Britt Ekland on The Wicker Man 50th Anniversary: An Empire Podcast Interview Special

The Empire Film Podcast

Bauer Media

Tv & Film, Film Reviews

4.6 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 19 June 2023

⏱️ 25 minutes

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Summary

The Wicker Man (the film, not the terrifying, flammable wooden figure) turns 50 this year, and to celebrate it's being re-released in UK cinemas for one day only, on June 21st. And to celebrate that, in this interview special Chris Hewitt sits down with the legendary Britt Ekland, who plays Willow in Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer's classic folk horror, and talks about her troubled relationship with the film and her treatment during/after it, how that relationship has healed over the years, becoming friends with Christopher Lee at the Empire Awards, and much, much more. It's a fun and frank interview that is a must for all fans of The Wicker Man, so whether you have come here of your own free will, whether you have the power of a king, whether you're a virgin, or whether you're a fool, enjoy.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello pod, I'm Chris Hewitt and welcome to another Empire Podcast interview special.
0:20.8	The Wichemann turns 50 this year and to celebrate Studio Canal are re-releasing the final
0:26.6	cut version of Robin Hardy and Anthony Shavers' seminal folk-hara movie, remastered in glorious 4K,
0:33.6	in cinemas on one day only. This Wednesday, June 21st. Some are solstice. Lord Summaryl himself would
0:42.6	approve. Of the major cast members, sadly, Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Diane Cilento,
0:48.9	and Ingrid Pitt have all passed on. Only the legendary Brit-Eckland is still with us and what a
0:55.3	force of nature she remains. As I discovered when I sat down with her in London about six weeks ago,
1:01.3	to talk about the Wichemann and her relationship with it, because his Nancy Mayer's might say,
1:07.2	it's complicated. For years, if you were to bring up the Wichemann to Eckland chances are,
1:13.0	she'd have emulated Woodward, Sargent Howey, and yelled, oh God, oh Christ, oh Jesus Christ!
1:19.8	At the mere mention of its name, Eckland's performance as willow, the seductive pub landlord's daughter,
1:26.3	is one of the film's most memorable, but she suffered the ignominy of being doubled not once,
1:31.9	but twice, with her dialogue, Scottish accent and all, dubbed by Annie Ross, and her body doubled,
1:39.4	one of the film's most famous scenes by, as legend has it, a local exotic dancer.
1:45.0	And she wasn't particularly happy about that, or indeed, her treatment by the film's director,
1:51.8	Robin Hardy. But as I discovered in this fun interview, Eckland now aged 80, would you believe,
1:59.9	has indeed come the terms with all of that, and has much to say about the Wichemann,
2:05.0	and its place in a fascinating career that is still going strong, and includes this,
2:10.6	Get Carter, and the man with a golden gun to name but three. Come, it is time to keep your
2:17.4	appointment with the Wichemann. Enjoy! We are delighted to be joined on the Emperor podcast by
2:23.9	the legendary Brit Eckland Howey. I'm very well, thank you. Could you get a part from the weather,
2:28.7	of course? Well, I'm used to it now, from Los Angeles to Sweden to London,
	...

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