Happy 40th Birthday, Monty Python's Flying Circus!

This groundbreaking, silly, television series, broadcast by the BBC from 1969 to 1974, was conceived, written and performed by the late Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin.

The above video is my favorite sketch. Click here for more info on Monty Python. Here are the CBC's 10 favorite Python moments.

Damn, silly show.

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"Come, come see The Wicker Man."

I suppose the first observation one might make about the original 1973 British horror classic, The Wicker Man, is that Britt Ekland is naked throughout an entire song - chest and back (I found out online that the backside you saw in the film wasn't Britt's but a local stripper found at a pub; Britt wouldn't do the backside shot, but the chest is all Britt.). You know Britt - the Swedish bombshell who made her mark in the Bond film, The Man with the Golden Gun, married Peter Sellers, romanced Rod Stewart and had affairs with countless other celebrities? Unfortunately, I couldn't find an uncensored version of "Willow's Song" from the movie on Youtube:



My second observation is that this is a most excellent watch. I made a mention of it in my Christopher Lee post a few weeks back. The film was written by Anthony Shaffer, who wrote Sleuth (play and movie), Murder on the Orient Express (1974 - uncredited rewrite), Death on the Nile, among others. It's directed by Robin Hardy and starred Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Ingrid Pitt and Britt Ekland.

Here's the original UK trailer. There's also a 2nd trailer called "The Essential Wickerman" that goes into the plot with more detail.

Woodward plays a Scottish policeman who goes to the fictional Scottish isle of Summerisle to investigate a missing girl. Or is she missing? The policeman is a strict Christian, while the inhabitants of this Scottish isle are pagans. They believe anything they do to appease their gods will benefit their crops - anything.

It's a thriller, with a psychological bent + mystery + horror. And I absolutely LOVED IT. The Wicker Man is highly regarded by critics and film enthusiasts. Film magazine Cinefantastique described it as "The Citizen Kane of Horror Movies", and in 2004 the magazine Total Film named The Wicker Man the sixth greatest British film of all time. It also won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film. A scene from this film was #45 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.

Cowboys for Christ, a sequel starring Lee, is in pre-production. A remake with Nicholas Cage was produced in 2006. SKIP IT. I saw a few scenes on Youtube; it bites. And don't just take my word - it won five 2006 Golden Raspberry Awards.

WARNING. The whole pagan undertone in this movie is NOT underplayed. There's plenty of nudity and graphic sexual talk. Look for naked couples copulating in a field, a naked woman masturbating on a grave and a very sultry Ingrid Pitt (famous for her work in the Hammer Film horror movies) in one, quick nude scene.

The one standout plot point for me concerned the dueling religions - paganism and Christianity - and the struggles Woodward encounted with both. Shot partly on location in Scotland, the scenery is gorgeous and is every bit important to the movie/plot as the storyline.

Quite delicious. I've received my 2-DVD commemorative set of the movie and am looking forward to the actor's commentaries. By the way, of the 260+ films that Christopher Lee has been in, The Wicker Man is his favorite. If you don't believe me, take Mr. Lee's advice.

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