specifics are very different right off the bat. I was intrigued by just how different the two could be, and after listening to the audiobook of Ritual, I was left very much surprised and enjoyed the experience. I came to know of Ritual through the film that came to be based on it, the cult classic The Wicker Man.

An Engaging Inspiration for The Wicker Man

Ritual david pinner