Studiocanal, with the endorsement of director Robin Hardy, have launched a world-wide public appeal to locate original film materials relating to legendary horror classic ‘The Wicker Man’, originally released in 1973, in celebration of the cult film’s 40th anniversary.

The now widely lauded film was released with minimal promotion in 1973 as second feature of a double bill with Don’t Look Now. The version exhibited to audiences was significantly shorter than director Robin Hardy’s original vision. In what has now become an apocryphal episode in British film history, the negatives disappeared from storage at Shepperton Studios, were then allegedly used as landfill in the construction of the nearby M4 motorway, and are considered lost forever.

Director Robin Hardy comments: “I never thought that, after forty years, they would still be finding lost fragments of my film, we thought all of The Wicker Man had gone up in flames, but fragments keep turning up and the hunt goes on!”

A special Facebook page has been created to serve as a forum for the search to continue. For further updates and to join the conversation with any news please visit: https://www.facebook.com/WickerManAppeal

Join in on the debate to help us conserve, restore and release one of the best British horrors of all time!

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