This podcast is an audio supplement, meant to be played simultaneously with the film The Wicker Man (2006). We are watching the film via a US Blu-ray release. Streaming and rental options can be found here.
NOTE: There are two versions of this movie out there, which we did not realize until after we'd recorded this. They're identical except for the ending. The UNRATED version, which is the version that was released on Blu-ray (and that we are watching), has the alternate ending that includes the infamous "NOT THE BEES" scene. The theatrical cut, which is the one most widely available for digital rental, omits that sequence and includes a "SIX MONTHS LATER" final scene that isn't in the version we watched. Please make sure you are watching the UNRATED version if you can.
Our commentary begins at the film's 16 second mark. It's right before the Alcon Entertainment logo fades up.
@alex: have been you seen Kiss of Death? It’s home to more ham than, err...Kanye’s hog farm? Nic Cage, Samuel L. Jackson, Ving Rhames, and the world’s greatest thespian, David Caruso, all in one place.
I bought almost all of these movies for my own personal Nic Cage Appreciation Marathon late last year but never followed through on watching them, so these F&Fs have been great!
Start it from 1:34:36 in the podcast. Be sure to press play on the movie after the clip ends to get the super great ending for the theatrical version (notice the bee sounds in the background, wtf...)
I hope I got that timing right, it's tricky to move around exactly to where you like with this podcast player.
Thanks, this worked out! Watched the wrong version which was fine until this point, paused it and started the youtube clip around that timestamp, then continued the movie around the same frame the clip ends on.
@avioto: Thank you. I was a fool and just checked the podcast feed itself for any mentions of version considerations instead of reading comments, and was so confused when suddenly the commentary bore no remote resemblance to what I was watching. Will go back and listen with that video on.
The two different versions are not identical at all, the dvd version which is the older one is a lot shorter in other areas too, the sync kept going amok. Still had a good ole time though, was supes glad Austin was there too!
@vinny@alex@danryckert@ybbaaabby Do you think it's a good idea to make the starting name credits a good syncing point in the future? It's easier to seek and sync for a name credit than a timestamp because it doesn't seem to be accurate most of the time and because of different releases, seek bars also aren't that precise.
for what it's worth, I was able to run to my local Vintage Stock and buy a used copy of the Unrated DVD for $6. This and National Treasure were the only movies in this run of Film & 40s I hadn't seen before and this was a damn sight better than NT. Found it hugely entertaining, if not for the intended reasons.
Stoked that Austin was around for this, I really miss him interacting with the GB duders.
I have to say, Dan’s stupidity was in full force here and it was infuriating. Did he get drunk before the recording or something? The plot was incredibly basic and he couldn’t follow it. Also “what’s a matriarchy?”
Maybe you guys should be watching with subtitles on so things aren’t easily missed?
I have so far found the Unrated version digitally available from Microsoft, Google Play, and Amazon, but only for purchase ($10-$13) and NOT for rent. What a buzzkill. With that said I'll go ahead and also admit that the Unrated version is also difficult to find illicit copies of. It must be *bad*.
Yea. I first rented the original version, then went to some sites for a dirty copy of the unrated version, couldn't find any, uhh, links with any generous donors...so I just bought it on YouTube since I had a $5 off purchase coupon there.
I will say this for the movie: it's really, really bad, but in having different versions in confusing availability, it's very close to the Edward Woodward/Christopher Lee original.
I just watched the original wickerman movie where instead of nick cage you get copious amounts of nudity and a much creepier feeling overall (actually a good movie, music is good, too)
@bacterialbeaver I can confirm what @croy4633 posted. The theatrical version that you can rent on Youtube is actually the unrated version. I rented the HD version ($3.99) of the theatrical version at the following link and it matched with the podcast. It contains the Alcon Entertainment logo at the beginning and has the "Not the bees" scene at the end. I would assume the SD version will work as well.
The best thing I can say is that it gave more context to all the memes. The movie is atrocious. The premise could have worked if the execution was handled by someone who was competent.
I have the wrong version and starting the movie from the very start instead of 16 seconds and playing when Alex says go (4:09), it syncs up pretty close at the start.
I have so far found the Unrated version digitally available from Microsoft, Google Play, and Amazon, but only for purchase ($10-$13) and NOT for rent. What a buzzkill. With that said I'll go ahead and also admit that the Unrated version is also difficult to find illicit copies of. It must be *bad*.
Half the time digital rentals in my region end up being a different speed, which sucks as it leads to continual desyncing.
I'll try Plejmo here, which appears to be the only option, and has Wicker Man at a runtime of 102 minutes, indicating that perhaps it's the 1:41:51 the unrated version supposedly is, and at the same speed? Hopefully that's actually the case.
edit Nope, movie keeps leaping ahead. The runtime is actually 1:37:32.
How many percent would one need to up the tempo in Audacity? I'll just try about 4.176%, see what that does. Think I nailed it.
@bacterialbeaver I can confirm what @croy4633 posted. The theatrical version that you can rent on Youtube is actually the unrated version. I rented the HD version ($3.99) of the theatrical version at the following link and it matched with the podcast. It contains the Alcon Entertainment logo at the beginning and has the "Not the bees" scene at the end. I would assume the SD version will work as well.
I can also back this up. Rented the HD version which said it had a runtime of 1:41:52 on the rental page. The actual video was 1:41:51. Lined up perfectly with the podcast.
@bacterialbeaver I can confirm what @croy4633 posted. The theatrical version that you can rent on Youtube is actually the unrated version. I rented the HD version ($3.99) of the theatrical version at the following link and it matched with the podcast. It contains the Alcon Entertainment logo at the beginning and has the "Not the bees" scene at the end. I would assume the SD version will work as well.
I can also back this up. Rented the HD version which said it had a runtime of 1:41:52 on the rental page. The actual video was 1:41:51. Lined up perfectly with the podcast.
@alex Hey Alex, quick suggestion for better syncing up audio that you guys have done before in the past, but I think it would be a good idea to say the names of the studios and the names during the opening credits as they appear on the screen. I think that serves as a good visual and audio cue for us to easier sync to in addition to bringing up the audio channels.
I've seen the 'unrated' version of this movie before and wasn't aware that there was another version. Turns out iTunes has the wrong version. They edited the bees scene and the leg breaking scene as audio only and played it as they walked him up the hill to the wicker man; what a weird choice. Must have been to get that PG-13 rating that Alex was referring to. There's also a scene at the end where James Franco (what?) was picked up in a bar to become the next sacrifice.
Oh wow... I rented the HD YouTube version and was watching with subtitles. At the end, the captions go completely screwey and weird, just plain wrong. It looks like the video is from the unrated edition, but the captions are for the theatrical cut :D Confused me for quite a bit!
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