tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90531808785079670142024-02-01T21:29:34.630-08:00NecronomaniaAntony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9053180878507967014.post-12124050368571949352015-10-15T14:21:00.000-07:002015-10-16T00:34:02.302-07:00Emanations 2 + 2 = 5<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX7i5Gq7OJT_iNNBimLS73vdHdoGltIIs2pV7stvqe6WISXCsMaox3rrupYPIAD0h93LUKTMkFs0UL_2QeunMPtKcWsuB3tFQ_NcAJyD1s-c45OWypRfplpByM81_NXOy1j07IBlvzBRP1/s1600/Back2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX7i5Gq7OJT_iNNBimLS73vdHdoGltIIs2pV7stvqe6WISXCsMaox3rrupYPIAD0h93LUKTMkFs0UL_2QeunMPtKcWsuB3tFQ_NcAJyD1s-c45OWypRfplpByM81_NXOy1j07IBlvzBRP1/s320/Back2.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
<i>Emanations 2 + 2 = 5</i> is now available from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Emanations-2-5-Carter-Kaplan/dp/1514336693/" target="_blank">UK</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Emanations-2-5-Carter-Kaplan/dp/1514336693/" target="_blank">US Amazon</a>, as well as direct from <a href="https://www.createspace.com/5558231" target="_blank">Createspace</a>. This handsome 594-page anthology from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/InternationalAuthors" target="_blank">International Authors</a> highlights the work of 60 writers and illustrators from across the globe. It is edited by <a href="http://carterkaplan.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Carter Kaplan</a> and its striking cover was painted by <a href="http://ruudantonius.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Ruud Antonius</a>.<br />
<br />
Dr Kaplan informs me that the Herculean labours involved in assembling such a giant tome and dealing with hunts for errant punctuation marks and unreasonable demands for last-minute rewrites from a certain author have turned him into a pale and trembling husk of his former self. He has gratefully accepted the Marxist Revolutionary Party's kind offer of a free off-season rest cure at Squalling Sands, its exclusive holiday resort on the unspoilt north-west coast of England. Here he will be able to contemplate the endless grey dunes, dust off his dialectics and rebuild his shattered constitution in calm surroundings untroubled by the cares of the publishing world.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaLFGIlj_f3Ma3pKa6bynFatNI14Ipq09GUU2RVeqeLSU_7fTs4huokuWhE85FvwdbaFWwlsNxL5ElCENanopA_08t3q8SAUDw-68a2b8or97U4utnYVpI5BJoggCGWbeABxxsJ40AWohS/s1600/squalling.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaLFGIlj_f3Ma3pKa6bynFatNI14Ipq09GUU2RVeqeLSU_7fTs4huokuWhE85FvwdbaFWwlsNxL5ElCENanopA_08t3q8SAUDw-68a2b8or97U4utnYVpI5BJoggCGWbeABxxsJ40AWohS/s320/squalling.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<br />Antony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9053180878507967014.post-34502477872738634972013-12-06T20:38:00.000-08:002013-12-07T07:39:13.613-08:00The Myth of 'The Wicker Man'.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3_AZQmFQ_YYyukUkfX_FdpU484HKCJa2nyPY2RvzjbL6btNNaAxcISEv-J55WuGUGV6VgxgXTLi0zR3HEc7uAoYZIOGiCEVfHYikGoiEdMnwxdHoqagNo7CU_WNP63T2RC0TCI7QDI6R/s1600/WICKERMAN_QUAD_FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3_AZQmFQ_YYyukUkfX_FdpU484HKCJa2nyPY2RvzjbL6btNNaAxcISEv-J55WuGUGV6VgxgXTLi0zR3HEc7uAoYZIOGiCEVfHYikGoiEdMnwxdHoqagNo7CU_WNP63T2RC0TCI7QDI6R/s320/WICKERMAN_QUAD_FINAL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Sergeant
Neil Howie (Edward Woodward), a </span>Scottish policeman of high Christian ideals and
intolerant attitudes, is lured to the remote, godless island of Summerisle by
a mysterious letter reporting the alleged disappearance of a schoolgirl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Appalled by the loose sexual attitudes and
pagan practices of the island’s inhabitants, he becomes the hapless victim of a
sinister game orchestrated by the resident autocrat, Lord Summerisle (Sir
Christopher Lee).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As events reach a horrifying
conclusion, he comes to realise that the hunter is really the hunted...</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
legends surrounding <i>The Wicker Man</i> are part of the film's mystique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A victim of industry politics, it was
despised by studio executives and met with blank incomprehension when it was
produced in 1973.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With director Robin
Hardy barred from the cutting room, it was crudely pruned back to support
feature length and eventually released in a double-bill with Nicholas Roeg’s <i>Don’t
Look Back</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Star Christopher Lee
became <i>The Wicker Man</i>'s greatest champion, claiming that it was the best
film he had ever made and complaining to anyone who would listen about the
desecration of his masterpiece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rumours
and conspiracy theories abounded about missing scenes, boardroom machinations
and cans of excised celluloid buried deep beneath the M3 motorway.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNyzxHIJharB1lLf49S8VdSQtjqPf6GTYg2XZ5hiU9ScrHXio71SiJdeBk3scgYQ8BlpfYbaMa-_sbeWi8UDSxbYtsdyjdooYBz1pqzdcgggdAlJy3V_9YkJkXeA6Tgh_VugTBYbVd-La/s1600/stone+circle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNyzxHIJharB1lLf49S8VdSQtjqPf6GTYg2XZ5hiU9ScrHXio71SiJdeBk3scgYQ8BlpfYbaMa-_sbeWi8UDSxbYtsdyjdooYBz1pqzdcgggdAlJy3V_9YkJkXeA6Tgh_VugTBYbVd-La/s320/stone+circle.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These
mysteries were solved to a limited extent by the appearance of <i>The
Director’s Cut </i>in 2006.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rediscovered
sequences (obtained from Roger Corman in the USA) were spliced back in to
recreate what Robin Hardy claimed were his original intentions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Taken from a video source, the restored
scenes were of distractingly poor quality, but were nevertheless welcomed by
fans, who continued to hope that even more footage was waiting to be
found.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was therefore much
excitement when, after a well-publicised search for
missing materials, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">it was announced that </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The Wicker Man – The Final Cut</i> was to appear in time
for the film's fortieth anniversary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Surprisingly,
<i>The Wicker Man – The Final Cut</i> turned out not to be anything new. Shorter
than <i>The Director’s Cut, </i>it is the previously known 'middle version’,
assembled by Hardy in 1979 for American distributors Abraxas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given a limited theatrical run in the States,
it was later broadcast by BBC 2 as the opening part of its <i>Moviedrome</i>
series introduced by Alex Cox in 1988.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The current release has been sourced from a good quality 35mm print
found at the Harvard Film Archives and is intended to be definitive. In
interviews however, 84 year-old Hardy has not ruled out making further changes,
so it would seem that the title <i>The Final Cut</i> is a provisional marketing
tag rather than a name that relates meaningfully to the film.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXlIQpV4oI76vZeurEFCin8-_wZmV2ZD6Q_QDhpLkGFGw5Y0_Jl15t3dOgSyPc0dULBO8b-Ol5yWySGBRApBTtj-bjalKTV7N53gDEHz_h8A2NdzI138MMijCggV4tTM8x7Novk0ZUhNQ/s1600/wickermanVinylArt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXlIQpV4oI76vZeurEFCin8-_wZmV2ZD6Q_QDhpLkGFGw5Y0_Jl15t3dOgSyPc0dULBO8b-Ol5yWySGBRApBTtj-bjalKTV7N53gDEHz_h8A2NdzI138MMijCggV4tTM8x7Novk0ZUhNQ/s320/wickermanVinylArt.jpg" width="253" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So
how do the versions compare?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First of
all it must be said that, although not perfect, the visual quality of <i>The
Final Cut </i>is vastly superior to that of <i>The Director's Cut</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some graininess remains in the nighttime
sequences, but this is tolerable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
it is not so long as its predecessor, this 'new' version contains all
the key elements and tells a coherent story; something that the <i>Theatrical
Cut </i>failed to do<i>. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
biggest difference from <i>The Director’s Cut </i>is the omission of opening
scenes on the mainland that show Howie interacting with police colleagues,
which it plain that he is an object of their derision on account of his
sexually-repressed religious views.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While many miss this sequence, I am inclined to agree with Hardy's
opinion that it unnecessarily spells out aspects of Howie's character that
viewers will quickly pick up from his behaviour on Summerisle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is depicted as a freak, out of step with
his peers, reflecting perhaps Hardy and Shaffer's concern about how such an
austere protagonist would be received by a 1970s’ audience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From a personal point of view, I find that
having Howie's personality defined in this way at the outset removes the
pleasure of learning about him as the film progresses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interesting though it is, this section is
really just 'special feature' material.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sadly,<i>
The Final Cut </i>is missing the black title card that reads:</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJKszR-msRVSMDAoOdUFhOloVYZBtref2qYJYqLWDt4_BKpPk3zttrhRc6wzSmacEAj_PDtJ33UEudPaYTH2EXq1EoJtAuQRM_34PSN3PhSYcJZs_gf6q2MQjrD0YFwULzbF2ftDYBNG1Y/s1600/thanks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJKszR-msRVSMDAoOdUFhOloVYZBtref2qYJYqLWDt4_BKpPk3zttrhRc6wzSmacEAj_PDtJ33UEudPaYTH2EXq1EoJtAuQRM_34PSN3PhSYcJZs_gf6q2MQjrD0YFwULzbF2ftDYBNG1Y/s400/thanks.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With
its playful suggestion that we are about to watch a documentary, this
announcement is typical of the quirky touches that make <i>The Wicker Man</i>
so unique and points to the confusion of genres that make it the
ultimate 'cult movie'.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also indicates
the ethnographic care with which Shaffer and Hardy constructed Summerisle's
pagan community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its loss is mitigated
slightly by the inclusion of the 'Nuada' sun god image that is used highly
appropriately at the beginning and end as the film's logo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before
he sets out for Summerisle, we are shown a flashback sequence of Sergeant Howie
at Holy Communion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In interviews, Hardy
has explained that he considered it be important that this scene was included
at the beginning of the film so that it connects to the climax, emphasising the
theme of religious sacrifice. In the butchered <i>Theatrical Cut, </i>the<i> </i>shots
of Howie taking the sacrament are added later on to illustrate his spiritual
conflict during the attempted seduction scene with 'landlord's daughter' Willow
MacGregor (Britt Ekland). I must confess a personal preference for the way the <i>Theatrical
Cut </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">opens</span> with Howie taking
off in his seaplane and flying over the island. It is interesting to note how
Hardy prioritises symbolism over pace.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-undzd77I6I1WWb-_K1nK80rByDyBJX3x1wW9qXGQck2azfmupH6rLX4r7d0oJfblrp_ja5v7q68yzcf6k3K6M2IbA0VN3iEsG54h9l587CIYkqsj9q-fpN7vKRMJw4Ylh72uwVDbnYcY/s1600/snails.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-undzd77I6I1WWb-_K1nK80rByDyBJX3x1wW9qXGQck2azfmupH6rLX4r7d0oJfblrp_ja5v7q68yzcf6k3K6M2IbA0VN3iEsG54h9l587CIYkqsj9q-fpN7vKRMJw4Ylh72uwVDbnYcY/s320/snails.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most
importantly, <i>The Final Cut </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">clearly<i>
</i></span>shows both nights of Howie's stay at Summerisle's inn 'The Green
Man' and gives us an introductory sight of Lord Summerisle during his nocturnal
visit with a young lad to be sexually initiated by the voluptuous Willow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This includes his bizarre recital of a Walt
Whitman poem over scenes of copulating snails.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>An entire song that was criminally removed from <i>Theatrical Cut</i>,
the beautiful 'Gently Johnny', has been restored.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the negative side, there are some cuts
that disrupt the music’s integrity, affecting the equally important 'Willow's
Song'.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">As mentioned,<i> The Final Cut </i></span><span lang="EN-US">is
undoubtedly the best-looking version of <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">the
film</span> and, whether or not one prefers it to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Director’s Cut</i> (and a perfunctory survey I have conducted among
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wicker Man</i> fans shows that the
majority do not), it provides an ideal opportunity to reassess the film on its
fortieth anniversary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US">In recent
years <i>The Wicker Man</i> has been badly served by an ill-advised remake and
follow-up; Nicolas Cage's ludicrously misogynistic 2006 version swiftly became
an Internet joke and Hardy's own 'spiritual sequel' <i>The Wicker Tree</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span>failed<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> artistically </span>in every respect that the original succeeded in.<i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizIDqXYN_VQyDFk-cKx2J25phhJswImx5yjQEWQM0JZklsChgkifU0JVyRInkvH3oGxXrVm1m6h8f-Mm8A_gzJCykyOVrbqOdIvUMpT9-b38UGDp7FiOgwpaLoma9nFyXt9cK3t5bxnKdz/s1600/May-Day.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizIDqXYN_VQyDFk-cKx2J25phhJswImx5yjQEWQM0JZklsChgkifU0JVyRInkvH3oGxXrVm1m6h8f-Mm8A_gzJCykyOVrbqOdIvUMpT9-b38UGDp7FiOgwpaLoma9nFyXt9cK3t5bxnKdz/s320/May-Day.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So
what makes <i>The Wicker Man </i>so special?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hardy and Shaffer originally conceived of it as an extension of their
mutual interest in 'game-playing' and as a break from the Gothic clichés of
'Hammer horror'.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Inspired by the ''Obby
'Oss' festivities at Padstow in Devon, Hardy turned his attention to Sir George
Frazer's classic yet controversial work of comparative mythology, <i>The Golden
Bough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Leapfrogging through twelve
dense volumes, he and Shaffer lifted religious and folkloric customs from
disparate times and places to create an anachronistic amalgam to fit their
ingenious plot, changing things and adding their own inventions when
necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The result is surprisingly
successful; a manufactured Pagan belief system that feels authentic and strangely
familiar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The solar-mythological theme<i>
</i>lends the story a deep archetypal resonance that lifts it into another
dimension.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the key scene in which Howie eventually meets up with Lord Summerisle, we learn that the island's Pagan religion is a bogus imposition, introduced by Summerisle's grandfather, a free-thinking Victorian scientist. Attracted by the island's volcanic soil and its 'profuse source of wiry labour', he decides ‘to rouse the people from their apathy by giving them back their joyous old gods' so that they can toil happily in his orchards growing the new strains of apple that, like a Victorian version of Monsanto, he has artificially developed to produce fruit in this unpromising environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The current Lord Summerisle lays claims to genuinely believe in the island's reconstituted Paganism:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US">'What my grandfather had started out of expediency, my father continued out of love. He brought me up the same way; to reverence the music and the drama and rituals of the old gods. To love nature and to fear it, and to rely on it and to appease it where necessary.'</span></i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Given that he is no ignorant villager and knows the real, scientific explanation of why apples grow on the island, is he to be trusted on this point? Clearly the religion (in which he personally plays a key part) plays a huge ideological role in cementing the absolute control he seems to exert over the island's inhabitants.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;
mso-fareast-language:JA;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSIbSwZfyyaACWaOdktHHOKoLTHosBFhb40B-gZP3rKRh9EZ5HU5hB3q3xFp_Q7BlV6GdPtl6p9TAKWEqk3NSkFFYvfD2zzwh2bvrTKQRcN_vS5mHMb-df2Zn2fobG7jgLMWc3_dH5G_9/s1600/WickerMan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSIbSwZfyyaACWaOdktHHOKoLTHosBFhb40B-gZP3rKRh9EZ5HU5hB3q3xFp_Q7BlV6GdPtl6p9TAKWEqk3NSkFFYvfD2zzwh2bvrTKQRcN_vS5mHMb-df2Zn2fobG7jgLMWc3_dH5G_9/s320/WickerMan.jpg" width="307" /></span></a></div>
<div class="normal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Modern scholars have rejected<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> The Golden Bough’s </i>central thesis,
along with the romantic notion that modern-day folk customs such as the 'Obby 'Oss are remnants of
prehistoric religious practices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
historical veracity of the 'Wicker Man' itself is open to challenge, as the only surviving account of Druidic beliefs and rituals is furnished by Julius Caesar,
who may have had his own imperial motives for inventing or distorting
things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> At any rate, </span></span>Caesar's
account of the 'Wicker Colossus' merely states that the preferred sacrifices were
convicted criminals, whereas Hardy and Shaffer provide their own formulation:</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;
mso-fareast-language:JA;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">'A man who
would come here of his own free will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
man who has come here with the power of a king by representing the law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A man who would come here as a virgin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A man who has come here as a fool.'</span></i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Given the context, these things do not matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is easy to imagine that Summerisle's religion may have been
concocted by a Victorian patriarch from the folkloric materials available to
him.</span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;
mso-fareast-language:JA;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment--><!--EndFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">The
casting of <i>The Wicker Man</i> is superb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The role of Lord
Summerisle offered </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christopher Lee an ideal opportunity to climb out of his </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Hammer</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Count Dracula rut, and he does so effortlessly, combining urbane charm and
creepiness in equal proportions.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He is
splendidly matched by Edward Woodward, whose total immersion in the role of
Neil Howie is so convincing that people are sometimes surprised to learn he was
not a Scotsman in real life.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Woodward
gives a physical performance, deliberately ordering his police uniform a size
too small to give the impression of pent-up muscular stiffness that could be an
object lesson in Wilhelm Reich’s theory of character-armour.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He achieves the feat of first alienating the
audience, but then turning it around in the final scenes, so that viewers completely
empathise with him </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>in extremis</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He is the linchpin of the film.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtzTPx1i_nY0oCGwved0z7Nx6mDkNnP5RqdKdbvZNw1-HWHdiM2fL9fjENL359bjx661FTip66Y-ltygorruMfPAkm6sCspTyhXXaA9IXUeFD3ZXFo0RJ6x30PB62e4J1i5LSz5Y4gwXE/s1600/fishermen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtzTPx1i_nY0oCGwved0z7Nx6mDkNnP5RqdKdbvZNw1-HWHdiM2fL9fjENL359bjx661FTip66Y-ltygorruMfPAkm6sCspTyhXXaA9IXUeFD3ZXFo0RJ6x30PB62e4J1i5LSz5Y4gwXE/s320/fishermen.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
supporting actors are also excellent, from the Scottish locals recruited to play Summerisle fishermen to the splendidly odd choice of Lindsay Kemp (Britain's foremost
mime artist and one-time mentor/lover of the young David Bowie) to play camp
publican Alder MacGregor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite the
lack of family resemblance, 'big name' of the moment Britt Ekland is appropriately
nubile as his daughter Willow (even if her voice needed dubbing and the bottom on display is not really hers).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Diane Cilento also stands out as Miss Rose,
the village school teacher and apparent paramour of Lord Summerisle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoet5JBDdvuaEIoN6zgv71_d5JJzF5zoEl0L_mCMZfQvT0NZ18-1u4yApr-__qpvGx3EuKwbNAStK13yONHSvLh1EKr6Egb71KfWpDN5ZiDOUy09XDLy4y_6ywOXqtmXf06uyrxCAPTy9l/s1600/pitt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoet5JBDdvuaEIoN6zgv71_d5JJzF5zoEl0L_mCMZfQvT0NZ18-1u4yApr-__qpvGx3EuKwbNAStK13yONHSvLh1EKr6Egb71KfWpDN5ZiDOUy09XDLy4y_6ywOXqtmXf06uyrxCAPTy9l/s200/pitt.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The one talent to be wasted is that of
'Hammer Glamour' goddess Ingrid Pitt, allegedly brought in against Shaffer and
Hardy's wishes as a backfiring ploy to curry favour with the distributors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cast in the frumpish role of the Librarian,
her sexuality is only exploited in a surreal 'Carry On' style scene in which
Sergeant Howie comes across her naked in an old-fashioned tin bathtub.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alongside
Woodward and Lee, <i>The Wicker Man</i>'s third star is undoubtedly Paul
Giovanni, the composer of the soundtrack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His contribution is so large that the film has been mischievously described
as a 'stealth musical'.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would not be
the same without the songs and tunes that convey plot and atmosphere so
effectively.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eclectic and innovative, the
soundtrack is inspired by everything from Scottish 'mouth music' to Victorian
parlour songs and is distinguished by some unusual instrumentation and
arrangements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5rZNlnDJYz8EJ-ik5zwm2e4_TT84sxs0DyKCkKhe0Vj46jVtnEgQkfy2JEykruwhFix-YXY3TjTMgchN35oVLkfJ9Kkn536hGKJ1vwvA4MMln2AwoV_a8cKGnnMrdew3JQhl0p5AKdirD/s1600/968full-paul-giovanni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5rZNlnDJYz8EJ-ik5zwm2e4_TT84sxs0DyKCkKhe0Vj46jVtnEgQkfy2JEykruwhFix-YXY3TjTMgchN35oVLkfJ9Kkn536hGKJ1vwvA4MMln2AwoV_a8cKGnnMrdew3JQhl0p5AKdirD/s200/968full-paul-giovanni.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mainly diegetic, the
music’s organic qualities are enhanced by the fact that its performers actually
appear in the film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Generically, it is a
prime example of the type of folk rock explored by Michael Faber in his flawed
yet fascinating book <i>Electric Eden</i>. The two songs recorded by Pentangle
for Roddy McDowall's psychedelic folk-horror <i>Tam Lin</i> (also filmed in
Scotland and released in 1970) are predecessors, but Giovanni's work is
original and groundbreaking. Not all the songs are truly traditional, and some
contain 'de-Bowdlerised' versions of folk lyrics penned by Anthony Shaffer's more
famous playwright brother, Peter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
tone varies from the coarse ribaldry of 'The Landlord's Daughter' to the
haunting nuances of 'Willow's Song' and 'Gently Johnny', both of which exquisitely
convey sensual yearning in keeping with a prelapsarian era of sexual
freedom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Throughout
most of the film, Sergeant Howie acts as a distorting lens, his rigid and
unsympathetic personality colouring our view of the people and events he
witnesses. Amused by his bumbling attempts to solve the mystery of Rowan
Morrison, we are drawn into complicity with the islanders, although it is only
at the end that we discover the extent of their manipulation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything has been preplanned and scripted
at Lord Summerisle’s behest to entrap their victim.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Still,
from a modern perspective, are Howie’s responses really so unreasonable?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In many ways Summerisle harks back to the
sexist values of the 1970s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would we
feel comfortable when the male customers of 'The Green Man' crudely regale young
Willow MacGregor with 'The Landlord's Daughter' and she smilingly plays along
with them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> W</span></span>ould we really be happy to stumble across a graveyard full of what now would be called 'doggers' on an evening stroll? How would we rate a school where
a segregated class of pubescent girls is taught the virtues of phallic
worship?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How on earth, in the post-Sir Jimmy
Savile era, would we respond when Lord Summerisle leers out of the window at a
group of naked teenagers and urges us to 'be open to the regenerative
influences'?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTl_bkUdZSjezc5XUDa7u0jf-FWNrp5HiOTv8uDtC0nuTsO5VtNCXHPJqq9ckXxXfgPFFKvvoSpYgyGjvhg22c3EENDAn7J0Bp-wLG0Yce-DVvrTWYdCtDt1xv40sg3Eo5q5t0lqo3NI4-/s1600/britt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTl_bkUdZSjezc5XUDa7u0jf-FWNrp5HiOTv8uDtC0nuTsO5VtNCXHPJqq9ckXxXfgPFFKvvoSpYgyGjvhg22c3EENDAn7J0Bp-wLG0Yce-DVvrTWYdCtDt1xv40sg3Eo5q5t0lqo3NI4-/s320/britt.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We may smirk at Howie's sexual discomfiture when he hears
the landlord's daughter slapping her shapely physique against his bedroom wall,
but would it really be sensible for him to succumb to her advances?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Quite apart from his religious beliefs, not only
has he recently become engaged, but he is also a police officer on active duty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If he gave into temptation, he would be
opening himself to blackmail on an island where everyone is potentially a
suspect in the case of a missing young girl.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibV9RZUE7t4fRiWFlg5LVCuJl23iNHjOwc2YmrW5BSC2lapVkFPgwa4jRX8IwVQf47Rp5Uh-_wz0b-g5a6VlpfLHuMoO5oZs-ae4ceTCxewNzRZcP8P1CwDYDNZsyZpdW3x_brqaEwYUD-/s1600/whitehouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibV9RZUE7t4fRiWFlg5LVCuJl23iNHjOwc2YmrW5BSC2lapVkFPgwa4jRX8IwVQf47Rp5Uh-_wz0b-g5a6VlpfLHuMoO5oZs-ae4ceTCxewNzRZcP8P1CwDYDNZsyZpdW3x_brqaEwYUD-/s200/whitehouse.jpg" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An
intriguing aspect of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Wicker Man</i>
is the way in which it inverted the social attitudes of its time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ‘traditional’ community of Summerisle
mirrors the so-called ‘permissive society’ that was seen as a threat to public morals by religious conservatives in the late 1960s and early 1970s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In September 1971, the ‘Nationwide Festival
of Light’, led by Christian luminaries such as </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mary Whitehouse, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lord Longford </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cliff Richard, lit bonfires and torches on hilltops across Britain and
culminated in a 400,000 strong rally in Trafalgar Square.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the words of journalist and Christian
convert Malcolm Muggeridge;</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The purpose
of the festival is that… the relatively few people who are responsible for this
moral breakdown of our society will know that they are pitted against, not just
a few reactionary people, but all the people in this country who still love
this Light – the Light of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By
way of contrast, on Summerisle it appears to be Sergeant Howie who is the interloper
whose alien values threaten the established order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> T</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">hat is u</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ntil the final scene, when we learn
that the islanders have carefully selected him for his very peculiar characteristics.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOVf-T10JSBlWT_dYv9Wt73oJESv31KVhvdId6ypM_Xajle7CUWI9c0C7R7kbTFEi3c0uujaZ81U0Np7AY7PVU3fPulIWOgCIU458Ag21kFhfoEL73GIMisMmRvf_AEQ0jSCK15718Fl6A/s1600/Golden_bough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOVf-T10JSBlWT_dYv9Wt73oJESv31KVhvdId6ypM_Xajle7CUWI9c0C7R7kbTFEi3c0uujaZ81U0Np7AY7PVU3fPulIWOgCIU458Ag21kFhfoEL73GIMisMmRvf_AEQ0jSCK15718Fl6A/s320/Golden_bough.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></i></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">The Golden Bough</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> caused much
controversy when it first appeared in 1890 because Frazer dared to include the Christian
story in his ‘Study of Comparative Religion’, inviting the reflection that
Jesus was merely another example of the dying and reviving god that he believed to have been central to most mythologies. Wedded to the earth
goddess, this solar deity symbolised the agricultural cycle, dying at harvest
time and being reborn in Spring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
story was enacted through the sacrifice of a sacred king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shaffer and Hardy make this proposed link
between Christianity and Paganism the centrepiece of their plot.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Shortly before Howie is bundled off to be burned in the Wicker Man, there
is a short exchange between him and Lord Summerisle that shows there is a
serpent in the latter’s twisted Eden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Semi-mockingly, Summerisle offers Howie a religious ‘win-win’ scenario
that makes the parallel between Christianity and Paganism explicit: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">'For
believing what you do, we confer upon you a rare gift these days - a martyr's
death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will not only have life
eternal, but you will sit with the saints among the elect.'</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rejecting this, Howie directly challenges the watching crowd:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>'You can wrap it up any way you like; you are
about to commit murder!'<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Pointing out that killing him will not restore their crops,
he adds:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">'Well,
don't you understand that if your crops fail this year, next year you're going
to have to have another blood sacrifice?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And next year, no one less than the King of Summerisle himself will
do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the crops fail, Summerisle, next
year your people will kill you on May Day!'<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The ‘Christian copper’ has done his research well in the
island’s library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see Lord
Summerisle’s features momentarily cloud over with fear and uncertainty as he
realises, evidently for the first time, the precariousness of his position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Summerisle’s feudal system is as riven by
contradictions as any class-based society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The future of a ruler who claims 'to love nature and to fear it' is
dependent on the continuing ability of his Victorian grandfather's science to grow
fruit in an unnatural environment.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRbx32ozP9D7WOvi-Se1KPvxaPFy2SWsHMlor4IU23fNHCSy1cIU8A5phBiPU03bVVuXTK1FKhgib8nmUkxgE2bR4XtalgX18_CpCrdfTvNSi9LvHFHSkYWsCCn1IyBw-_0HEUfh6HduaN/s1600/howie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRbx32ozP9D7WOvi-Se1KPvxaPFy2SWsHMlor4IU23fNHCSy1cIU8A5phBiPU03bVVuXTK1FKhgib8nmUkxgE2bR4XtalgX18_CpCrdfTvNSi9LvHFHSkYWsCCn1IyBw-_0HEUfh6HduaN/s320/howie.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="normal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It is only in its closing scenes that<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> The Wicker Man</i> truly becomes a horror film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The contrast with the preceding comedy
creates an abrupt disjunction that emphasises the sheer ghastliness of Howie's
fate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He rises in moral stature as we
empathise with his shock at the way he has been betrayed and his emotional pain
as he realises he is about to die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Wicker Man itself is a hideous and stunning artifact, its blank, featureless
head gazing sightlessly out to sea from its cliff top location.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The terror of the ending is total. Howie's
desperate prayers and psalm-singing rage against the rising conflagration,
hopelessly competing with the sound of the roaring fire combined with the
screeching of terrified animals as the islanders sing their rounds of ‘Sumer Is
A-Cumen In’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">with determined
heartiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It is the totality and the paradoxical innocence of the wickedness that are horrifying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> All of the islanders participate in the sacrifice and n</span>ot one of them shows any awareness that what they are doing is wrong. Instead, they are positively enjoying the party atmosphere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is reminiscent of a 1930s lynching
postcard from the American Deep South; young courting couples holding hands and
smiling for the camera as black bodies swing from a tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A grand day out for all concerned – apart
from the victims.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIzNqgG0CIcL-FONAcx65xJpxKDQeFLaYBq94350WNzHsXD0nWoXq8vEcc5KKlI4QGlBxEtCRZD_mpQpaZEH295sPq4K9X51SlqGAbumLHkZRyHKMW8xyNmK0mriGmiKWNDSilflKhLf9o/s1600/sun+set.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIzNqgG0CIcL-FONAcx65xJpxKDQeFLaYBq94350WNzHsXD0nWoXq8vEcc5KKlI4QGlBxEtCRZD_mpQpaZEH295sPq4K9X51SlqGAbumLHkZRyHKMW8xyNmK0mriGmiKWNDSilflKhLf9o/s320/sun+set.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Right at the end of<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
The Wicker Man</i>, something remarkable happens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a serendipitous feat of filming, cinematographer Harry Waxman captures the colossus’s head collapsing into the fire to
reveal the evening sun behind, just as it is about to sink down into the
sea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an iconic shot, achieved
without any special effects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the
soundtrack, the roaring of the flames subsides and a fanfare of trumpets cuts
through. In an awe-inspiring moment, we are drawn away from the human drama and
like primitive man, are exposed to the primeval force of nature that creates
and destroys all life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is the source
of the solar myth that has refracted through different cultures to create the
scripts played out by all the characters of the film.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Reviled at its creation, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Wicker Man </i>is now recognized as a seminal piece of cinema.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Howie himself might choose to put it: ‘The
stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.’<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(Psalm 118:22)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although it has come to be seen as a defining
example of the newly invented genre of ‘folk horror’, it really stands alone in
its cross-generic strangeness and magnificence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With its death at the hands of conniving studio bureaucrats at the nadir
of the British film industry, followed by its subsequent cult status as a
‘midnight movie’ and rebirth as an established classic, it has acquired a solar
myth of its own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even after the release
of <i>The Final Cut </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">there is a
lingering feeling of incompletion, as though further mysteries are waiting to
be solved, greater glories to be uncovered.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwp8gORcAwTVzFXGeOp7U6Ff6202WhASeGoFuEXLbSxytrTKFOHI0dNZzrYqbLPKn2gIfEeRR-cU1ONYOobnOoXRvLDi62i3JIMOHj9_KpWJGDHLKzobm8qpPEgDu07yBDwCxzuoN4U1V/s1600/nuada-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwp8gORcAwTVzFXGeOp7U6Ff6202WhASeGoFuEXLbSxytrTKFOHI0dNZzrYqbLPKn2gIfEeRR-cU1ONYOobnOoXRvLDi62i3JIMOHj9_KpWJGDHLKzobm8qpPEgDu07yBDwCxzuoN4U1V/s1600/nuada-crop.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="normal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Antony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9053180878507967014.post-60268971727056785372013-08-21T13:37:00.002-07:002013-08-21T13:42:00.671-07:00Photograph found in old book.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFbOU4BEL6PLob1UGXOfeOg5ckABsCturcCXTh_6I0d7Qd6y8OZ_FxJRug9jurwVg0HpT0VjcVof5uyN5T-IJRIaLY19kFAiTdLR_u8xLN3TMmpgscb6EZAAx_eBdfgqAKOr6aP9BO9cez/s1600/CHINGB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFbOU4BEL6PLob1UGXOfeOg5ckABsCturcCXTh_6I0d7Qd6y8OZ_FxJRug9jurwVg0HpT0VjcVof5uyN5T-IJRIaLY19kFAiTdLR_u8xLN3TMmpgscb6EZAAx_eBdfgqAKOr6aP9BO9cez/s400/CHINGB.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZsNK7DMalfvHNp5S1gLHUJaEq48lcb8egbR5Q6AgEbw50yYS_dQ3pxDFnISLC6PtHffWevIcU3oH7FaffKcjoJVeyATqdFbrbQ8HQQGYzdMRjgX1NHqmBZfIT45mjVHpUdPh-5cNzkfH/s1600/CHINGB-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZsNK7DMalfvHNp5S1gLHUJaEq48lcb8egbR5Q6AgEbw50yYS_dQ3pxDFnISLC6PtHffWevIcU3oH7FaffKcjoJVeyATqdFbrbQ8HQQGYzdMRjgX1NHqmBZfIT45mjVHpUdPh-5cNzkfH/s400/CHINGB-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKPa7xJdkGUICeQ-dx7EDB53bKpOZiHSrRhS6mArSebr8i1tbAFDjCei8CQ6btt9UKlUtP1WjcLHMbuWxhCFiKSK9MgWsgjwmCiHgk2-HdMqlzmc1BKVp8-ZDmHgJnJpfCgq04ZsyquDBb/s1600/CHING2-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKPa7xJdkGUICeQ-dx7EDB53bKpOZiHSrRhS6mArSebr8i1tbAFDjCei8CQ6btt9UKlUtP1WjcLHMbuWxhCFiKSK9MgWsgjwmCiHgk2-HdMqlzmc1BKVp8-ZDmHgJnJpfCgq04ZsyquDBb/s400/CHING2-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Antony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9053180878507967014.post-30811860454719526142013-08-04T17:27:00.003-07:002013-09-17T16:52:21.324-07:00‘The Witches’ by Peter Curtis<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZwYKt2uVO968E8AOEExtGMTgDXTY_ISKFdG_pq-ON9i1iDlk1UX5E0Wl_kkWOxc-vPDiPDrYoeysi5IBgRddGcgJWX0m0sCt5hYjYQTPrFJ8EOgEuyLXs2-ZBZ4-kDMJ-47AQabykiYD/s1600/The-Witches-hammer-horror-films-830970_679_504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZwYKt2uVO968E8AOEExtGMTgDXTY_ISKFdG_pq-ON9i1iDlk1UX5E0Wl_kkWOxc-vPDiPDrYoeysi5IBgRddGcgJWX0m0sCt5hYjYQTPrFJ8EOgEuyLXs2-ZBZ4-kDMJ-47AQabykiYD/s200/The-Witches-hammer-horror-films-830970_679_504.jpg" width="200" /></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Witches</i> (1966)
is one of Hammer’s lesser-known productions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lacking the Gothic trappings most commonly associated with the studio’s
horror output, it was designed as a star vehicle for Joan Fontaine (an Oscar-winner for her performance in Hitchcock's <i>Rebecca </i>over a quarter of a century earlier), who had acquired the
rights to film a novel called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Devil’s
Own</i> by Peter Curtis, a pseudonym employed by bestselling historical
novelist Norah Lofts. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The movie, scripted by Nigel Kneale and based around the
survival of a Satanic witch-cult in a contemporary English village, is chiefly
of interest as a precursor of (and apparent influence on) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Wicker Man</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In its best
moments it conveys an air of creepy menace and growing paranoia although it fails to maintain
the terrifying tone of classics such as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Wicker Man</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blood on Satan’s Claw</i>. Joan Fontaine, as its middle-aged head-mistress heroine Miss Mayfield, bears an unfortunate resemblance to one Margaret Hilda Thatcher and is
arguably upstaged by an outrageously camp performance from supporting actress Kay
Walsh as high priestess of the coven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The final, stylised Black Mass / orgy scene rapidly descends into
unintentional hilarity, like some piece of experimental art-theatre improvised
by over-zealous GCSE drama students. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVd54VPdL2DDsXYmLDPsDkKQiRAx1eaOhl8ve9xYsfZpg2_pDhD962XqosFDo4bpCTmBRhFLBZ5AMiUBF6zdXcBhP8bOo-piZqcP9YHJm5oax0GFV-sCPCEsdHDtF1gjXsGm-WvZ92Le-/s1600/the-witches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVd54VPdL2DDsXYmLDPsDkKQiRAx1eaOhl8ve9xYsfZpg2_pDhD962XqosFDo4bpCTmBRhFLBZ5AMiUBF6zdXcBhP8bOo-piZqcP9YHJm5oax0GFV-sCPCEsdHDtF1gjXsGm-WvZ92Le-/s1600/the-witches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVd54VPdL2DDsXYmLDPsDkKQiRAx1eaOhl8ve9xYsfZpg2_pDhD962XqosFDo4bpCTmBRhFLBZ5AMiUBF6zdXcBhP8bOo-piZqcP9YHJm5oax0GFV-sCPCEsdHDtF1gjXsGm-WvZ92Le-/s200/the-witches.jpg" width="130" /></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Devil’s Own</i> has
been reissued in paperback as <i>The Witches</i> by the renascent Hammer, as part of
a series of movie tie-ins and novelisations (it has also previously appeared as
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Little Wax Doll</i> under Norah Lofts’
own name). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, Hammer has chosen
to saddle the book with an embarrassing generic cover which bears no relationship to its contents and is evidently designed to mislead fans of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Twilight</i> and similar 'young adult' sagas. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyone seeking ‘supernatural romance’ in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Witches</i> is in for a cruel disappointment;
a more sexless tale could not be imagined; t<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>he novel, first published in 1960 and set in 1959, is a relic of an era in
which an unmarried woman in her forties had to accept that she was
a hopeless ‘spinster’ and destined for a solitary life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The compensation was that she was allowed to pursue
a career; hence Miss Mayfield’s willingness to take on the role of headmistress
at the remote East Anglian village of Walwyck.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTsMIhPsBb0lD_ev33kQDljxWNptJeKwuyJVCUAZ8_ZlbQSGa6bMF6ynioO-D60hRdvV8q-mYa-aPnXvucrTauGjnvirz4tvM877SatwWR3b-KirHTu9XroXmmzyz3iOtfMYnEMzfj6UFy/s1600/WitchesCurtisPbk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTsMIhPsBb0lD_ev33kQDljxWNptJeKwuyJVCUAZ8_ZlbQSGa6bMF6ynioO-D60hRdvV8q-mYa-aPnXvucrTauGjnvirz4tvM877SatwWR3b-KirHTu9XroXmmzyz3iOtfMYnEMzfj6UFy/s200/WitchesCurtisPbk.jpg" width="120" /></a>Miss Mayfield is a quietly idealistic character who has not
long returned from a twenty year stint teaching at a mission school in Africa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wishes to escape from the drudgery and
squalor of working at her most recent appointment in an inner-city school and living
in ‘digs’ with another woman teacher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
the story progresses, we learn that she has survived an unspecified mental breakdown
in Africa which led to her return to England.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Apart from a chilling reference to ‘the Mau Mau oath’ (colonial
ethnopsychiatry held Kenya’s Mau Mau rebels to be ‘an irrational force of
evil, dominated by bestial impulses and influenced by world communism’, which aided the killing of more than 20,000 of them and the torturing of suspects by the British) much less is made in the novel of African
voodoo than in the film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In his newly commissioned
introduction, Cyril Franke, the film’s director, proudly refers to his ‘production
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Man of Africa</i> and first-hand
experience of witchcraft among the natives’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It therefore seems likely that Franke was responsible for emphasising this
element, which is crudely-presented and adds nothing to the film apart from an unpleasant and
unnecessary injection of racism.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQfTiApohxH_8t7g3Tp1MITFfq4KgOgAU9_NhNAQpDSGNC8VmofDAejXwLRzVfv9eD1S5Rxy1wTByz7He7AtPxXcbKqXSIbu5-i-LkkQUlfgX6NziriBvitbtNey7a2IlY7XWRpHSATxP3/s1600/lofts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQfTiApohxH_8t7g3Tp1MITFfq4KgOgAU9_NhNAQpDSGNC8VmofDAejXwLRzVfv9eD1S5Rxy1wTByz7He7AtPxXcbKqXSIbu5-i-LkkQUlfgX6NziriBvitbtNey7a2IlY7XWRpHSATxP3/s200/lofts.jpg" width="118" /></a>Another difference to is that Canon Thorby (Bax in the film), who
runs the private school to which Miss Mayfield is appointed, is a genuine
cleric, rather than an eccentric imposter. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike the ruin depicted in the film - so
reminiscent of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Wicker Man</i> - the
village church is intact and still functioning as a site of Christian worship
(alongside the occasional Black Mass).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thorby’s sister Isabel is eventually revealed to be the coven leader; could
it be that Hammer shied away from depicting a churchman so closely implicated
in Satanism, for fear of censorship from the BBFC?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Canon and his sister are much more boring
characters in the novel, with the latter hardly seen until the climax.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Much of the novel runs the same as the film, with the addition of extra characters and a number of pointless plot digressions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After Miss Mayfield becomes suspicious that a
death in the village has been caused by witchcraft and vows to reveal all at
the inquest, she bangs her head on a desk in a mysterious ‘accident’ and conveniently
(and unconvincingly) loses her memory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This leads to her being parcelled off for a rest cure at a Fawltyesque boarding
house in Hove, inhabited by bridge-playing old ladies and a retired General
with their attendant nurses (there's not much fun to be had for the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Twilight</i> crowd here!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Eventually she escapes back to Walwyck and regains her memory just in time to
rescue Ethel, a teenage girl who, Rowan Morrison-style, has been secreted away
prior to being the focus of Walwyck’s ‘All Hallowse’en’ sabbat which is to take
place in the church itself.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeJYmi3LT9yq9wT-qj2bdiNdaiVLpRTs9lZNSoERdW3yZHh-p_HRLzmv_gwXScTOXctONQGLsxicxLvcvFnIfNGvSyPXfYHuine07j9NPQT4m7tkCFYaQv67wndMn6JEE08Kj0xAK_E9Tu/s1600/doll.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeJYmi3LT9yq9wT-qj2bdiNdaiVLpRTs9lZNSoERdW3yZHh-p_HRLzmv_gwXScTOXctONQGLsxicxLvcvFnIfNGvSyPXfYHuine07j9NPQT4m7tkCFYaQv67wndMn6JEE08Kj0xAK_E9Tu/s200/doll.jpg" width="122" /></a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fate that has been planned for Ethel – defilement at the
hands of a pantomime-clad ravisher - is much less horrific than the Ed Gein /
Elizabeth Bathory gruesomenesss threatened in the movie, during the nastiest moment of
which we observe the village butcher, who has already been graphically shown skinning
a rabbit, whetting his knives in readiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This was possibly not expected to be the case in the minds of Ms Lofts’
genteel lady readers; any suggestion of nakedness or sexuality is couched in
terms of the utmost horror and repulsion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As she hides in the church, the mere sight of the villagers’ uncovered
bodies at the start of their ritual causes Miss Mayfield so much distress that
she is forced to pretend to herself she ‘is back home, in bed’, rather than face up to ‘the fat round haunches… the pendulous breasts
like empty paper bags…’ paraded in front of her. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This scene is prefaced by a jaw-dropping reflection
about her time in Africa; ‘she had time to think that black skin was, in
itself, in some strange way, a kind of raiment; no black-skinned people could
look as naked as these Walwykians did.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KGgzKQBbg8jVB5HBJzwQ4luHJJhbR5KtrlG3Fg_ILmQnKUe0wv6Hb6x2_sx9R_EiIcYS2y-Pfm-a-7ecAQ-AgQTdM7DoXW_aLch-GhThZJ_tfZF9kOjNG5P2fn2icMn2NiaJNjVDH7NH/s1600/doll2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KGgzKQBbg8jVB5HBJzwQ4luHJJhbR5KtrlG3Fg_ILmQnKUe0wv6Hb6x2_sx9R_EiIcYS2y-Pfm-a-7ecAQ-AgQTdM7DoXW_aLch-GhThZJ_tfZF9kOjNG5P2fn2icMn2NiaJNjVDH7NH/s200/doll2.jpg" width="133" /></a>The film suffers from a preposterous conclusion in which
Miss Mayfield is finally invited along to the human sacrifice by Thorby's sister for no apparent
reason and then manages to sabotage the proceedings via supernatural means. By
way of contrast, the novel’s ending is plausible enough but dull.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besieged in the church tower with the
hypnotised girl, Miss Mayfield finally realises that ’she was, in a fashion,
the victim of her own faith’ and that the witches are without any supernatural capabilities;
‘if they had any power other than their own, they wouldn’t throw themselves
against the door.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Miss Mayfield saves Ethel
by human means, Isabel Thorby bangs her head against the font
and dies and, in a final ‘twist’, the girl destroys out of modesty the cine
film that her rescuer has made of the ritual so that no record remains of
Walwyck’s lurid Satanic revels.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Witches, </i>with its unquestioning depiction
of post-war attitudes and morals, is a snapshot out of time. Although its
premise is a promising one, the story is poorly paced and offers little of
interest by way of characterisation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It might
have been rendered more interesting had the heroine been less strait-laced and
old maid-like (the word 'dowdy' is used to describe her appearance throughout).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A frisson of attraction between
her and the Canon would have offered an additional pole of interest; instead all
we have is her fending off the attentions of a mildly louche, elderly wine-dealer
in a purposeless distraction to the main story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYMNPwySDK3I9jUfMzXdHrVt6XN5Vs-9_uLsjTVrL4GibvXsdn9X1KlUuKQiGDCy9ZTiH06rQdIgKsAekcYlOcCvicT5cHWecIUxYTANzmWVDIZ6gxw4dLxQk40Z0e6H22o_X0rCx_viL/s1600/witche.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYMNPwySDK3I9jUfMzXdHrVt6XN5Vs-9_uLsjTVrL4GibvXsdn9X1KlUuKQiGDCy9ZTiH06rQdIgKsAekcYlOcCvicT5cHWecIUxYTANzmWVDIZ6gxw4dLxQk40Z0e6H22o_X0rCx_viL/s200/witche.jpg" width="200" /></a>As we have seen, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Witches </i>doesn’t really count as supernatural fiction, although Ms Lofts was not averse to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> including spooky passages in her 'modern gothic' novels such as <i>Gad's Hall</i> (1977) and even published an entire collection of ghost stories; <i>Hauntings </i>(1974). </span>Written
prior to the mainstreaming of Wicca and modern paganism, the story’s depiction
of witchcraft comes straight from the pages of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Malleus Maleficarum</i>, although in Miss Mayfield’s sensibly modern, rationalistic
brand of Christianity, witchcraft is seen as an atavistic survival rather than
an active force of evil and most of its adherents are to be pitied rather than condemned:</div>
‘And she remembered a phrase… “God
has no hand but man’s to work with.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was equally true of the Devil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Everything else – black magic, white magic, miracles, answered prayers –
they were left-overs, dregs, the vestigial remains of primitive man’s
bewildered recognition of things beyond his control.’<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCqpnQT1D6vTnyk2OKbg5aZJPkhEgMp0sENPx3rEkFaEhAGsUZz4-0ke1gILlw_H3t83oHwEkZC3SV3bpDBjDmSMDTVRufXkcHMZYGKNp8gywSITRyJciWM0G8SdLpAp1i2c6S4iwGNLax/s1600/devils-own-1960.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCqpnQT1D6vTnyk2OKbg5aZJPkhEgMp0sENPx3rEkFaEhAGsUZz4-0ke1gILlw_H3t83oHwEkZC3SV3bpDBjDmSMDTVRufXkcHMZYGKNp8gywSITRyJciWM0G8SdLpAp1i2c6S4iwGNLax/s1600/devils-own-1960.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCqpnQT1D6vTnyk2OKbg5aZJPkhEgMp0sENPx3rEkFaEhAGsUZz4-0ke1gILlw_H3t83oHwEkZC3SV3bpDBjDmSMDTVRufXkcHMZYGKNp8gywSITRyJciWM0G8SdLpAp1i2c6S4iwGNLax/s200/devils-own-1960.jpg" width="136" /></a>So what can have inspired such a tale?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the mid-1950s, witchcraft and murder had
been linked in the public mind with the publication of Detective-Superintendent
Robert Fabian’s sensational memoirs <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fabian
of the Yard</i> (1955).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In these, he
offered a grippingly embellished account of an unsolved murder that had taken
place in 1945.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a case which became
known as ‘the Lower Quinton Witchcraft Murder’ an elderly Warwickshire farmworker named
Charles Walton was found savagely slain in a manner described by Fabian as ‘like
the kind of killing the Druids might have done in ghastly ceremony at full moon’.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alternatively, the manner of Walton’s
death, pinned to the ground by a pitchfork through the chest and slashed across
the throat with a billhook, closely resembled the 19<sup>th</sup> Century
execution of a suspected witch by a mentally deranged young man in the same
area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fabian found his investigations
blocked by obstructive villagers and reported an eerie encounter with a ‘Big
Black Dog’ that related to local legendry involving Walton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He secretly concluded that the murder was
committed by a farmer with a financial motive (he could not record this while
the suspect still lived due to libel laws) but the idea of a present-day
hideous crime linked to the survival of ancient beliefs in a backward rural community
is a powerful one that may well have provided an impetus for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Witches</i>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIqi0zQ-ehKoJHqs1sVHdtoCITHuZfgQuB8OYXDZh-w-65fEDsL1HgIKJFzVMI8XD6Sv6H51dhENsYpjAWv-Com9thrWYWCehxndtW8ed5QoENBVVR3HzxIS-v80QQ50hnHg8uEGA3dfpL/s1600/DEVILSOWN3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIqi0zQ-ehKoJHqs1sVHdtoCITHuZfgQuB8OYXDZh-w-65fEDsL1HgIKJFzVMI8XD6Sv6H51dhENsYpjAWv-Com9thrWYWCehxndtW8ed5QoENBVVR3HzxIS-v80QQ50hnHg8uEGA3dfpL/s200/DEVILSOWN3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is on record that Nigel Kneale’s original screenplay
included elements of humour that the producers<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>rejected. It is easy to see why he would wish to
satirise this material and the completed film retains camp elements that are absent
from the novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is impossible not to
snigger, for example, at the prurience with which Ms Lofts alludes to a bodily act which she is
primly unwilling to describe yet nonetheless invites us to guess at and imagine:</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
‘Then she lifted the cup, and
saying, “Here is his blood,” offered it to Granny Rigby, who did with it
something so degrading that Miss Mayfield shut her eyes and released her finger’s
pressure on the camera, hoping that she had been in time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not even for purposes of evidence did she
want a picture of that!’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So - who is going to enjoy this book?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, no one who is attracted by the
cover, that seems certain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its appeal will mainly be limited
to diehard Norah Lofts fans (who will probably have read it already) and Hammer
completists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Wicker Man </i>scholars and may also wish to check out both the book and the film. For myself, I am always intrigued to read the book that inspired a
film I have enjoyed and <i>The Witches</i> was a thought-provoking, if somewhat dull, read</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdCtVl6-XMfYDlw-MJWr58eeE1MiQ9ICECd_3LB2EKt6ySR6tKWnIBi3SYbzyS1JdDIGsQ1xaMdF_tNjDhrzeB1j4wIOEfZSHxihlimmuM7ystglokcP5ICAPKdwCLvdGouYl8AFy63HC/s1600/witches_1966_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdCtVl6-XMfYDlw-MJWr58eeE1MiQ9ICECd_3LB2EKt6ySR6tKWnIBi3SYbzyS1JdDIGsQ1xaMdF_tNjDhrzeB1j4wIOEfZSHxihlimmuM7ystglokcP5ICAPKdwCLvdGouYl8AFy63HC/s320/witches_1966_01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Antony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9053180878507967014.post-34504449922555411342013-01-05T17:51:00.000-08:002013-07-31T04:21:06.986-07:00Emanations: Second Sight <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCEw4UH77hLnHZzqCs5bO1ShMj0XH2JvLspI7oGhM3dm6ccgZvtOvWLCCZRjgDfvL8np0im_TlmEdChj-OfnGPzqqjs-SO0Hn3N3JfiWNXIDUv2_1GOykCej76F_o42trjY9ms3GElsXYX/s1600/Emanations_Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCEw4UH77hLnHZzqCs5bO1ShMj0XH2JvLspI7oGhM3dm6ccgZvtOvWLCCZRjgDfvL8np0im_TlmEdChj-OfnGPzqqjs-SO0Hn3N3JfiWNXIDUv2_1GOykCej76F_o42trjY9ms3GElsXYX/s320/Emanations_Cover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Volume II of <a href="http://iaemanations.blogspot.co.uk/"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Emanations</i></a>,
<a href="http://www.internationalauthors.info/">International Authors</a>’ engaging anthology series is now available. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Edited by the ever-intrepid Carter Kaplan, it follows
the tripartite plan of its predecessor, showcasing English language fiction,
poetry and prose from around the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Resolutely battling the fads and fashions of academia,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Emanations: Second Sight</i> plots a
perilous path through the morasses of postmodernism, as it seeks to discover what
might constitute the avant-garde in this rapidly-changing age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Readers fazed by Dr Kaplan’s somewhat inconclusive
introductory manifesto (the fruit of an impromptu online symposium) will gain much
from persevering, as the collection features some solid and original contributions,
supporting the good doctor’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>assertion
that “the avant-garde announces that there is before us something actually
original.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fictional highlights include “Sequences”, a haunting short story
by Michael Butterworth and “The Bottomless Bottle of Beer” a Bulgakovian satire
carried out with aplomb by Horace Jeffery Hodges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Verse occupies over a third of the volume and
includes substantial work such as Dario Rivarossa’s self-illustrated Milton-influenced
piece "PL575".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The non-fiction section is
shorter, but traverses a diverse range of themes from the decline of American technological
supremacy observed through the prism of an artistic “Space Program: Mars”
installation, through to an interesting appreciation of Gaston Leroux’s “Phantom
of the Opera”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Emanations: Second
Sight</i> is available from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Emanations-Second-Sight-Carter-Kaplan/dp/0615699928/">US</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Emanations-Second-Sight-Carter-Kaplan/dp/0615699928/">UK Amazon</a> and the call is already out for
<a href="http://iaemanations.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/call-for-submissons-emanations-iii.html">submissions</a> to Volume III!</div>
Antony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9053180878507967014.post-26507358899640518702012-12-22T16:24:00.000-08:002012-12-22T16:52:47.826-08:00Fat controller runs out of steam - "Hell Train" by Christopher Fowler<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWiNYg9GlCa-gp58rtFIuSALlifXsGsLT5GsinL0hALXwOZ8t-R04khG3VIjj2R3o2OgplLvk4TATh7bZp2ZYlKqdRGWyqo4QxT1KMw-GJIu13Th-o0MVUOA-Xt1QiNqGEf53_mcPgNAZg/s1600/horror-express.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYPQjBom8YA4t-K7hqTuJrKMRORKYTk2D-gFZR43xA0TnXbZ_6QIEe2jvXvbeBVlixiBcRzR_Dav96xZ0PxGwzjO75RFXSYZP9tBYZsBcSto2hZGA1mje1aW93SnBmkKCdLuK85D6wDlob/s1600/Hell-Train-Christopher-Fowler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYPQjBom8YA4t-K7hqTuJrKMRORKYTk2D-gFZR43xA0TnXbZ_6QIEe2jvXvbeBVlixiBcRzR_Dav96xZ0PxGwzjO75RFXSYZP9tBYZsBcSto2hZGA1mje1aW93SnBmkKCdLuK85D6wDlob/s320/Hell-Train-Christopher-Fowler.jpg" width="198" /></a>Hammer horror, the romance of travelling by steam train; what can possibly go wrong?<br />
<br />
Well,
quite a lot, it seems. Despite the framing device, in which an
American screenwriter pitches it to Michael Carreras, <i>Hell Train</i>'s
main story just doesn't bear much resemblance to a Hammer film (although it
does borrow elements from <i>Horror Express</i>, which many people seem to
think is a Hammer film). Considering the ending, it could be argued
that this is part of the joke, but all it does in reality is render the
Hammer link gratuitous. A cynical person (not me, of course...) might even view it
as a blatant attempt to cash in on the reborn studio's resurgent
popularity.<br />
<br />
The story, taken by itself, is an acceptable piece of
pulp, but it's easy to see why Fowler should want to "distance"
himself from it - another reason for the framing sections. He clearly, for instance, hasn't bothered to find out anything about trains; how is it for
instance, that passengers manage to get from the train on to the
footplate of the locomotive (annoyingly called the "engine room") when
it's moving? The Americanisms are irritating; I know the story-within-a-story's supposed to
have been written by an American, but the author doesn't even know the meaning of at least one of the words. On p.229, one of the characters,
"in the engine room", watches the "stoker" whilst "trapped against the
caboose" (i.e. the brake van - famously found right at the back of an American freight train)!<br />
<br />
The
characters are stock ones and don't interact in a particularly interesting way. They are all
given their own separate little story, leading some reviewers to compare the
plot to a that of a portmanteau horror film such as <i>Doctor Terror's House of Horrors</i> , but those were made by Amicus;
nothing to do with Hammer. The idea of each person being "tested"by the train itself for
some moral flaw in their character is rather boring. It would have been much more interesting to see their characters develop as they responded to a mutual threat together. So far as the
monsters are concerned, there are way too many zombies (oh, how bored I
am with zombies!), once again decidedly un-Hammerlike as the studio only
ever made one zombie movie in its huge output.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWiNYg9GlCa-gp58rtFIuSALlifXsGsLT5GsinL0hALXwOZ8t-R04khG3VIjj2R3o2OgplLvk4TATh7bZp2ZYlKqdRGWyqo4QxT1KMw-GJIu13Th-o0MVUOA-Xt1QiNqGEf53_mcPgNAZg/s1600/horror-express.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWiNYg9GlCa-gp58rtFIuSALlifXsGsLT5GsinL0hALXwOZ8t-R04khG3VIjj2R3o2OgplLvk4TATh7bZp2ZYlKqdRGWyqo4QxT1KMw-GJIu13Th-o0MVUOA-Xt1QiNqGEf53_mcPgNAZg/s200/horror-express.jpg" width="122" /></a>I quite enjoyed
the framing sections which convey the "feel" of Hammer reasonably well,
although there are a couple of sloppy mistakes. Nigel Hawthorne was
never in a Hammer film and Ingrid Pitt didn't join the roster until
1971. Also - I can't imagine a writer who had previously worked for the
notoriously miserly Roger Corman making the mistake of turning out a
script that would go over budget for Hammer. Overall, there is so much more could have been done with the setting of the studio and the wonderful people who worked there. Fowler employs one of his characters to make observations about the company's declining fortunes and how these related to changes in society; but these do not go beyond the journalistic insights reflected in a work such as Sinclair McKay's <i>A Thing of Unspeakable Horror</i>.<br />
<br />
By the time I had
got near the end and was introduced to the "bloated" Controller,
complete with his stovepipe hat, I started to feel that I really had
been taken for a ride and had alighted on the Island of Sodor. At least
the Rev. Awdry did his homework properly and was scrupulously correct
about railway operations! I can only assume that this is a deliberate joke, but it is irrelevant and only serves to undermine "suspension of disbelief" at a crucial moment.<br />
<br />
Fun, but nothing special, <i>Hell Train</i>
is on a level with the type of writing that used to be churned out in
industrial quantities by paperback houses such as NEL in the '70s and
'80s. As I rarely read much modern horror, could it be that the high praise
dished out to this book is a measure of how far the genre has
deteriorated since that era?<br />
<br />
Full praise however has to be given
to Graham Humphreys' gorgeous cover painting. In these days of photoshopped blandness, it is a
sheer delight to see work of this standard adorning a paperback. Let's
hope it starts a revival of high quality pulp art.Antony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9053180878507967014.post-79982198874937855802011-11-28T13:48:00.001-08:002011-11-28T16:12:02.405-08:00Shadows of Darkness (1975)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnjsvJ4c87j3zyPlSZE-TFtY-8pSQqomoECugx0ibu-2DEC5PXipKehHPhoJrIOdiId9IkoI_Xsw_4ODvFahS89CXVcRKVPHd0gSmqKmq3J26JTAOXDSHWlCwBAizPeB7YJ_3vmbV5AEwh/s1600/Front.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 281px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnjsvJ4c87j3zyPlSZE-TFtY-8pSQqomoECugx0ibu-2DEC5PXipKehHPhoJrIOdiId9IkoI_Xsw_4ODvFahS89CXVcRKVPHd0gSmqKmq3J26JTAOXDSHWlCwBAizPeB7YJ_3vmbV5AEwh/s400/Front.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680201193734687874" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCT3j-XdBXCTCjGJfqWSn4SaLkp84j_hDcnNUMlAbkDW_N6RTlz5FMnuYtK8CmD_wCxe1UwHtYNW3F73ly3qFtugjQeWMfNnRKfy63Q4pp3kDwoM7u3YHZ8J4cllZKQTmFPfMWPmA1yNiu/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 278px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCT3j-XdBXCTCjGJfqWSn4SaLkp84j_hDcnNUMlAbkDW_N6RTlz5FMnuYtK8CmD_wCxe1UwHtYNW3F73ly3qFtugjQeWMfNnRKfy63Q4pp3kDwoM7u3YHZ8J4cllZKQTmFPfMWPmA1yNiu/s400/01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680201068369822306" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIKp8-ER6wRRsi7UsIfPoQeAZFD6PM8Rgr8dq87ZBJkcxx7PYLnaWjVyOID2G7k6DSwSZTZMrb8Wu14artM32iAwsoHM0WQyd4li3X3L4NVRLL0AY048Eypmh18wZMxnoqcS5gT52m6INR/s1600/20.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIKp8-ER6wRRsi7UsIfPoQeAZFD6PM8Rgr8dq87ZBJkcxx7PYLnaWjVyOID2G7k6DSwSZTZMrb8Wu14artM32iAwsoHM0WQyd4li3X3L4NVRLL0AY048Eypmh18wZMxnoqcS5gT52m6INR/s400/20.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680168953752149906" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixX143sfJaAa6FRjhlsBtQrz6FnE0WtdPqBEKB4d4XZBTDgfc7b6ogXCz-x43hMdgkA9E43SBu-l9qm0kn_HXVbEZ23zlywnnBx32ZaqHXzBX9A-fTwjAghsRvrONQRpWgIj2GS0qvUKzo/s1600/21.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixX143sfJaAa6FRjhlsBtQrz6FnE0WtdPqBEKB4d4XZBTDgfc7b6ogXCz-x43hMdgkA9E43SBu-l9qm0kn_HXVbEZ23zlywnnBx32ZaqHXzBX9A-fTwjAghsRvrONQRpWgIj2GS0qvUKzo/s400/21.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680168788240241250" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwl5Wkv3g3tZmyg3MdwACe2Vx7Uw0hqCsZ_0ei1yfo4EeWtijeVGDSkDKJr1cuVSE9C6SBs1t-ZaNkiQG_KlnBP1YSq0BiKaAeHetFOlWQQQRwjjcBxAYTA9KI2ECUme0wvnU2RMJEex1L/s1600/22.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwl5Wkv3g3tZmyg3MdwACe2Vx7Uw0hqCsZ_0ei1yfo4EeWtijeVGDSkDKJr1cuVSE9C6SBs1t-ZaNkiQG_KlnBP1YSq0BiKaAeHetFOlWQQQRwjjcBxAYTA9KI2ECUme0wvnU2RMJEex1L/s400/22.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680168672364514834" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZt2s9e1PxpUe0q8l0-jZ9aB7vVJ0yZDztBL58CEe4aUR_9wwW9kK7PUi4gWoCt7pDkAToQXEr9JMPWbVMpFBnKbEm6s3prlYS_JrWQeqQxrT5DHxQRYC3IJqwdxRI4Q5VupygBQ9-gJag/s1600/23.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 263px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZt2s9e1PxpUe0q8l0-jZ9aB7vVJ0yZDztBL58CEe4aUR_9wwW9kK7PUi4gWoCt7pDkAToQXEr9JMPWbVMpFBnKbEm6s3prlYS_JrWQeqQxrT5DHxQRYC3IJqwdxRI4Q5VupygBQ9-gJag/s400/23.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680168556531612146" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7hEXP8V3eIVGQXrapY0YHF5uG3G9F-RrdHP-rGwq3SYX5ks4Eh3_mGVlz78mmD_vHUYXQyWkE_aFdvgDoDQxyY5Z6jpgqqTUSaSQpHKGBVLO5Z6oWVCtlXvaSt5mw4v7A_gM1n8Lwpvgf/s1600/24.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7hEXP8V3eIVGQXrapY0YHF5uG3G9F-RrdHP-rGwq3SYX5ks4Eh3_mGVlz78mmD_vHUYXQyWkE_aFdvgDoDQxyY5Z6jpgqqTUSaSQpHKGBVLO5Z6oWVCtlXvaSt5mw4v7A_gM1n8Lwpvgf/s400/24.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680168409972809634" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWi5n0Be6fqQkFo3Am8szOL4-K8bq7_81FaVXRNMSMqSd9JgDlM6tZ4mWS6rnCzhC_CpEDhJyUNy_gvQDjbTywLg66nnGkepaqpOglvQznGnmT22NvMkZO98Jjt1ZHl_u0xxz2q8-3_MA/s1600/25.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWi5n0Be6fqQkFo3Am8szOL4-K8bq7_81FaVXRNMSMqSd9JgDlM6tZ4mWS6rnCzhC_CpEDhJyUNy_gvQDjbTywLg66nnGkepaqpOglvQznGnmT22NvMkZO98Jjt1ZHl_u0xxz2q8-3_MA/s400/25.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680168294653898002" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHbHbtzl58ftBwF9r_d0W2y0J1bVBbRU0hTSDmzs2-i-33x7xcCoHPv6K-awIs4hOxisn_jZUOKFL-fA7OOEFPaHkn9B77YJyqGVKesqJfWF8wMfBZlX8ECOdtD9rTXnsVt7n7E-bcfThw/s1600/26.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 281px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHbHbtzl58ftBwF9r_d0W2y0J1bVBbRU0hTSDmzs2-i-33x7xcCoHPv6K-awIs4hOxisn_jZUOKFL-fA7OOEFPaHkn9B77YJyqGVKesqJfWF8wMfBZlX8ECOdtD9rTXnsVt7n7E-bcfThw/s400/26.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680168151709314130" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3E5YG-koyKP6Xcy57ulrwkyZ76tyKw1I0ou5NEjSFsIvjipP9Y4tUkLQcnXhgDNTaqHYikcSQTKtjp6JMAALuAqeEF2uV7Je7ua6X_w3MqxU5e8IZrem-xVehrQpfNJYnClYhT5ain5lZ/s1600/27a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 273px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3E5YG-koyKP6Xcy57ulrwkyZ76tyKw1I0ou5NEjSFsIvjipP9Y4tUkLQcnXhgDNTaqHYikcSQTKtjp6JMAALuAqeEF2uV7Je7ua6X_w3MqxU5e8IZrem-xVehrQpfNJYnClYhT5ain5lZ/s400/27a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680167994103311522" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihMnN2QUgu8N3itA95R4UrhjtGeyg6FjwFpwBtnLU0SxJrZMQpWuyCamtoIEAaAeCZH2Ycz2-q5Pt47MuJJ5VhRrJMlLU7kiGtWI4ycLg3wtrhdpNZrRfoM9dWRjjwhW6c28GjNQlNMYbj/s1600/27b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihMnN2QUgu8N3itA95R4UrhjtGeyg6FjwFpwBtnLU0SxJrZMQpWuyCamtoIEAaAeCZH2Ycz2-q5Pt47MuJJ5VhRrJMlLU7kiGtWI4ycLg3wtrhdpNZrRfoM9dWRjjwhW6c28GjNQlNMYbj/s400/27b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680167828245097650" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Dum2H6GHdHfimZHtD-wx-RkMdHhlo-AVGvLjbRefwWfkqCzMmVfHIF998IxT-P80Q6YUcbbBq6UWvNfhsOEBHu8T8daYPtROnr99n2niq0jdqGIfElgSz7Y8_71rt3Ub9KfkUdGxBnmX/s1600/28a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Dum2H6GHdHfimZHtD-wx-RkMdHhlo-AVGvLjbRefwWfkqCzMmVfHIF998IxT-P80Q6YUcbbBq6UWvNfhsOEBHu8T8daYPtROnr99n2niq0jdqGIfElgSz7Y8_71rt3Ub9KfkUdGxBnmX/s400/28a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680167652494233506" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnMNCcUgtgato7PXlxqwYXVEbSoNcoU0yZL474VJFsxNgi0eDYIJ3zbggcXZDO4HceZKSHjfB1MwN-y4jaCdeI2uvMfsAeqSHb6m4HY8NBnHm-96kRaBxVBT_4S09RMBc_ndIqkBRDG3ca/s1600/28b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnMNCcUgtgato7PXlxqwYXVEbSoNcoU0yZL474VJFsxNgi0eDYIJ3zbggcXZDO4HceZKSHjfB1MwN-y4jaCdeI2uvMfsAeqSHb6m4HY8NBnHm-96kRaBxVBT_4S09RMBc_ndIqkBRDG3ca/s400/28b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680167444839611202" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepNjiV7KMA9w-t_RFyMPUPqgsEZGJeOBGmV2l90dXOosn8f_eCDvF5l1WbhRxWS9DmFzy1dOJHoH9WKP8pYY09xyHdCGyWoMlyUKl9fv2J3jBzu-gGZt9EbXw8gOLvui0rdPtuF0FoUjY/s1600/29a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 279px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepNjiV7KMA9w-t_RFyMPUPqgsEZGJeOBGmV2l90dXOosn8f_eCDvF5l1WbhRxWS9DmFzy1dOJHoH9WKP8pYY09xyHdCGyWoMlyUKl9fv2J3jBzu-gGZt9EbXw8gOLvui0rdPtuF0FoUjY/s400/29a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680167336344994194" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntR8Npwg5XJJ4KqBsb2bQsyguFaKQTgGEJo2dDHKvbq1uNOD_BfH0PD-yFsnA_cwH2_xp6es65ag1AGSgpstVpls-_bpeXoKio4UAqQ3qVfw3ozfLYQKHnf5_F7z4xSdRjiy32cKbvN1Z/s1600/29b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 278px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntR8Npwg5XJJ4KqBsb2bQsyguFaKQTgGEJo2dDHKvbq1uNOD_BfH0PD-yFsnA_cwH2_xp6es65ag1AGSgpstVpls-_bpeXoKio4UAqQ3qVfw3ozfLYQKHnf5_F7z4xSdRjiy32cKbvN1Z/s400/29b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680167182110063202" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbwvcLY4DNP79zKZD5Tq6ZiGm4EAvRTsHQ-wNneDEoCV12ihJX5iEWahvQMXqhD6Ke68ooRP9tQNMsihHFvPSzjvARMVzsKL-vvz7fEvo80DNCcKs1PqIi89yD7BJf58_xZ9v4NYmThD1m/s1600/Back.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbwvcLY4DNP79zKZD5Tq6ZiGm4EAvRTsHQ-wNneDEoCV12ihJX5iEWahvQMXqhD6Ke68ooRP9tQNMsihHFvPSzjvARMVzsKL-vvz7fEvo80DNCcKs1PqIi89yD7BJf58_xZ9v4NYmThD1m/s400/Back.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680166942223005682" border="0" /></a><br />I wonder if there was ever a No. 2?<br /><br /><span jsid="text" class="commentBody">"Highgate vampire" hysteria was obviously still raging, five years on (or somebody hoped it was). And people were expected to pick up on references to "The Communist Party Manifesto" in a trashy comic...</span>Antony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9053180878507967014.post-68591666803307116112011-09-18T11:18:00.001-07:002014-05-04T14:17:01.851-07:00From Pan's People to Pony Play:"Ringstones"<b><i>Sarban's Nightmares - Part One</i></b><b><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">(Warning - spoilers ahead)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYemm4sBHZIuRWqX338Pe-oixl9zkNFZxFd01km2Rk2ZAOa7pmr4N5i9O5U10kyu7LtqrlOY0HrAwvvuOk5nbKny1Zms27nfTGqLldCugLSt6xbbfsbdIOtEoQ55KSV-z1-ewnS_fp6427/s1600/Sarban.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYemm4sBHZIuRWqX338Pe-oixl9zkNFZxFd01km2Rk2ZAOa7pmr4N5i9O5U10kyu7LtqrlOY0HrAwvvuOk5nbKny1Zms27nfTGqLldCugLSt6xbbfsbdIOtEoQ55KSV-z1-ewnS_fp6427/s320/Sarban.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653769675713565250" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 359px;" /></a></span></i></b><span xmlns=""></span><br />
<span xmlns=""><a href="http://www.tartaruspress.com/wall.html"><b>John William Wall</b></a> (1910-1989), who wrote under the name of "Sarban", has had something of a renaissance of late. This is largely due to the stalwart efforts of the <a href="http://www.tartaruspress.com/welcome.htm">Tartarus Press</a> in publishing high-quality hardback and e-book editions of his long-out-of-print and unpublished works, plus a biography by Mark Valentine. Unfortunately, however, I have had to rely on a typo-riddled P.O.D. edition of <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sarban-Omnibus-Ringstones-Sound-Maker/dp/1596545526"><i>The Sarban Omnibus</i></a>. Two of the the three novels contained therein (<i>Ringstones</i>, <i>The Sound of his Horn</i> and <i>The Doll Maker</i>) are also available in <a href="http://www.manybooks.net/authors/sarban.html">free online editions</a>.</span><br />
<br />
<span xmlns=""><i>Ringstones</i> (1951) is centred on the first-person narrative of Daphne Hazel, a trainee gym teacher who accepts a holiday job at Ringstones Hall from an eccentric academic named Dr Ravelin. At this isolated moorland residence she is tasked with tutoring three mysterious "foreign" children of undisclosed nationality. In response to her questioning, <span xmlns=""><span xmlns=""><span xmlns=""><span xmlns=""><span xmlns=""><span xmlns=""><span xmlns=""><span xmlns=""><span xmlns=""><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_WsFT2vuNe5h04iJtitl0j5dp36iKLU2Q1Ok-TH6d0sAL96W32hNHLgkKp0Ek-hzQCtHQ2RblE7KaJ-_65si17ApzhWPORcFhHrSSdBt7tAhSYLWjysMPPcPjy-7kXhGp5c5_bPpSo6NJ/s1600/rgstones.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_WsFT2vuNe5h04iJtitl0j5dp36iKLU2Q1Ok-TH6d0sAL96W32hNHLgkKp0Ek-hzQCtHQ2RblE7KaJ-_65si17ApzhWPORcFhHrSSdBt7tAhSYLWjysMPPcPjy-7kXhGp5c5_bPpSo6NJ/s320/rgstones.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653768672347120098" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 377px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 223px;" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Dr Ravelin is decidedly unforthcoming about the origin of his mysterious charges.</span><br />
<br />
Idyllic to start with, the tale gradually becomes sinister as Miss Hazel discovers more about her mysterious charges and their surroundings. It becomes apparent that she is entrapped by the power of Nuaman, the fifteen year old boy (or is he?) who also dominates his younger female peers, Marvan and Ianthe, and Katia the Polish maid. Eventually, she is vouchsafed a disturbing revelation of where this domination is leading.<br />
<br />
These events are punctuated by conversations with the reclusive Dr. Ravelin, who stays cloistered in his study for most of the daytime. An amateur archaeologist, he speculates that the ancient house occupies the site of a Roman arena set out for chariot races and other games. The moorland stone circle from which the Hall takes its name feeds wilder ruminations on history and mythology. Reflecting on the reuse of sacred sites by successive religions, Ravelin concludes "Perhaps these ancient stones hold down something far more ancient, something far stranger than the men who placed them understood. Some queer feet have danced here, I feel."<br />
<i>Ringstones</i> is suffused by the spirit of Pan and "his representatives on (the) moors", who may or may not be the indigenous inhabitants of the land, driven out to desolate places but still recalled by folklore and superstition. The myth is of "the gift of the fairies" which, as Dr Ravelin observes "always has some disastrous condition attached to it. Their gold, in the morning, is a stone, or their invitation to a night's revels holds the unfortunate mortal in a century's slavery."<br />
<br />
It will be clear from the above that we are in Arthur Machen territory. As with many of the Welsh master's accounts of the" Little People" Sarban's tale exudes an air of unwholesome sensuality. It starts off with in "Health and Efficiency" style with the well-toned Miss Hazel donning her "skimpy gym trunks" for a day's "romping and tumbling" with her shirtless young charge, whilst wondering at "the perfection of his physical development". Likewise, the clothing of the two little girls is of a type unlikely to be approved by the Mother's Union; "Like Nuaman's, their dress seemed more than is usual with English children to set off their figures rather than to cover them".<br />
<br />
Lest anyone get the wrong idea, no explicitly carnal sentiments are expressed in the novel; things remain chaste even when Nuaman "caressingly" strokes Miss Hazel's arm in a "soothing, persuasive way". Sarban's eroticism runs underground and is focussed on male control and dominance. The measures that Nuaman (jokingly nicknamed "the Slave Driver" by his tutor) takes to impose his will on females very slowly become apparent, until the point at which Miss Hazel realises she has misheard the Polish maid Katia's broken English as "he <i>weep</i>" and that what she really meant was "he whips".<br />
<br />
Miss Hazel also starts to realise that it is physically impossible for her to leave Ringstones. An attempt to reach a nearby village by crossing the moors results in her becoming lost and going around in circles until she returns to the Hall ("I want to keep you here for ever" observes Nuaman in a later conversation). She also receives a creepy indication that the two girls may be representatives of a larger group on the moors, as she spots some of them playing with Nuaman by the stream. Meanwhile, the Polish maid expresses her fear of <i>lies-schi</i>, which Dr Ravelin explains to the means "demons of the forest".<br />
<br />
The conclusion of Miss Hazel's retelling of her adventures finds her arising on a moonlit night and finding herself mysteriously cast back in time to the Roman era, when the Games are being held on the site of Ringstones Hall. Preparations for track events are taking place in the arena and she encounters the Armenian servant Sarkissian with a special chariot. She had previously dreamt of him constructing this device with Nuaman in the stables.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhMPedRCrnqYV9mfHEHJ52MRpspp13NPe0ZlQqyftxSN8qkhf9ybHtibg6kokUIFWbVeWyrLrVldWOwJGNRNAIh6tSv2NMZzQeuPi71xrsEHyUkA0WjQdvlTJHnfCzZThEj63TFpVqflZv/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhMPedRCrnqYV9mfHEHJ52MRpspp13NPe0ZlQqyftxSN8qkhf9ybHtibg6kokUIFWbVeWyrLrVldWOwJGNRNAIh6tSv2NMZzQeuPi71xrsEHyUkA0WjQdvlTJHnfCzZThEj63TFpVqflZv/s1600/a.jpg" height="251" width="320" /></a></div>
It appears that Miss Haz<span xmlns=""><span xmlns=""><span xmlns=""><span xmlns=""><span xmlns=""><span xmlns=""><span xmlns=""></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>el is about to be forced into an unconsenting act of what is termed "pony play" by modern devotees of the Aristotelian Perversion. Already leashed, she is to be stripped and manacled to the pole of this vehicle alongside the already-harnessed Katia in order to take part in a race. Then she sees the charioteer; "Nuaman gazed at me, and before I dropped my eyes I saw his expression begin to change… I dared not look at his face, but I saw the lash…" On this climactic note, her memoir comes to an end.<br />
<br />
Daphne Hazel's story is framed by the sceptical account of an unnamed male narrator accompanying his friend Piers, who has received her manuscript and is keen to discover more about the extraordinary events described in it. When they arrive at Ringstones Hall, they discover it to be an uninhabited ruin. Tracking down Miss Hazel (placed as a tutor to two Egyptian girls in more normal accommodation), she explains her story to them as "a sort of dream, or a lot of dreams" which came to her after she injured herself at the ruin and was left there alone for several hours whilst medical assistance was sought for her.<br />
<br />
One is reminded of the gift of the fairies, but the young woman seems, superficially at least, undamaged by her experiences, imagined or otherwise. Just before the narrator and his friend part company with her, they observe her making a movement which shows this is not the case;<br />
"She held out both her hands … with a curious gesture of surrender as if offering the hands and wrists to someone. I saw a newly-healed long cut on the inside of her left wrist plain against the sun-browned skin. She seemed to offer her wrists a moment and then, yielding to an unknown compulsion, reluctantly turned down her palms, curling her fingers round som<span xmlns=""><span xmlns=""><span xmlns=""><span xmlns=""><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAx_q6JJGHESxE2lVmlUO2UComeYzm60S9fAgz7qDlkwK_fbqB6zvZHBjiXKg6AfhHFfj1jJFDBcGFSfnWjDQQPSDGr4YDAoD91bFsmwY1gZlKdjJkqLCoBouRhpQc7r33PEOBCxJMXIcc/s1600/Pan2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAx_q6JJGHESxE2lVmlUO2UComeYzm60S9fAgz7qDlkwK_fbqB6zvZHBjiXKg6AfhHFfj1jJFDBcGFSfnWjDQQPSDGr4YDAoD91bFsmwY1gZlKdjJkqLCoBouRhpQc7r33PEOBCxJMXIcc/s320/Pan2.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653774556759524258" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 377px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 231px;" /></a></span></span></span></span>ething invisible to us."<br />
Our narrator concludes "I was shocked to see how far behind Piers I had been in understanding the depth of her distress … I think we were all looking with a slowly rising fear at those two drooping hands, so helplessly waiting there." They respond in a reassuring way, but it seems clear that both believe that Pan's representatives <i>have</i> found a victim.<br />
<br />
It could be argued that the extent to which Sarban's fantasy edges over into pornography is a measure of how it fails as literature. It could be that Sarban got away with so much kinkiness because he was writing in a more innocent time. Reaching the end of <i>Ringstones</i>, modern readers may feel that they have stumbled into one of John Norman's notorious <i>Gor</i> novels.<br />
<br />
What saves <i>Ringstones</i> from being mere BDSM fare are its mysticism and atmosphere. Whilst it falls short of the bar set by Machen, there is a strangeness about the tale that captures the imagination in a similar way to <i>The Hill of Dreams</i>. It is very slow-moving and replete with detailed descriptions of the countryside and meditations on arcane subjects. The prurient person that James Branch Cabell dubbed "the pornoscopic reader" will have a laborious time finding the juicy bits.<br />
<br />
Seen as a trilogy, the component novels of <i>The Sarban Omnibus</i> share the theme of male dominance. <i>Ringstones</i> introduces it as an archetypal principle arising from the mythic depths of the collective unconscious to ensnare a modern, independent young woman. The message is that, despite her superficial recovery, Daphne Hazel will remain permanently marked, physically and mentally, by her mysterious experiences. "Everything has end. Except a circle" she pleads to "Sir No Man" at one point. "Ringstones <i>is</i> a circle", he responds "You can never come to the end of Ringstones"…<br />
(Next: <span style="font-style: italic;">The Sound Of His Horn</span>)Antony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9053180878507967014.post-89244235760601512762011-01-16T05:58:00.000-08:002011-01-16T06:57:02.838-08:00Ghosts of Christmas – Past and Present.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMOU3dPIL6rjV6PzusbY_iVk4FMiAbosr4LRrNoSMqXMudqHr-Lzj7zhSjN4IFGn71Fp34LJxHAXmqPzqmZoxuBIcV5h_qTic6Yf8OQkus_Jq5FRqZdexIzElfz4BmBvtqZm3wXcpNMwtL/s1600/m_r_james_295.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 276px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMOU3dPIL6rjV6PzusbY_iVk4FMiAbosr4LRrNoSMqXMudqHr-Lzj7zhSjN4IFGn71Fp34LJxHAXmqPzqmZoxuBIcV5h_qTic6Yf8OQkus_Jq5FRqZdexIzElfz4BmBvtqZm3wXcpNMwtL/s320/m_r_james_295.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562789510281674354" border="0" /></a>The BBC’s <span style="font-style: italic;">Ghost </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Stor</span><span style="font-style: italic;">y for Christmas</span> series originally extended from 1971 to 1978. Highly esteemed by supernatural fiction enthusiasts, it is mainly remembered for its adaptations of classic tales by M.R. James, although 1976’s atmospheric version of Dickens’ <span style="font-style: italic;">The Signalman</span> is often considered to be the finest. In recent years, attempts have been made to revive the series, with new productions of James’s <span style="font-style: italic;">A View from a Hill</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Number 13</span> appearing in 2005 and 2006. Whilst these are enjoyable exercises in television nostalgia, there is an air of pastiche about them which means that they fall short of the original series’ level of excellence.<br /><br />This year it was revealed that the <span style="font-style: italic;">Ghost Story for Christmas </span>was to be a remake of <span style="font-style: italic;">Whistle</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> and I’ll Come to You</span>. Although Jonathan Miller’s 1968 Omnibus production of this pre-dated the series proper, it has joined it in popular memory as the first and most impressive of the BBC’s M.R. James adaptations. It is an extraordinary work that succeeds on many levels, and is a hard act to follow. I was thus mystified as to why the BBC should have chosen <span style="font-style: italic;">Whistle and I’ll Come to You</span> rather than one of the many other tales by M.R. James and his Victorian and Edwardian contemporaries that have not yet been filmed.<br /><br />Memories of pointless remakes such as <span style="font-style: italic;">The Haunting</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wicker Man</span> started to rise unbidden, provoking fears that were hardly laid to rest by an announcement that the remake was to be “a contemporary update, influenced by Japanese horror films and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Shining</span>”, penned by Neil Cross. Oh dear. One bit of good news was that the star was to be John Hurt, surely an actor with sufficient gravitas to pull the pull the project through.<br /><br />The issue of faithfulness to the original story is a complex one. Television and the written word and two separate media, and what works on the page is not necessarily going to be what’s best for the small screen. Jonathan Miller certainly didn’t take the path of slavish adaptation. However, although he was not afraid to make changes to the original, particularly in the area of characterization, he certainly took no liberties. His re-imagining of the story’s protagonist, Professor Parkin, as a bumbling old absent-minded don, played to perfection by Michael Hordern, was a stroke of genius.<br /><br />Horden’s portrayal is a pleasure to watch in every frame. Here is a man fully at <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.steve-calvert.co.uk/dvd-reviews/imgs/reviews/whistle-and-ill-come-to-you/4.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 181px;" src="http://www.steve-calvert.co.uk/dvd-reviews/imgs/reviews/whistle-and-ill-come-to-you/4.png" alt="" border="0" /></a>home with his own company and absorbed in his own mental processes to the extent that he has become somewhat disengaged with the rest of the world. As we observe his break at a desolate East Coast seaside resort, we become fully acquainted with the man and his habits. An amusing exchange with another hotel resident in which he applies linguistic logic to dismiss the notion of ghosts shows up Professor Parkin’s one big flaw; he is pleased to the point of smugness with his own arguments and formulations. In particular, he is delighted by his inversion of a famous quote from Hamlet: “There are more things in philosophy than are dreamt of in Heaven or Earth”.<br /><br />Parkin’s faith in his academic superiority is threatened by the unaccountable events that take place after he discovers and blows and old whistle he discovers in an ancient cliff-top graveyard. Miller remains true to the story’s suggestion that the “ghost”, when it eventually appears, would not have had the power to physically harm its victim. The fear is not of violence or gore, but something far more powerful; the ease with which a logically constructed world-view established over decades of study and argument can be brought crashing down by a single anomalous experience. Jonathan Miller (no believer in the supernatural himself) has turned James’ comic-horrific tale of a conceited young don into a full-blown parable on intellectual hubris.<br /><br />With this illustrious predecessor in mind, it was with some trepidation that I switched on the TV to view Neil Cross’s “contemporary retelling”. First impressions were not good; we are thrown head first into a scene not bearing the remotest resemblance to anything in the original story. The elderly Parkin (John Hurt) has been saddled by the screenwriter with a senile wife (Gemma Jones) and is shown depositing her into what can only be described as the care home from hell. Parkin (who we learn is a retired astronomer) appears to be a wealthy man, so why he has chosen to place his beloved spouse in this grim establishment, in which the inmates are sat in rows in high-backe<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcgg7jkExVf2JDupypyXyOcW05kZLVwTu9mtM76S_vYXO1nBJ2QT6lqP6rDcYBMSdWRQV8qje9hRHZ3h5lZhx0gno3Qyju_F0pZ0sYzgGwgyRDZy98q05yKAzg3LhYwzRyQGIpTYfR87jb/s1600/Whistle_BBC.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 244px; height: 163px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcgg7jkExVf2JDupypyXyOcW05kZLVwTu9mtM76S_vYXO1nBJ2QT6lqP6rDcYBMSdWRQV8qje9hRHZ3h5lZhx0gno3Qyju_F0pZ0sYzgGwgyRDZy98q05yKAzg3LhYwzRyQGIpTYfR87jb/s320/Whistle_BBC.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562790936584909538" border="0" /></a>d chairs wearing identical white gowns, is not explained. To a critical viewer, however, the answer is obvious. This is not one of the quaintly observed social locales we might expect as a background to the chilling goings-on in a <span style="font-style: italic;">Ghost Story for</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Christmas</span>; this is Generic Horror-Land. And thereby hangs the weakness of this production. James’ finely crafted tale has been hollowed out and used as the vehicle for another, different story entirely; a markedly inferior one. You wonder how this came about; presumably the piece needed the cachet of the original to reach production and attract a talent of John Hurt’s calibre. Surely, however, it can only suffer from comparison with the original?<br /><br />John Hurt has, it must be said, a most impressive face. Deeply creased and furrowed, it ages him beyond his seventy years. He is made to star in a Samuel Beckett biopic and somebody should really get to work on this immediately. In <span style="font-style: italic;">Whistle and I’ll C</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ome to You</span>, however, the poor man is coasting. He has one direction, which is to look miserable, and he does this exceedingly well. Yet everything about this work is lifeless and depressing, with fifty-two minutes of it stretching out interminably.<br /><br />Having left the catatonic wife at the Stephen King care home, in the hands of the patronising nurse who is on single-handed duty there, Parkin (in a rare piece of faithfulness-to-the-plot) makes his way to a seaside hotel. This establishment is equally short-staffed and, apart from one family, which packs up and leaves during his stay, Parkin is the sole resident. Jonathan Miller showed us exactly how Professor Parkin spends his solitary days by the seaside, conveying a fine sense of life of the hotel and the nature of his solitary rambling. By contrast, the 2010 version seems fractured and drawn out. The setting has been transferred for some reason from East Anglia to Thanet in Kent, so we are presented with chalk cliffs in place of flat sands and, most importantly, no groynes to act as hurdles in the ghostly pursuit along the beach. Continuity is poor, however, and we never get a clear idea of the landscape and how it stands in relation to the hotel. Cliffs appear first in one direction and then in another. We are never sure how far Parkin has walked or what time of day it is.<br /><br />The two big scares are stolen from elsewhere. First of all, there is a fearsome, u<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinLsZEagstH9yZDii848EmMI9L8kW1LVOP8j1ZhcKxO11Jp0x_diQU0mScscThDmApFRfOcGWxBoR6W0vA7zXnNtF7oFOkaTSX6HPFogvs4Uk2AsS7Jq41uUFWqt9EYchRsS12_rhKS2Ga/s1600/shining.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 237px; height: 223px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinLsZEagstH9yZDii848EmMI9L8kW1LVOP8j1ZhcKxO11Jp0x_diQU0mScscThDmApFRfOcGWxBoR6W0vA7zXnNtF7oFOkaTSX6HPFogvs4Uk2AsS7Jq41uUFWqt9EYchRsS12_rhKS2Ga/s320/shining.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562792282718846450" border="0" /></a>nexplained banging on the bedroom door while Parkin is trying to sleep. This scene is reminiscent of Robert Wise’s <span style="font-style: italic;">The Haunting</span>, but that is rather a classy reference for this production. The pre-screening publicity suggests that this scene was intended to evoke memories of axe-wielding Jack Nicholson from <span style="font-style: italic;">The Shining</span>. Unfortunately as Parkin cowers beneath the postcodes, the response is more likely to be “Why doesn’t he just open the bloody door?”<br /><br />Scare no.2 (which sinks any pretence at subtlety the production may have had until now) is lifted direct from 1998 Japanese horror smash <span style="font-style: italic;">Ringu</span>. Just like Sadako’s stylised ghost crawling from a TV screen, the wraith of Parkins’ senile wife crawls beneath the three-inch gap conveniently left for her beneath his bedroom door. Crawling up the bed, she screams manically “I’m here, I’m here!” into his startled face – a disruption which causes the poor old codger to expire on the spot. Given the idyllic loving relationship that we have been led to believe existed between the two, this occurrence is somewhat surprising. Is it supposed to be a manifestation of the mood changes medically associated with Alzheimer’s disease? Parkin has earlier expressed to the hotel manager his horror at witnessing his wife’s living body minus her personality. Presumably the idea is that, by appearing in the guise of a Japanese ghost, Mrs. Parkin is merely attempting to alert her husband to her continued existence. But wouldn’t a gentler, more loving reminder have sufficed? There is no law stating that ghost stories <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqsb1uQ4Ho7JoI7pHnf3nWaOYxIAd_0kRX8YicMe-7n7BH-eR-ZQqkfjBJm-xeJ-jBH-gAaDSAdaXzdbuD0DGAZhDb5X8YgvA5vuU_LdGWgoP_8Osld6Cl0YkMzP3hUtxCTw9K9REZqWco/s1600/sadako.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 254px; height: 191px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqsb1uQ4Ho7JoI7pHnf3nWaOYxIAd_0kRX8YicMe-7n7BH-eR-ZQqkfjBJm-xeJ-jBH-gAaDSAdaXzdbuD0DGAZhDb5X8YgvA5vuU_LdGWgoP_8Osld6Cl0YkMzP3hUtxCTw9K9REZqWco/s320/sadako.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562791491975182402" border="0" /></a>have to be about crude horror. This story could have concluded in a heartwarming manner, offering consolation to individuals and families afflicted by dementia.<br /><br />The final scene contributes more confusion, leading many viewers on online forums to question what happened. The nurse at the rest home (yes, that nurse) glimpses Mrs. Parkin among the white-gowned upright-chair-sitters before glancing back to see she has disappeared, a fact she acknowledges with a wry grin. Obviously she has died and become a ghost, but why she appears in such a peaceful form to the nurse (who seems quite unfazed) after scaring her poor husband literally to death is a mystery, only explained by the reflection that this is just a clichéd conclusion to a generic plot.<br /><br />The plot of M.R. James’s masterpiece has been mutilated to a ridiculous extent. Most bizarrely, some bright spark has decided <span style="font-weight: bold;">not to have a whistle</span>, rendering the title entirely meaningless. The only reference to one when Parkin sings the Burns song into his wife’s ear near the beginning, but the relevance of this is not explained and most viewers will probably have missed this anyway. Removing this key plot element has the sole effect of making the thing even more tedious and uneventful – the director clearly thinking that picture postcard views of the seaside are sufficient to retain our attention.<br /><br />One of M.R. James’ strengths is the inexplicable nature of his apparitions. All that is known about the ghost (if that’s what it is) in Oh, whistle and I’ll come to you is that it is comes from far away and is connected to the Knights Templars, a mediaeval religious order associated with diabolism and forbidden practices. An air of antiquity and the arcane pervades his tales, infecting the cosy world of his protagonists with the miasma of ancient wrongs. By contrast, the 2010 BBC production adheres to modern Hollywood conventions. In a quote from 1999’s CGI-ridden version of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Haunting</span> (the direst remake of all), “It’s all about family!” In other words, the Supernatural must play second fiddle to a tedious soap opera plot that attempts to put a “psychological” spin on everything that happens to make it “relevant to a modern audience”.<br /><br />All in all, this was a tragically wasted opportunity. The ingredients for a top<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbiP6ZLvYwpB6otBjSiGM2__lUTeAS8JjP87G-I7iZ52aInoYWj3bXdF6L_csL3lcCcvgcjmGB1afr9TpXXMIkpfuRV8lHYVkjdq6PGvW2VkISjYMgrYxWJCBvvs5ND4hTRNjAM8AEdFvm/s1600/webwhistleandillcome.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 257px; height: 193px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbiP6ZLvYwpB6otBjSiGM2__lUTeAS8JjP87G-I7iZ52aInoYWj3bXdF6L_csL3lcCcvgcjmGB1afr9TpXXMIkpfuRV8lHYVkjdq6PGvW2VkISjYMgrYxWJCBvvs5ND4hTRNjAM8AEdFvm/s320/webwhistleandillcome.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562792927590318066" border="0" /></a>-quality production were there in terms of casting and cinematography, but it foundered on the rocks of a dumbed-down screenplay. Considering the rich tradition of British horror, it is difficult to see the relevance of referencing works such as <span style="font-style: italic;">Ringu</span>. Presumably the intention was to be “with it” and fashionable, but the Japanese horror craze was ages ago now, probably when the people who produced this were still at university. This demonstrates the weakness of the whole thing; it was made by people with no sensitivity or feel for their source material, who clearly felt they could improve on the original. Given the story’s warning against hubris, this is ironic to the extreme.Antony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9053180878507967014.post-31192519443992861602010-12-24T10:11:00.000-08:002011-01-16T06:51:30.384-08:00A Portsmouth Ghost Story<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9G0l5yU8V-gsNa4u-P71zP5g01y27MGOwTJeXX2mWRW-Se9rTQqq0_1TyNSI5q1PM4wvairlOM33jfUfgouKfsO7GHKmhY33wQIQmlkC131q9zJHActFnw2fBxq5L3-XeE8c6_KbKw139/s1600/Photo-0038.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9G0l5yU8V-gsNa4u-P71zP5g01y27MGOwTJeXX2mWRW-Se9rTQqq0_1TyNSI5q1PM4wvairlOM33jfUfgouKfsO7GHKmhY33wQIQmlkC131q9zJHActFnw2fBxq5L3-XeE8c6_KbKw139/s320/Photo-0038.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554319159010133730" border="0" /></a><br /></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Runner-up in "The News" Christmas Ghost Story Competition, December 2010`<br /></span></span></p><p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Portsmouth</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> in December 1945 was a brave but war-ravaged city.<span style=""> </span>Although Hitler’s bombs had destroyed buildings and blown apart bodies, he had never succeeded in breaking the proud naval port’s spirit.<span style=""> </span>Now its people were getting on with rebuilding their lives.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">These thoughts crossed my mind as I left Fratton station.<span style=""> </span>I had not been back to </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Portsmouth</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> since before the war, but I knew what to expect.<span style=""> </span>Coming down from </span><span style="font-size:100%;">London</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, it wasn’t such a shock; we had all learned to live with bombsites. What made me nervous was learning of the human devastation. <span style=""> </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Portsmouth</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> had suffered heavy casualties and there were bound to be friends I would never see again.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I had two hours to spare before my cousin Reg knocked off from his job at the dockyard.<span style=""> </span>I was grateful to him for inviting me down to spend Christmas with him and his wife.<span style=""> </span>With my parents moved away, he was my sole family connection with the city I had grown up in.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I decided to stop off in the Nell Gwynne for a beer.<span style=""> </span>Halfway through a pint of Brickwood’s, I spotted a familiar face; Vic Voller, an old schoolmate.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Vic and his brother Vince had lived in </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Orchard Road</span><span style="font-size:100%;">. They were twins, but not identical and had very different personalities.<span style=""> </span>Vic was down-to-earth, while Vince was a dreamer, full of strange ideas and interests.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">One night after the pub he took a bunch of us ghost-hunting in </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Highland</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Road</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Cemetery</span><span style="font-size:100%;">.<span style=""> </span>The only spirit we found was in the bottle of an old tramp propped up against a grave stone.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">After twenty minutes football chat (Vic was never one to talk about himself), I was invited back for a cup of tea.<span style=""> </span>Vic was still living in the same house, which had narrowly been missed early on in the Blitz.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I sat down in the tiny living room while Vic went to put the kettle on. There were no Christmas decorations and everything looked dusty.<span style=""> </span>It seemed like the twins’ old mother had passed away during the war.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">“I’ve remembered what I went out for; a bottle of milk!”<span style=""> </span>Vic stuck his head around the door.<span style=""> </span>“I’ll just nip round and get some – won’t be a minute.”</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I reflected on how things had changed.<span style=""> </span>Physically, Vic seemed much the same, but there was something different about him.<span style=""> </span>Sadness.<span style=""> </span>Perhaps it was the loss of his mother or something else he had experienced.<span style=""> </span>The war left scars on everyone.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Lost in thought, I was startled to see a figure in the doorframe, standing in the passage.<span style=""> </span>I hadn’t heard the front door open and it came as a jolt to see someone staring.<span style=""> </span>Then I realised it wasn’t Vic, it was his brother Vince.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Vince must have been in the house all along, sleeping upstairs.<span style=""> </span>This would explain why Vic hadn’t disturbed him when we came in.<span style=""> </span>He didn’t look well, quite ashen in fact, but he smiled when he saw that I’d noticed him.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I had always got on well with Vince.<span style=""> </span>He was easy to talk to, always keen to find out what I thought about his latest hare-brained theory.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">“Hello Vince”, I said “It’s great to see you!<span style=""> </span>How are things going?”<span style=""> </span>Then, remembering our drunken antics together, I added “How’s the ghost-hunting?”</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Despite his poorly appearance, Vince’s eyes lit up.<span style=""> </span>“Oh you wouldn’t believe it, Geoff; I’ve found out incredible things!<span style=""> </span>I was playing around before the war, but I know much more about the subject now.”</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">This wasn’t the response I had expected, but Vince was obviously keen to expand.<span style=""> </span>“What have you been up to?” I asked.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">“I’ve met people in touch with the Other Side”, he said, “Do you know about Helen Duncan?”</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-0dS5loy3gPQFVkT8nCir6hVLRBOpKzeICskz9079QS8pFgNThQAo071bkuKTDqTHaRSE4_L309I7-kExeP5Lzh_xr3DHZAU3okocpEgboK0rLOwG5D_zgF7O1_anrLA8-qnmPdu_d_9/s1600/Duncan1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 263px; height: 209px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-0dS5loy3gPQFVkT8nCir6hVLRBOpKzeICskz9079QS8pFgNThQAo071bkuKTDqTHaRSE4_L309I7-kExeP5Lzh_xr3DHZAU3okocpEgboK0rLOwG5D_zgF7O1_anrLA8-qnmPdu_d_9/s320/Duncan1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554320318510459042" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">I suppressed a grin.<span style=""> </span>Everyone had heard about Helen Duncan.<span style=""> </span>A Spiritualist Medium from </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Scotland</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, she had been convicted in 1944 under </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Britain</span><span style="font-size:100%;">’s ancient Witchcraft Law.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Many argued that Mrs. Duncan had been unfairly persecuted.<span style=""> </span>It was rumoured that the real reason she had been locked up was wartime security.<span style=""> </span>At a séance in </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Portsmouth</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, she had been contacted by the spirit of a dead sailor from HMS Barham.<span style=""> </span>The loss of this Portsmouth-based ship, with nearly 900 lives, had been an official secret at the time.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">The authorities, it was claimed, were worried that a German spy might attend one of Mrs. Duncan’s séances and obtain classified information from the Spirit World.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">From what I had heard, however, the true story was not so exciting.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">“Oh yes”, I answered, “I know about Helen Duncan.<span style=""> </span>One of my journalist friends covered her trial at the Old Bailey.<span style=""> </span>But, you know, he was not impressed.<span style=""> </span>He says she was arrested simply because the police were fed up with her taking money from the bereaved.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">“You know, she had already been convicted of fraud in </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Scotland</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> and exposed as a fake.”</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I regretted those words instantly; I could see from his face that Vince was angry.<span style=""> </span>“Well”, he hissed, “You can tell your friend he is wrong.<span style=""> </span>Nell Duncan is a good woman.<span style=""> </span>I was at the séance in Copnor and, trust me, I <i style="">know</i> she is genuine.<span style=""> </span>Nell Duncan is no witch and she is certainly not a fraud!”</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">With this he turned around and left the doorway.<span style=""> </span>I felt rotten for upsetting him.<span style=""> </span>It seemed his belief in the after-life was something he was hanging on to.<span style=""> </span>This is what suffering and loss did to people.<span style=""> </span>How could I be so insensitive?</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Just then the front door opened and Vic appeared, clutching a bottle of milk.<span style=""> </span>I followed him through to the kitchen.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">“I’m really sorry Vic”, I said, “I think I’ve upset your brother.”</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">A dark look entered Vic’s eyes, and his gaze went down to the kettle.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">“Look, Geoff.<span style=""> </span>I haven’t told you about Vince.”</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">“He’s not well, is he?” I asked gently.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Vic turned and lifted his eyes to meet mine.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">“He’s dead, Geoff.<span style=""> </span>He went down on the <span style="font-style: italic;">Barham</span> in 1941”.</span></p><p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qAWiqkUQlsSYwmXFT0FFeSEQYKn6iA9AY_OWzj16C_ao02YMgL6G6U8OhC2_WPWM7L9OnFm0Xjt0959LWfKxaJY43NGT8nktb7pJRmQX0ZRBmm8cIZ5RYpRC7SfYIbBtNJ5j-vwDNKED/s1600/barham.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qAWiqkUQlsSYwmXFT0FFeSEQYKn6iA9AY_OWzj16C_ao02YMgL6G6U8OhC2_WPWM7L9OnFm0Xjt0959LWfKxaJY43NGT8nktb7pJRmQX0ZRBmm8cIZ5RYpRC7SfYIbBtNJ5j-vwDNKED/s320/barham.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554320784200973250" border="0" /></a></span></p>Antony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9053180878507967014.post-36848076404181609442010-06-14T08:03:00.000-07:002010-12-29T06:35:16.788-08:00“Film Noir” (2007)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWIclN86-6fTYlfz3Hzg9A6Cq_e59mWMmRiF8MyPER9BDqzzZfxc4y5cSj3inNJarQ3UvjLrDgaiZEeLbfDIGRUtosmU01ezXPbFcnbYhCNJG-3vn4KcZhInnJLmfAoHt1K1cEy_a6Iqlp/s1600/fn3.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482654066541015890" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 320px; height: 183px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWIclN86-6fTYlfz3Hzg9A6Cq_e59mWMmRiF8MyPER9BDqzzZfxc4y5cSj3inNJarQ3UvjLrDgaiZEeLbfDIGRUtosmU01ezXPbFcnbYhCNJG-3vn4KcZhInnJLmfAoHt1K1cEy_a6Iqlp/s320/fn3.JPG" border="0" /></a> I came across this dvd in the bargain bin at Morrisons. From the title and the description on the box, I was expecting a full-on animated tribute to the whole <em>film noir</em> genre. However, this isn't really what the movie's trying to do, although it does contain enough <em>noir</em> elements to get away with the title. Purists will find plenty to carp about, as the modern setting alone will be enough to alienate those who believe that a true <em>film noir</em> must be set in the 1940s and 1950s. Others will consider that the filmmakers have succeeded in their aim of creating a solid low budget 'B' movie which draws inspiration from the past. From its black and white format to its plot and characterisation, “Film Noir” lives up to its name, although it also has roots in the action movie genre. Although the two genres are not necessarily incompatible, the action movie aspect takes over at times and ruins the noir atmosphere that is really the movie’s greatest strength.<br /><br />Animation-wise, <a href="http://filmnoirthemovie.com/">“Film Noir”</a> was never going to give “Sin City” a run for its money, but the work of its Belgrade-based crew is sufficient to carry the plot and convey a distinctive image. 2D style figures are superimposed on more realistic backgrounds, many of which were filmed on site in L.A., a semi-ironic nod to the back-projections often used in 1940s and 1950s movies during car scenes. As may be expected, rain pours down windscreens as cars speed down the long lonely freeways and it is generally night-time with neon signs flashing. Considering that they are drawings, the shady and troubled women who throw themselves at the hero / anti-hero at every opportunity are surprisingly hot and there are several sleazy sex scenes. Overall, however, you never stop being conscious of watching an animation, and the low-budget effects ofte<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIJm_2N5jeydlQyUhSmOlKb2yjNknmDHGM_NwVAC1NWkztvpLf3410HF9-qEQfZxIpgsX4pQ_ztRqGcpzkvGQT3ZleoG2jducgvHY8w7YMFfh76TOk3RMogDsLDZkOTEnHqsOVtq16AICQ/s1600/filmnoir3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482649272144815682" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 320px; height: 177px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIJm_2N5jeydlQyUhSmOlKb2yjNknmDHGM_NwVAC1NWkztvpLf3410HF9-qEQfZxIpgsX4pQ_ztRqGcpzkvGQT3ZleoG2jducgvHY8w7YMFfh76TOk3RMogDsLDZkOTEnHqsOVtq16AICQ/s320/filmnoir3.jpg" border="0" /></a>n give a game-like impression, especially when there are crashing vehicles and explosions.<br /><br />The unlikely plot is equally cartoon-like and, in fact, probably wouldn’t work in a live-action movie. The theme is self-discovery, as an amnesiac man who finds himself regaining consciousness next to a murdered policeman beneath the famous Hollywood sign tries to piece together his past. The more he finds out, the less he likes himself, although twists abound in a manner I won’t disclose here. Identity appears to be a big issue for the movie’s L.A. based Serbian director, who uses the one-off pseudonym of <a href="http://www.djudjones.com/">“D. Jud Jones”</a> for the project and claims to reject the concept of a career. In true <em>noir </em>style, most of the characters suffer from self-hatred and can be corrupted by money from a sinister “Mr. Big” who represents the cruel and perverted heart of the system.<br /><br />Throughout the movie, the protagonist is threatened by a deadly gang of assassins who turn up unexpectedly in a machine-gun blazing helicopter. In most cases, no explanation is given as to how they know his whereabouts or which vehicle he is travelling in. I found myself wishing that more imagination had been applied to these attacks – perhaps a more traditionally <em>noir</em> mode of transport such as a train or a boat journey could have been incorporated into the story? It is at these points that the film seems to los<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0seJ3xmiAJAp7ae3USpVn0VqASI1kAP5YKWR0ZucWz3Eu2D_141Cc52wYNtkQQpMsDuZ3qyXeLLuj8vEzs2AJ6h0e0AdTvTXLN7QWZZK5VoJVfmCzCniqzGW31bognVpNdhSe31zgLRkg/s1600/fn4.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482654207259529346" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 320px; height: 183px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0seJ3xmiAJAp7ae3USpVn0VqASI1kAP5YKWR0ZucWz3Eu2D_141Cc52wYNtkQQpMsDuZ3qyXeLLuj8vEzs2AJ6h0e0AdTvTXLN7QWZZK5VoJVfmCzCniqzGW31bognVpNdhSe31zgLRkg/s320/fn4.JPG" border="0" /></a>e its bearings.<br /><br />Just as many of the original directors who crafted the classic <em>films noir</em> of the 1940s and 1950s had arrived as refugees from Nazi Germany to present an outsider’s view of the States, the creative team behind “Film Noir” comes from part of Europe with a difficult recent history; the former Yugoslavia, with production taking place via the Internet between L.A. and Belgrade. The key difference is, of course, that the original <em>film noir</em> was a genre invented in retrospec<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgh0KSSBz5OSQTkQ1iAsBB_QeY_Ec11Mm9TERQMLI419Ybd973ozry1eyw6v8S-LabanSDLekkUgWuUI7PF61h-7hH-lYH2C8VgAAWsVl9-laDTMVfHqGtm3r-sau8xbunZVrKdIP6IMHt/s1600/fn2.JPG"></a>t by French critics and intellectuals who detected stylistic and thematic similarities in many of the Hollywood products of the time and came up with the theory to explain this. Modern noir (“neo<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWx5-tzCb7bTwgZoYdxcHXMmi4RobI_xOY5QJ7HgzKkXT4ddv_MLoxQpzKokrlFfH7en1CEg5CN4MkxG0RV60CoUg-8u6KygjODdOpYgnaPtmmgWJFqv4qq0zx-TW3WrnVB_U0k0gUQlDC/s1600/FilmNoir.jpg"></a>-noir”), by way of contrast, is a self-conscious attempt to replicate these elements in a contemporary setting. The impetus behind “Film Noir” is a playful one, with the director attempting to employ available resources, including a spare team of animators and some pre-existing plot ideas, to an entertaining effect. (In the interview included as an extra on the dvd, he explains that he had never even thought about making an animation until he learnt about the team of former animators employed by one of his friends in a web-design business left high and d<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMO2KOuhD14fTF7J1a7iMHKPP2j3KJUsjvjzppSB9WhJ2XShoJmDNcybACyUNu-gev-pgQwC_TM0sdT5CMwNoVswFluDQX2JaYvR6xlwqqzFfj-3ao8MjWQPyTjNp8r3n8quhlDeUvo2Z3/s1600/fnroad.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482655853685810370" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 320px; height: 205px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMO2KOuhD14fTF7J1a7iMHKPP2j3KJUsjvjzppSB9WhJ2XShoJmDNcybACyUNu-gev-pgQwC_TM0sdT5CMwNoVswFluDQX2JaYvR6xlwqqzFfj-3ao8MjWQPyTjNp8r3n8quhlDeUvo2Z3/s320/fnroad.JPG" border="0" /></a>ry by the Internet bubble).<br /><br />One of the best things about movie is its score, composed by the multi-talented <a href="http://www.kellermusic.com/">Mark Keller</a>, who also voices the main character. Jazz-based, it also features a couple of excellent song compositions that are soul / blues pastiches and show Mr. Keller to have a voice comparable to Tom Waits’. (It is interesting to note, by the way, how few of the original <em>films noir</em> actually had jazz soundtracks, whereas the sound of a sleazy sax has become <em>de rigueur</em> in <em>neo-noir</em>.)<br /><br />So overall, “Film Noir” is definitely worth a peak, as indeed are the bargain bins at Morrisons (my finest-ever haul from which was Stuart Gordon’s sublime Lovecraft adaptation "Dagon").Antony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9053180878507967014.post-89888235407914579132010-05-24T15:03:00.000-07:002014-02-08T07:17:29.081-08:00Portsmouth’s Carbuncle: The Tricorn Tragedy<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUKwQ1fKxfKhxd-mJSxPTgQrHm7KCcSWlm8lKB1-x0yvQfZOuAQnNRGBrkfEAMJxfG4WzxdxnjVTsZHDrt15Gk8LmULPGLobCZSltKUnoGjIvTy6w9PX89WcMWCNVbjHTsQdbv3l1Eu-B8/s1600/px2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a>(Originally published in <a href="http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/prototype-x2/614502?productTrackingContext=search_results/search_shelf/center/1"><span style="font-style: italic;">Prototype </span></a><a href="http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/prototype-x2/614502?productTrackingContext=search_results/search_shelf/center/1"><span style="font-style: italic;">X</span></a><a href="http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/prototype-x2/614502?productTrackingContext=search_results/search_shelf/center/1"><span style="font-style: italic;">2,</span></a> 2006. Re-edited Feb. 2014)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5dXIp1ZKLM92I6wzilq23t95dnfohi1aSKw-geRNTehhLvOxklkbdccFRbWRanVU-kFdrbczPQy0Bog-f85Yhsa81_UhQs6tUOY7TyIvqmBeaYXMEI7Dqrvn3HMugLwKuZ9Wv20OET8uk/s1600/tric.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5dXIp1ZKLM92I6wzilq23t95dnfohi1aSKw-geRNTehhLvOxklkbdccFRbWRanVU-kFdrbczPQy0Bog-f85Yhsa81_UhQs6tUOY7TyIvqmBeaYXMEI7Dqrvn3HMugLwKuZ9Wv20OET8uk/s1600/tric.tiff" height="198" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUKwQ1fKxfKhxd-mJSxPTgQrHm7KCcSWlm8lKB1-x0yvQfZOuAQnNRGBrkfEAMJxfG4WzxdxnjVTsZHDrt15Gk8LmULPGLobCZSltKUnoGjIvTy6w9PX89WcMWCNVbjHTsQdbv3l1Eu-B8/s1600/px2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><br /></a></div>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Tricorn is no more.</span> Leveled at last, its absence worries like a pulled tooth. In place of its concrete tiers and towers, the flatness of a temporary carpark yawns between the red brick Gothic of haunted St Agatha's (released at last from the dockyard and with God reinstalled, but still washed up like a ship cut adrift from its age and surroundings) and the ripped backside of <span style="font-style: italic;">Cascades</span>, Portsmouth's very own air-conditioned nightmare. Driving past this desolation, we see the manifestation of urban folly and bureaucratic indecision. Like the Saturday afternoon achievements of Pompey Football Club (a deep-seated love of soccer is compulsory in Portsmouth), all this is supposed to make us proud. "Tricorn Down - Portsmouth Up!" was the Maoist-style slogan hung from the Tricorn as it awaited its own execution.<br />
<br />
The Tricorn, of course, was never intended to provoke indifference. Designed by Rodney Gordon of the modish Owen Luder Partnership, it was a product of the controversial school of architecture that had been given the name 'Brutalism' from the French term for the material employed; <span style="font-style: italic;">béton brut</span> or rough concrete. The shopping centre aroused strong positive and negative reactions right from its opening in 1966, when the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth reportedly admitted "It looks horrible from the outside..." The following year, it won the Civic Trust Award in recognition of its "exciting visual composition". Then, in 1968, it was voted “the fourth ugliest building in Britain”…<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/-AZaZ_L4264/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/-AZaZ_L4264&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/-AZaZ_L4264&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<br />
Sections of the ‘quality’ press were ecstatic in their appreciation of the Tricorn's design. The <i>Sunday Times</i> lauded it as "an exotic essay in reinforced concrete, using towers, pyramids and minarets to give an eastern feel - the character of the Casbah". Ian Nairn in <i>The Observer</i> was similarly gushing; "At last there is something to shout about in Portsmouth. Britain's primary naval port has a dreary record of post-war buildings; in fact, nothing grand has gone up there since the 1890s. The new Tricorn development designed by Owen Luder will change all that. It is in Charlotte Street, part of the main shopping centre, and it provided the full developer's repertoire: shops, supermarket, rooftop carparking, a tower carpark as well, flats, two pubs and a wholesale market. This is in fact a complete town ... every student's dream made visible; spiral staircases, heroically modelled facades, writhing compositions of cross-overs and pass-unders. Everything is going on at once on about six different levels."<br />
<br />
Picking up on the Middle Eastern theme (strangely appropriate, given the 'Star and Crescent' design of Portsmouth's city arms, said to have been brought back from Palestine by the crusader King Richard the Lionheart), architectural historian David Lloyd, writing in 1972, eulogised the shopping centre's imaginative appearance; "In form it is a romantic piece of 'concrete sculpture' on a huge scale ... The shape of the Tricorn as seen from the road to the north-west suggests allusions both to an Arabic city and to an oil refinery, expressed in the medium of concrete. The effects of the horizontal 'trays' of car parking space separated by dark space are dramatically exploited as are the concrete driveways up the round towers at the angles. The main building is massively chunky in form, and the irregular skyline is punctuated by round-topped turrets." Some years later he remarked "If only the building were painted in white ... its wonderful sculptural form would be even more emphasised."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHBmr_PWErE7PCgR8opVHVqBFfLKPoE2oM1nUYKj7y4Ojj_MJZmYvuaVvaz1UGrgc9JOm_P0qiQTs9DfLOeW763A2jt1EKjbA4fZ96wpi_kh-N7c_w6L6NYuO1-bbo1I8NHXAOxLsNfL4p/s1600/T.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHBmr_PWErE7PCgR8opVHVqBFfLKPoE2oM1nUYKj7y4Ojj_MJZmYvuaVvaz1UGrgc9JOm_P0qiQTs9DfLOeW763A2jt1EKjbA4fZ96wpi_kh-N7c_w6L6NYuO1-bbo1I8NHXAOxLsNfL4p/s1600/T.jpg" height="198" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
This brings us to the Tricorn's greatest shortcoming; concrete decay. The structure's Space Age aspirations were sadly betrayed by the encroaching ugliness of its physical fabric. This fact alone gave sufficient ammunition to the building’s enemies and caused resentment to a general public ignorant of the advanced science of concrete restoration. Poetic souls, attuned to the interplay between Man and Nature, could gain lugubrious sustenance from the stained grey walls and stalactites, but for many people the tabloid tag 'ugliest building in Britain' quickly gained resonance.<br />
<br />
The Tricorn had other issues as well. For a start, it was never completed. The 'hanging gardens' of greenery envisaged for the upper storeys were left unplanted and some planned lighting and street furniture were not installed. The social housing built into the complex experienced serious problems with leaking. The design itself presented a challenge; despite its high-profile visibility from the road, the Tricorn was essentially self-contained and inward-looking. The Casbah-like structure insulated itself from the rest of the city centre, which did nothing to endear it to Portsmouth’s town planners, who aspired to a more integrated shopping area. Most importantly, the Tricorn failed to attract a 'big-name' store such as Marks and Spencers. The audacious concrete sculpture appeared to be incapable of earning enough money to justify its own existence. Dark murmurings about its future began at an early stage, but there was a widespread belief that it would be too difficult and expensive to knock the Tricorn down; the overwhelming mass of pre-stressed concrete would explode catastrophically when struck by a demolition ball. Under-investment and neglect followed. Portsmouth seemed to be stuck with Luder’s decaying citadel; a grim relic of the ‘Brutalist’ past.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXFjAkgGWg2PA4063tXtCvRIGS5tTxKNJXMsNmF2sPZN8D-oG80My0wfuXBwn_ATjI7Xg7xVtD0XF_i6UBgmUCXAF6DEC4Paqelt_-xNdBbl1zcPsRKu8sDWuASAfVqpd7kh1bRADGZdxg/s1600/Tri.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXFjAkgGWg2PA4063tXtCvRIGS5tTxKNJXMsNmF2sPZN8D-oG80My0wfuXBwn_ATjI7Xg7xVtD0XF_i6UBgmUCXAF6DEC4Paqelt_-xNdBbl1zcPsRKu8sDWuASAfVqpd7kh1bRADGZdxg/s1600/Tri.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
Designed in socially optimistic times, the Tricorn’s warren of entrances eventually turned out to be a lurking ground for vandals and muggers and a <i>pissoir</i> for late night drunks. The stale stench of urine mingled with that of rotten vegetables from the adjoining Charlotte Street market to create an aesthetic experience that was was quintessentially Portsmouth. Overflowing barrows and market stalls crept beneath dripping grey concrete into the Tricorn's dark precincts to create a vibrant street-scene that melded Dickensian squalor with one of J.G. Ballard's grey dystopias.<br />
<br />
To an 'alternative' shopper seeking respite from the cloned tedium of Commercial Road, this was one of the joys of the Tricorn. The maligned and necrotic structure gave shelter to a diverse and healthy community of independent traders. Downstairs could be found such delights as Mr. Clive's leather shop (the purchase of a cheap biker jacket from Mr. Clive's was a rite of passage for Portmouth punks and rockers), cheap clothes stalls in ‘Charlotte’s Superstore’, a record shop, a mysterious Chinese food store and a martial arts supplier. As well as a classic ‘greasy spoon’, the top floor hosted a variety of small open shops selling items such as secondhand paperbacks, comics, secondhand records, witchcraft supplies, and retro-clothing. There was not a 'High Street' name in sight (although the Tricorn had once been the home of Richard Branson’s very first Virgin record store). All these local businesses have now been destroyed, having no place in the portion-controlled corporate paradise aspired to by Portsmouth City Council. Gone too is Basin’s Night Club, which once reverberated to the likes of the Pink Fairies and Robert Calvert.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, it is clear that the Tricorn didn’t stand a chance. Yesterday's future had become the present’s embarrassing past. Back in 1984, populist dabbler Charles Windsor had delivered his notorious “carbuncle” speech to the Royal Institute of British Architects. Claiming to speak up for “‘ordinary’ people (who) need not be made to feel guilty or ignorant if their natural preference is for the more ‘traditional’ designs”, he soon had Portsmouth’s ‘carbuncle’ in his royal cross hairs, inventively describing it as “a mildewed lump of elephant droppings”. Modernist eyesores such as the Tricorn would be purged from the Prince's forelock-tugging Utopia. He was in tune with the zeitgeist; the perpetrators of Thatcher’s Britain looked back to a Merchant Ivory past of country houses, rose-tangled gardens and people who knew their place. All social evils, from pregnant teenagers to striking binmen, were to be blamed on the left-wing 1960s. Through the prism of this demonology, radical architects were revealed as arrogant and contemptuous technocrats engaged in social engineering; Stalinist manipulators of public space.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5CrTMSYGpGTLLaNk-xTj9LZZqiWYYv1JBgY_4VOp4NG7rfl-QkSqqWYXy_ZZ36TwbuQVZ__CaZFjeMp8JrlCHPjDGkCBL4Komn1H6y5nP6WXnNTtaH4qMAPTQnl-5GFsn6Yb50gFBEccP/s1600/tricorn2_270x165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5CrTMSYGpGTLLaNk-xTj9LZZqiWYYv1JBgY_4VOp4NG7rfl-QkSqqWYXy_ZZ36TwbuQVZ__CaZFjeMp8JrlCHPjDGkCBL4Komn1H6y5nP6WXnNTtaH4qMAPTQnl-5GFsn6Yb50gFBEccP/s1600/tricorn2_270x165.jpg" /></a></div>
The Tricorn clung on, concrete to the core and implacably representative of a hard naval city (one admirer hymned the “poignant relevance” of “its tough macho quality”). Although older residents still had grounds for viewing it as an alien interloper, for those born into its own decade it was as much a part of the Portsmouth landscape as seagulls crying overhead and diesel fumes belched by red and white corporation buses. In its decay, it became symbolic of a city past its prime. Through a kind of sympathetic magic, the Tricorn was held responsible for all the city’s ills and became the victim of a full scale witch hunt. Portsmouth South MP Mike Hancock led the campaign for its destruction, declaiming to the press “it has dragged the economy down for years”. Insanity formed a sub-plot; the manager of the Tricorn’s pet shop went on a rampage in the nearby Sainsbury’s superstore, hurling bottles of single malt whisky down the aisles until the police arrived to arrest him. He was sectioned and packed off to St. James' mental hospital; just another life swept up by the gales of destruction.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguITF4OYah9v0PksovuSvGzlpj-12wbgw45k7VbMN_u98N8uDQG_O3wk3Ccl3KE4wwFRLoebPgx9dU9Laysx05oFjTHRlEaPisSsP1sIU0L-UXlpy5JXBpo4_oQwx6B2SjruupdmZtsVag/s1600/tricorncentre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguITF4OYah9v0PksovuSvGzlpj-12wbgw45k7VbMN_u98N8uDQG_O3wk3Ccl3KE4wwFRLoebPgx9dU9Laysx05oFjTHRlEaPisSsP1sIU0L-UXlpy5JXBpo4_oQwx6B2SjruupdmZtsVag/s1600/tricorncentre.jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Semi-derelict and boarded up (it was in this state for a full ten years), the Tricorn retained its defenders. Serious-minded patricians of the Portsmouth Society conducted a campaign to have the building listed, something which, of course, there should have been no argument about. Ambitious plans to rejuvenate and remodel it were commissioned, seeking resolve its major problems and to provide Portsmouth with much needed housing and a new 'winter garden' in place of the failed department store. “We have all noticed that public perception of what is beautiful or ugly works on the pendulum principle and reaches its nadir just before a fresh and positive evaluation”, the Society explained. Unfortunately in the Tricorn’s case the pendulum had already reached the point of no return.<br />
<br />
The end was cruel and protracted. Like an inmate on Death Row, the Tricorn clung to existence, in the vain hope that its architectural uniqueness would overcome mere commercial considerations and be recognised by the Heritage Minister. In its diminished state, it was turned into a distracting source of media controversy. ‘Middle England’ jumped in for the kill and Owen Luder’s once-lauded masterpiece was unimaginatively declared the “ugliest building in the UK” in a poll of Radio 4 listeners. Supercilious as ever, the presenters guffawed. It seemed that the voters were blind to the melanoma-like rash of out-of-town retail hulks spreading across swathes of British countryside. Rodney Gordon's principle had been; “If people don’t notice it, it’s not architecture”. He was right, but this meant that hideous non-architecture could pass safely without comment, so long as its dullness and ubiquity meant that it could disappear into the background. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSInl2p9Vqkwk0Eh-KgK9idwL7za7iUh9z-O4GV4AOB6wVtbgb8XmbMWhEhMw88bBnnxr8aJGaOvBojobPZUwqQryqSrLPwbrv5Sy-b3Sds4m1WCR5uRJLKjjCO9yeB9EYL6G3yxI_Aaq/s1600/tricorn.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSInl2p9Vqkwk0Eh-KgK9idwL7za7iUh9z-O4GV4AOB6wVtbgb8XmbMWhEhMw88bBnnxr8aJGaOvBojobPZUwqQryqSrLPwbrv5Sy-b3Sds4m1WCR5uRJLKjjCO9yeB9EYL6G3yxI_Aaq/s1600/tricorn.png" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
In its final days, the Tricorn predictably became a focus for art school anarchists and other ironic types. A local group of neo-<span style="font-style: italic;">Lettr</span><span style="font-style: italic;">istes</span> calling themselves ‘Proles for Modernism’ attempted to engineer a situation by insinuating themselves into plans for a ‘Tricorn Festival’ to mark the structure's demise. Issuing dubious psychogeographic tracts about an invented "Tricorn Ley Line", they proclaimed the failed shopping centre "a demotic symbol of resistance - it contradicts the role to which it’s assigned". Foaming with affected rage, they vowed to “spit on ‘Prince’ Charles, and on the scum who execute his wishes.” This type of rhetoric was calculated to alarm Taylor Woodrow, the Tricorn’s original builders, now turned demolition contractors. Unsurprisingly, they withdrew permission for the festival. The official reason was that they suspected a graffiti spree, which was somewhat ironic given the incalculably greater vandalism they had been commissioned to undertake.<br />
<br />
The Tricorn's final death sentence was announced in March 2004. Mike Hancock lost no time to engage in some populist gloating: “With new developments like Gunwharf Quays, the Kings Theatre saved and now the Tricorn coming down, 'Pompey’s on the up.'” Undeterred by the rabble, Owen Luder defended his creation to the end: "My problem now is that there is a lynch mob - the 'tear it down' lot - who have not given any thought to what the Tricorn was or what it could be. As it is, all they are going to do is knock it down and have a surface level car park, which is where I started in <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZDz25X3MQUfQyYKlpLX3mvvShZyA_cJK5AVz04Z5QIsnRxGy3rjCrDcdCIcwG2ogMfsm4O6N2Wf_FdgkvvMRZOQee4jpxS_3hD-23V3lgBAhRkqhAEdXYaiOGEXn_Eh9hAVCNA6Rdk6sg/s1600/tricorn2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZDz25X3MQUfQyYKlpLX3mvvShZyA_cJK5AVz04Z5QIsnRxGy3rjCrDcdCIcwG2ogMfsm4O6N2Wf_FdgkvvMRZOQee4jpxS_3hD-23V3lgBAhRkqhAEdXYaiOGEXn_Eh9hAVCNA6Rdk6sg/s320/tricorn2.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474971405423457970" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 287px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 264px;" /></a>1961. Portsmouth will regret having demolished the Tricorn in the long term."<br />
<br />
At 11.00am on 24.03.04, Mr. Stuart Hamilton, Portsmouth resident and lucky winner of a Council competition, ceremonially commenced demolition to the bombastic strains of Tchaikovsky. This was a cleverly sarcastic reference to Ian Nairn’s 1960s Observer article, in which the award-winning edifice was described as "an orchestration in reinforced concrete that is the equivalent of the 1812 overture". Solemn and defeated, members of the Portsmouth Society and other Tricorn supporters lined up in the crowd to witness the crass and depressing spectacle.<br />
<br />
The campaign to eradicate the irreplaceable architectural heritage of the 1960s continues apace. Next on the death list is Luder’s second Brutalist classic, the Gateshead multi-storey car park that acquired iconic status (and some high profile international supporters such as Sylvester Stallone) from its appearance in the classic British gangster film ‘Get Carter’. Meanwhile, Portsmouth has a new Middle-Eastern inspired architectural emblem in the shape of the ‘Spinnaker Tower’, a half-sized replica of Dubai’s Burj-al-Arab hotel overlooking the harbour. Originally meant to be the centerpiece of Portsmouth’s Millennium celebrations, the scandal-ridden project was finally completed in October 2005 at a cost of £35.6m. £11.1m. of this, contrary to promises given at the outset, was funded by taxpayers through Portsmouth City Council. The building is constructed from concrete.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUKwQ1fKxfKhxd-mJSxPTgQrHm7KCcSWlm8lKB1-x0yvQfZOuAQnNRGBrkfEAMJxfG4WzxdxnjVTsZHDrt15Gk8LmULPGLobCZSltKUnoGjIvTy6w9PX89WcMWCNVbjHTsQdbv3l1Eu-B8/s1600/px2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUKwQ1fKxfKhxd-mJSxPTgQrHm7KCcSWlm8lKB1-x0yvQfZOuAQnNRGBrkfEAMJxfG4WzxdxnjVTsZHDrt15Gk8LmULPGLobCZSltKUnoGjIvTy6w9PX89WcMWCNVbjHTsQdbv3l1Eu-B8/s320/px2.jpg" height="200" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474970989139004338" style="float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 246px;" width="153" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF7hDpSAoIgq0iWg3_lo6GlMLPxFmpzfLrdX6D4PP0SImnPWFqitWMSdU6ZWxq6B52hNC3TPKKm0tSbV1d-DX3JEH8mO9tWK1rmSnlpYfBmjHqHDtHxc9OSOzJug2BR04m4-a52hT0aFA6/s1600/tricornsign.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a>Antony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9053180878507967014.post-71652291498394539112010-05-17T06:03:00.000-07:002010-05-17T15:29:07.927-07:00HUNT: Beyond the Frozen Fire<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIZUatMSjohy5mR_DCnEBTdyxl17bpg2zCpYVjDhlggjY53R8LxM7bvEudbvc4KaS76vg7N7k-dVpYGctiavYEUSgJ8gK0o3vjzBcxOJUfwraYkduo_YBVYOTqfyL1m26pjsP0zRHeIojo/s1600/hunt_fire.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472227682515157826" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 199px; height: 319px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIZUatMSjohy5mR_DCnEBTdyxl17bpg2zCpYVjDhlggjY53R8LxM7bvEudbvc4KaS76vg7N7k-dVpYGctiavYEUSgJ8gK0o3vjzBcxOJUfwraYkduo_YBVYOTqfyL1m26pjsP0zRHeIojo/s320/hunt_fire.jpg" border="0" /></a> <em><strong><a href="http://www.huntforadventure.com/">Gabriel Hunt</a></strong></em> is a new cycle of pulp paperbacks created by Charles Ardai, editor of the <em><a href="http://www.hardcasecrime.com/index.shtml">Hard Case Crime</a></em> series. It is aimed at reviving the “two-fisted” genre of men’s adventure tales.<br /><br />The gimmick of the series is that the hero's name appears on the cover of each book as though he were the chronicler of his own extravagant exploits. It is only on the title page that the name of the true author appears; "as told to ...". As the stories are narrated in the third person, this "ghost-writer" concept isn't exactly followed through, but it does give the books a very distinct brand identity, aided and abetted by the classic pulp artwork of Glen Orbik. It is clearly hoped that Hunt himself will become a strong enough draw to sell succeeding volumes.<br /><br /><div><div><div><div>It didn't really work that way for me however, as I purchased this novel primarily because it was penned by <em>Hard Case's</em> first female writer, <a href="http://christafaust.com/">Christa Faust</a>, who shot to fame with the <em>noir</em> thriller <em>Money Shot</em>, in which she grippingly explored the nastier reaches of the porn industry. <em>Beyond the Frozen Fire</em> is a far lighter piece of work which shows another dimension of her talents.</div><br /><div>Something of a cross between Indiana Jones and James Bond, Gabriel Hunt is the sort of fantasy figure most men would secretly love to be, and most heterosexual women would like to get more closely acquainted with. Backed by the multi-million dollar resources of the Hunt Foundation, administered by his younger brother Michael, he has the onerous job of roving the world in search of missing ancient artefacts, an activity which necessarily seems to involve sexual entanglements with a wide variety of alluring and dangerous women.</div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0QxLO9ok-zNVylqq4CpXc4bIOXI1OU4augIAn5vo5YIcuGrVNdcuB3FxMo2YbGdl6akUu7ErICyU2UiT-Bu1O8Z0DBmhTBBuqOZCxP803VbwyZBzvx-zyLdyXZQinlogoA7QRevYy-xo/s1600/moneyshot.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472226358979583298" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 198px; height: 320px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0QxLO9ok-zNVylqq4CpXc4bIOXI1OU4augIAn5vo5YIcuGrVNdcuB3FxMo2YbGdl6akUu7ErICyU2UiT-Bu1O8Z0DBmhTBBuqOZCxP803VbwyZBzvx-zyLdyXZQinlogoA7QRevYy-xo/s320/moneyshot.jpg" border="0" /></a>I haven't read any of its predecessors, but my guess is that <em>Beyond the Frozen Fire</em> raises the bar in terms of exotic locales and outré happenings. To set the scene, it kicks off with a short adventure set in Eastern Europe, in which Hunt seeks to retrieve a priceless Cossack knife from a beautiful but treacherous female archaeologist. This short story within a novel is all that is needed to introduce the protagonist to newbies like myself and gets things off to a rollicking start.<br /><br />The story proper is set off by the arrival on the scene of "a tall, auburn-haired beauty" who introduces herself as one Velda Silver. She is the daughter of a distinguished scientist who has disappeared under mysterious circumstances from a research station at the South Pole. Hunt quickly agrees to help her find her missing father and sets about assembling an expedition. </div><div><br />One of Ms. Faust's talents is the creation of interesting supporting characters and this is given full reign here. Sexual tension is introduced by the inclusion of one of Hunt's old flames, a tomboyish Brazilian mechanic named Rue Aparecido. It doesn't take long, however, for a liaison with the passionate Velda to take place; "her fierce, urgent heat threatening to melt through the polar ice beneath them."</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb8EZ-fZlZF97sz2Hrc5p1wVmyGVHbsjWRvyYWJmlXR7XeBA8C5CApDfqZ5ZdvvLMoudUV_ERKGzQilzLMZKEtGyuhqs5fFc_SXoxbtp4FSNM30wPGx1WrRk-YZ2hgKWCf68Jq9i1lWFh9/s1600/christa_gun_mono_006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472227148224779170" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 240px; height: 320px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb8EZ-fZlZF97sz2Hrc5p1wVmyGVHbsjWRvyYWJmlXR7XeBA8C5CApDfqZ5ZdvvLMoudUV_ERKGzQilzLMZKEtGyuhqs5fFc_SXoxbtp4FSNM30wPGx1WrRk-YZ2hgKWCf68Jq9i1lWFh9/s320/christa_gun_mono_006.jpg" border="0" /></a> It would be unfair to divulge too much of the ensuing plot, which is pure pulp hokum of the very best kind. Suffice to say it revolves around a “hollow earth” encounter with a lost tribe of Aryan Amazons. Close shaves and finger’s breadth escapes abound, including one memorable incident in which Hunt finds himself tied up by the Queen of the Amazons in a manner that is perhaps not surprising from a writer who lists “rope bondage” among her personal interests!<br /><br /><div>All this well-paced action is spiced with lashings of innuendo and lively banter between the characters. There is absolutely no pretence at profundity and the novel aspires to be nothing more than a light-hearted piece of entertainment. As such, it is ideal escapist reading for these troubled times, and one can only hope that Charles Ardai’s hope of sparking a pulp revival comes to fruition.<br /></div><br /><div>The only criticism I could make concerns the cover, which illustrates the East European prequel. I am a great admirer of Glen Orbik’s work, but this is a bit disappointing. The foreground figure seems too dark and takes up too much space for my liking, and the perspective is very confusing. Above all, it would have been nice to have a de<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjorR3pOheMmrGS2nBedTsXqwkv0YW_r3b0A3yijw1plasykaGt9EemeusSRF1fjFpZmvLCasPmJkdzdQrcRa5AuIYXDSsS2SVF84CUVAbnz-ISv-ZS0wkch1PKSGio-HCeSn5gcMm8SIJh/s1600/choke_hold.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472228324968952786" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 198px; height: 320px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjorR3pOheMmrGS2nBedTsXqwkv0YW_r3b0A3yijw1plasykaGt9EemeusSRF1fjFpZmvLCasPmJkdzdQrcRa5AuIYXDSsS2SVF84CUVAbnz-ISv-ZS0wkch1PKSGio-HCeSn5gcMm8SIJh/s320/choke_hold.jpg" border="0" /></a>piction of the blonde woman warriors who figure so large in the story (“dressed, if you can call it that, in scraps of black-and-tan-striped fur …”). However, it seems that Ardai’s <em>modus operandi</em> was to have Orbik produce the pictures first, and then distribute them to the authors for inspiration.</div><br />I shall certainly be seeking out more episodes of Gabriel Hunt's adventures. What seems most promising is that the individual writers are allowed to keep their own voice; <em>Beyond the Frozen Fire</em> is unmistakably a Christa Faust novel, no matter what name is written on the front.<br /><br /><div>A further Faustian treat is due early next year with <em>Choke Hold</em>, in which Angel Dare, the superbly characterised ex-porn star heroine of <em>Money Shot,</em> returns for another stab at society’s dark underbelly. Sporting a gorgeous Orbik cover, this is bound to sell in stacks. With a movie of <em>Money Shot</em> also in preparation, things seem to be on the up and up for the writer dubbed by Richard Prather “the ‘First Lady’ of <em>Hard Case Crime</em>”.</div></div></div></div>Antony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9053180878507967014.post-15639529898702500702010-05-08T11:33:00.000-07:002010-05-08T13:19:34.123-07:00Attack of the Killer Earthworms<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQIpEQfyVZo6TL3uWVOl8gg5MJRx9ikEpg9aiE8ZlmPz5A1KawZf5BV5t5DBcbQKiJt-YZy_MmmHeqY7KzNEZu6vM_Qtd08rToFHy7nOHYYMdYAdRieIrpvW-RxzJDvpzJn4ECxSQk4KYM/s1600/themorgowrises.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 189px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQIpEQfyVZo6TL3uWVOl8gg5MJRx9ikEpg9aiE8ZlmPz5A1KawZf5BV5t5DBcbQKiJt-YZy_MmmHeqY7KzNEZu6vM_Qtd08rToFHy7nOHYYMdYAdRieIrpvW-RxzJDvpzJn4ECxSQk4KYM/s320/themorgowrises.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468978639236616626" border="0" /></a><i style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">“God, when I think I used to pick them up as bait for fishing when I was a kid.<span style=""> </span>Never again!”<o:p></o:p></span></i> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p><span style="font-family:Arial;">In the pulp world of the mid ‘70s to early ‘80s, Nature was revolting.<span style=""> </span>All manner of creatures had developed homicidal, if not genocidal, tendencies and were turning against </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">their human overlords.</span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><span style="font-family:Arial;">The first stirrings of this uprising had actually taken place way back in 19</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">17 </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">with the p</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">ublication of <a href="http://www.machensoc.demon.co.uk/">Arthur Machen’s</a> novella <span style="font-style: italic;">The Terror</span>.<span style=""> </span>As a committed Christian and former member of the Golden Dawn, Machen offered an esoteric </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">explanation for the “great revolt of the beasts”, interpreting it as a </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">response to Man’s spiritual abdicat</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">ion during </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">the horrors of the Great War;</span><a style="font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgke3CURUzRJK4OMUwXp_Dvh9K7rpQ5whdXPnHhecVlSNOUaj_c-2yxHHMGd8yox-xka6nz9rDBXg_PvZfU6WHkhZm0PcwJRAj6nc6K2e5ciUdhBdsoCz8EtHrl1nxlfT5EzWWlC2Rj2MaU/s1600/machenvol2.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 172px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgke3CURUzRJK4OMUwXp_Dvh9K7rpQ5whdXPnHhecVlSNOUaj_c-2yxHHMGd8yox-xka6nz9rDBXg_PvZfU6WHkhZm0PcwJRAj6nc6K2e5ciUdhBdsoCz8EtHrl1nxlfT5EzWWlC2Rj2MaU/s320/machenvol2.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468971645619817474" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">“He has declared, again and again, t</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Arial;" >hat he is not spiritual, but rational, that is, th</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Arial;" >e equal of the beasts over whom he was once sovereign… If he were not king he was a sham, </span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">an imposter, a thing to be destroyed.”</span><span style=""> </span><br /><br />The sto</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">ry ends with a warning; <span style="font-style: italic;">“They have risen once – they ma</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Arial;" >y rise again.” </span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> How true that was to prove!</span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Daphne du Maurier’s short story <span style="font-style: italic;">The Birds</span>, set in a bleak Cornish location, offered no explanation for the behaviour of its feathered antagonists, althoug</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">h its year of publication (1952) led some t</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">o read it as a Cold</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> War allegory.<span style=""> </span>Two years later, the science fiction movie <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047573/">Them</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>exploited a</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> related anxiety; the effects on nature of the atmospheric testing of atomic weapons.<span style=""> </span>Low tech special effects were skillfully employed to depict a colony of giant ants, genetically mutated by radiation from the </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">New Me</span></st1:place></st1:state><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7dYO1_gDdwnxCodQzuNycdgAKDLOnrmf2ZTEkPJ9eo9uhSXYl9_dyzNQ-RuoHUtfOVi_uVqtkH1kQbaiqmHi47DTKCMJzvNZRUPlH9qJmqUVFUyq11ase5yTB8ANXNiwMGH6cJAioYiGk/s1600/Them02.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 194px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7dYO1_gDdwnxCodQzuNycdgAKDLOnrmf2ZTEkPJ9eo9uhSXYl9_dyzNQ-RuoHUtfOVi_uVqtkH1kQbaiqmHi47DTKCMJzvNZRUPlH9qJmqUVFUyq11ase5yTB8ANXNiwMGH6cJAioYiGk/s320/Them02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468973111210256354" border="0" /></a><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">xico</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family:Arial;"> tests and breeding i</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">n the storm drains ben</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">eath </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">L.A.</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style=""> </span>Much suspe</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">nse is g</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">enerated from the police investigation into mysterious deaths caused by the</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> ants</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">, which do not themselves appear in</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> the </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">movie for quite some time.<o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Hitchcock’s movie of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056869/"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Birds</span></a> (1963) transferred the action to a Californian location and added a screwball romantic plot.<span style=""> </span>It was inspired by an actual incident </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">which jo</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">gged the director’s memory of the </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">option he had purchased on du Maurier’s story.<span style=""> </span>A </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;">Santa Cruz</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:Arial;"> newspaper had reported a </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">bird attack in which, </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">possibly </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkIBpa-gm4e6mAnRHAC-wA2ZEvPAiUh_ekVg7dlmjNC0YhHYEu9i3OgtZadA-Ug3iUphTmdmpxX-WUXYDJ_tBeYpPymKS_EWM_o5Y0E47ExRFHCieWyOPjuvoSGu9KM4Tso_oiNXhVv0Q3/s1600/birds.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkIBpa-gm4e6mAnRHAC-wA2ZEvPAiUh_ekVg7dlmjNC0YhHYEu9i3OgtZadA-Ug3iUphTmdmpxX-WUXYDJ_tBeYpPymKS_EWM_o5Y0E47ExRFHCieWyOPjuvoSGu9KM4Tso_oiNXhVv0Q3/s320/birds.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468973786018396770" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial;">as the result of seafood poisoning, a flock of seagulls had shatter</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">e</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">d </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">windows and flown into stre</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">etlights, leaving dead birds littering</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> the streets.<span style=""> </span>The a</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">daptatio</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">n,</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> with its screenplay by Evan Hunter (more widely known for his crime </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">writing as </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">Ed McBain!), did not </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">find favour with du Maurier herself, but w</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">as a great critical success.</span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><span style="font-family:Arial;">The “revolt of the beasts” really entered the world of the pulp British paperb</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">ack in 1974, with the publication of James Herbert’s notorious debut “The Rats”.<span style=""> </span>The nov</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">el recounts with gusto attacks by gi</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZfb-FoWm_tkcYR2NxDWLvbW_eFFxKJHUgQuw68vSooPlG-QP8nSuyWCyIkFvICFxuBFyjUtNcYCkFMt0sZeiuX5G5amTLqy6EBkfQaAz5oxL2OQDJCLfGrjCOFb7eL4JA-xGWMdKnYpmQ/s1600/Ratsnovel.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZfb-FoWm_tkcYR2NxDWLvbW_eFFxKJHUgQuw68vSooPlG-QP8nSuyWCyIkFvICFxuBFyjUtNcYCkFMt0sZeiuX5G5amTLqy6EBkfQaAz5oxL2OQDJCLfGrjCOFb7eL4JA-xGWMdKnYpmQ/s320/Ratsnovel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468974346990028850" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial;">ant rats in a London still pockmark</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">ed by bombsites, its unbridled gore and grimly </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">realistic setting making it an instant bestseller and a landmark in the horror ge</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">nre.<span style=""> </span>The floodgates wer</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">e open.</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style=""> </span>No creature was too small and innocuous, too cute or too fluff</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">y for a starring role in a pulp horror novel as publishers rushed to cash in on Herbert’s </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">success.</span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Most notably, Guy N. Smith's <span style="font-style: italic;">Crabs</span> series maintained just the right blend of sex, gore and excitement.<span style=""> </span>Smith conveyed the authentic feeling of a small community under threat in his evocation of the Wels</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4vZonOgVdYj5-2J7HNlRtxri-WbdLNd29H_wQW2pRtw5DTYr8OUn7qBqwEEchp33GtlAniB-4V4E9x3ynM26d8UFuGc88Q7cUnjONWzrmF4t0p-89z3xFeYMV1zT5rLiOqL0u0Iens9c/s1600/nightofcrabs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 174px; height: 289px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4vZonOgVdYj5-2J7HNlRtxri-WbdLNd29H_wQW2pRtw5DTYr8OUn7qBqwEEchp33GtlAniB-4V4E9x3ynM26d8UFuGc88Q7cUnjONWzrmF4t0p-89z3xFeYMV1zT5rLiOqL0u0Iens9c/s320/nightofcrabs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468974707487934290" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial;">h seaside resort of Barmouth, b</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">ut his main ta</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">lent lay in keeping his tone j</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">ust the right side of tongue-in-cheek in </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">describing the villainous over-</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">siz</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">ed crus</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">taceans, which became more ludicrously indestructible with each sequel.<span style=""> </span>Who, after reading <span style="font-style: italic;">Nig</span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">ht of the Crabs</span>, could read those ghastly syllables<span style="font-style: italic;"> “clickety-click”</span> without a s</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">hudder (or at least a chuckl</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">e)?<span style=""> </span><i style="">The Crabs</i> se</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">ries extended to six volumes and maintains a cult following to this day.<span style=""> </span>(A private amusement of mine is to enquire politely “Do you have <i style="">Crabs on the Rampage?”</i> when visiting particularly staid secondhand bookshops.)</span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><i style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">The Morgow Rises </span></i><span style="font-family:Arial;">(1982) was penned by Peter Tremayne, the pseudonym of respected a</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">cademic historian and biogra</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigeRugGGGCYO0Dm4M_WH5GEtjYef-olCDd-PCfbjoSfNN7J6T3mc4qVUY9Ab1CEp3hPE-GK8OsFVWANPAEcw-K3ZeBYDk-DsAtYoMpcDMLp6cBni_EGfBF2w1cioL6er80N7_cJmmZC1cU/s1600/Peter_Berresford_Ellis.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 190px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigeRugGGGCYO0Dm4M_WH5GEtjYef-olCDd-PCfbjoSfNN7J6T3mc4qVUY9Ab1CEp3hPE-GK8OsFVWANPAEcw-K3ZeBYDk-DsAtYoMpcDMLp6cBni_EGfBF2w1cioL6er80N7_cJmmZC1cU/s320/Peter_Berresford_Ellis.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468976342722174770" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial;">pher Peter Berresford Ellis.<span style=""> </span>Engaging in some literary legerdemain, Tremayne swaps g</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">enres half way through the book, leading us to believe at first that we are reading one of his trademark Celtic supernatural tales.<span style=""> </span>In fact, it even </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">seems possible th</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">at he may have adapted an existing text to the cookie-cutter “Nature runs wild” formula demanded by the </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">publisher.<o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><span style="font-family:Arial;">In the finely realised setting of a C</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">ornish fishing village, we are faced with a mad old witch, </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">a family curse and an intriguing slice of Celtic legendry as the attractive heroine, Claire Penvose, arrives to visit her retired mining engineer uncle, Henry “Happy” Penvose, on his birthday, only to find him missing in the corridors of a disused tin mine called Wheal Tom he is hoping to reopen.<span style=""> </span>His disappearance appears to be connected to an ancient prop</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">hecy concerning the return of a monstr</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">ous creature;</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />"Beware when the Morgow rises,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Lament for the living,<br />Lament for the Unborn.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />All things end!"</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXveIX1yxaNL89jo8qESROu_vVPKrM5hW-podzvDd9fQboQbZ49dKBaEdgOwMWwjV6XNvwLu1t3zVTXOS5WeBDiS5xRoYt7XjiDHNCDBDUXhG-CQ0RJkCRfhO6SLqlqq086tq4YUBe30mu/s1600/Japan-sea-monster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 185px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXveIX1yxaNL89jo8qESROu_vVPKrM5hW-podzvDd9fQboQbZ49dKBaEdgOwMWwjV6XNvwLu1t3zVTXOS5WeBDiS5xRoYt7XjiDHNCDBDUXhG-CQ0RJkCRfhO6SLqlqq086tq4YUBe30mu/s320/Japan-sea-monster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468976812969861746" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">Meanwhile, local fishing craft are being destroyed and threatened by a mysterious </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">w</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">hir</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">l</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">poo</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">l at sea and sightings are made of “a black, rubbery thing, somethi</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">ng like a gigantic slug”.<span style=""> </span>Rep</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">o</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">rters and other outsiders converge on the village as news of these happenings spreads.</span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><span style="font-family:Arial;">So far, so good, until we learn the real secret of Wheal Tom.<span style=""> </span>The mine should not have been sold by the Government to “Happy” Penvose (who has by now, met a grisly end in its tunnels) at all, and had only been doe so a</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">s a result o</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">f “bureaucratic error”. It should really be “a strictly prohibited zone” due to its use as a store for radioactive waste (page 100).<span style=""> </span>Readers familiar </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">with <i style="">Them</i> and its countless </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLQQWSAhTGN4PS1wAtxd2NMIrVVKMaeBKRsswsn-8r44MHUowVZFfm9XdwiECY-BBITNbmVBaC9Sxdr9uLAdh5-q8IitXAbm2ZEDISNFGINb2JIehSMW83VNBtZFvQ3NpnRNUZZVnLoKOt/s1600/Cornish+Tin+Mine+002.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 233px; height: 156px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLQQWSAhTGN4PS1wAtxd2NMIrVVKMaeBKRsswsn-8r44MHUowVZFfm9XdwiECY-BBITNbmVBaC9Sxdr9uLAdh5-q8IitXAbm2ZEDISNFGINb2JIehSMW83VNBtZFvQ3NpnRNUZZVnLoKOt/s320/Cornish+Tin+Mine+002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468977741377785314" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial;">imitators will of course have guessed the</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> rest of the plot by now, but have to wait a further 55 pages for an identification of the Morgow from a Government scientist; <o:p></o:p></span><i style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /><br />“Lambert cast a nervous glance towards the group of angry press reporters.</span></i><i style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br />‘Strictly between ourse</span></i><i style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">lves … I believe that the radiation attacked the most primitive cell forms – chaetopoda – earthworms or marine worms, causing a disruption in their growth.’<br />Neville stared at the man’s calm scientific assessment.”<o:p></o:p></span></i><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /><br />Scientific indeed.<span style=""> </span>Note the way in which “marine worms” are needed to explain why attacks are taking place at sea as well as on land, although no </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">concessions are made to the biology or habits in the working out of this tale.<span style=""> </span>(In fact, in a couple of places the creatures are referred to as “eels”, leading to a suspicion that Tremayne may have changed his mind at some point).</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFYorvDu_n3FqnxDmB1yzMAQ8SmcCaDZny0JtSo6d4bDVjf26ZXEkFyxLUOUHzsPVDKwhq4RudLmGVJ3eO6_Bn5nNVJBn8pN0WRVf2I4E_kxjVBbKnJue-VDUTiDRdlFH-6657QeQs-5F/s1600/worms.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFYorvDu_n3FqnxDmB1yzMAQ8SmcCaDZny0JtSo6d4bDVjf26ZXEkFyxLUOUHzsPVDKwhq4RudLmGVJ3eO6_Bn5nNVJBn8pN0WRVf2I4E_kxjVBbKnJue-VDUTiDRdlFH-6657QeQs-5F/s320/worms.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468978923839458818" border="0" /></a> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><span style="font-family:Arial;">After munching their way through various characters including the local witch (who goes out to entreat with the Morgow); a “male chauvinist” reporter; an adulterous ecologist and his “we</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">ll proportioned” secretary (<span style="font-style: italic;">“but</span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> she felt her bottom was perhaps too broad and her breasts too full”</span> – it is her demise that is so pleasingly illustrated on the cover) and most of the crew of a coastal shipping vessel, the worms are eventually, and somewhat perfunctorily, dispatched by the RAF, armed with hi</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">gh explosives and napalm bombs; <o:p></o:p></span><i style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /><br />“Being worms they have no central nervous system, so no bullets harm them.<span style=""> </span>You all know what happens if you slice through a worm with a garden spade.<span style=""> </span>The two halve</span></i><i style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">s can wriggle away!”<o:p></o:p></span></i><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Following an obligatory homily about the dangers of messing with nature, the novel ends with the suggestion that one o</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">f the creatures has escaped, making room for a sequel, although</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> none was ever written.<span style=""> </span>Nor is it likely to be,<br /><br />Tremayne is mi</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYiuhOC5hV3YIlqg6Aks3aiBRz4Qkuf9LPkahKqSGuc6sx0zgIYVGn7rNGlYbBZwHI29XGoGHK9EKrva2IF23Io5dmgRbByrmS6htOu-VmIJq2ebc4Nl9Y4z993cuX944pzAL9PN-xlWSY/s1600/sister+Fidelma.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYiuhOC5hV3YIlqg6Aks3aiBRz4Qkuf9LPkahKqSGuc6sx0zgIYVGn7rNGlYbBZwHI29XGoGHK9EKrva2IF23Io5dmgRbByrmS6htOu-VmIJq2ebc4Nl9Y4z993cuX944pzAL9PN-xlWSY/s320/sister+Fidelma.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468987868057083666" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial;">ning </span><span style="font-family:Arial;">a vein of literary gold nowadays as the c</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">rea</span><span style="font-family:Arial;">tor of Sister Fidelma, a 7<sup>th</sup> Century Irish nun whose “whodunnit” style adventures have attracted a huge following, organised into the</span> <a href="http://www.sisterfidelma.com/">International Sister Fidelma Society</a><span style="font-family:Arial;">.<span style=""> </span>He shouldn’t be judged too harshly on “The Morgow Rises”, after all it’s an entertaining</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> and amusing read that, despite its ridiculous premise and clichéd conclusion, does manage some moments of tension and terror.<br /></span>Antony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9053180878507967014.post-1264011136038391542010-05-03T13:28:00.000-07:002013-08-05T13:53:39.971-07:00“The Wicker Man” Rises From the Ashes<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOBFjt7f2vknnlDMhcKIQtluuzO1Zvwz0KMZNpdTDN1mPpnAfHv7c96AW6I9C7EFhIpiWWnwRF_-qLHKa6KnssXyLsTfo1uUqaInLrzGllGJwzwNqmgnENp3UueaOM6QIjnzRFeKCEkxHe/s1600/P5011686.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467145782447500786" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOBFjt7f2vknnlDMhcKIQtluuzO1Zvwz0KMZNpdTDN1mPpnAfHv7c96AW6I9C7EFhIpiWWnwRF_-qLHKa6KnssXyLsTfo1uUqaInLrzGllGJwzwNqmgnENp3UueaOM6QIjnzRFeKCEkxHe/s320/P5011686.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 350px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 263px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">Featuring the ritual burning of a Wicker Man, the Beltaine Festival at <a href="http://www.butserancientfarm.co.uk/">Butser Ancient Farm</a> is an annual </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">fundraising </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">event “for entertainment purposes only”.<span style="font-size: +0;"> </span>Nevertheless, it has attracted much patronage from local neo-Pagan</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">s; a point tac</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">itly welcomed by the organisers, who are now attempting to sell “souvenir”</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> bags of ash from last year’s conflagration at an </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">inflated price, foll</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">owing an approach by someone who wished to use some in a ritual (although a Wiccan friend a</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ssures me that only the current year’s ash would be efficaciou</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">s for this purpose).</span> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">As a fan of British horror, the event has always been inse</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">parably linked in my mind to the classic 1973 movie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070917/"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Wicker Man</span></a>, starring Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward.<span style="font-size: +0;"> </span>As the archaeologist Richard Sermon has noted,* the Festival’s “association of modern folk traditions with ancient Paganism, May Day with Beltane, and of course the Wicker Man </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">itself” blends together many of the elements that formed such a </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">potent mix on screen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Whilst in previous years this link with the film has been unconscious, perhaps even coinci</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">dental </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpMVr-M42bDgsZ__VYGpkAd3ljp7foKHLTI4YRk0Hb_WqDiiW-r22jfVnuM6vEpmiwk9djg64m5EcuLtc8Xd40MGxA-YsJeS5GWT4PNV0fYQXyAS1vr2WZT3-X21n88FxqcAEmHh8yw-C9/s1600/wicker_crop.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467146882284106226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpMVr-M42bDgsZ__VYGpkAd3ljp7foKHLTI4YRk0Hb_WqDiiW-r22jfVnuM6vEpmiwk9djg64m5EcuLtc8Xd40MGxA-YsJeS5GWT4PNV0fYQXyAS1vr2WZT3-X21n88FxqcAEmHh8yw-C9/s320/wicker_crop.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 352px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 249px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">(when I once gave a fr</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">iend of mine who volunteers at the F</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">arm a copy of the dvd, she </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">told me that neither she, nor the man who constructs the Wicker Man, had ever seen it befo</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">re), this </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">year it</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> was conscious and explicit as a tribute to Edward Woodward, who sadly died on November 16<sup>th</sup> last year.<span style="font-size: +0;"> </span>A further bonus this year was that the Saturday on which the Festival took place actually fell on May Day itself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The centrepiece of the Festival is, of course, the Wicker Man itself, which this year was constructed as a smaller, somewhat wonky version of the one in the </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">film.<span style="font-size: +0;"> </span>This made it a distinct improve</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ment on last year’s, which was controversially immolated clutching an oversized e</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ffigy of Shaun the Sheep, much to the distress of the Pagans and (one must assume) any small chil</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">dren present.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">For an additional fee, festival-goers over the age of 16(!) were able to climb into the wi</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">cker ma</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">n’s central cavity for a Sergeant Howie’s eye view of the proceedings; fortunately free from the sensation of being crapped on by goats and chickens which had helped make Edward Woodward’s experience during filming so unnervingly authentic.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgQ1rpaIeMKnfRwRr6T_hvAm9trPPCO80cFOctzFOn6ShQo-ssJFNg8rFP59gpO6AzKQ_6QO-TPtMz-2YlXO0tbmnHOw5v_8aY75ExZVvAlA1aszHklCQjU9OZ7pjpeNWrkZmlHI_cROQ/s1600/P5011675.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467147851130422610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgQ1rpaIeMKnfRwRr6T_hvAm9trPPCO80cFOctzFOn6ShQo-ssJFNg8rFP59gpO6AzKQ_6QO-TPtMz-2YlXO0tbmnHOw5v_8aY75ExZVvAlA1aszHklCQjU9OZ7pjpeNWrkZmlHI_cROQ/s320/P5011675.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 240px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Festival’s peripheral event</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">s</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> (</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">the g</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ates opened at </span><st1:time hour="16" minute="30"><span style="font-family: Arial;">4.30pm</span></st1:time><span style="font-family: Arial;">) were an array of British eccen</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">tricity.<span style="font-size: +0;"> </span>On the main stage, shamanic-themed belly dancers (including a cross-dresser!) wriggled away to et</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">hni</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">c sounds rendered Industrial by the appalling sound system, alternating with an Irish folk band.<span style="font-size: +0;"> </span>At th</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">e same time, a troupe of determined Morris dancers and some motley-clad, black-faced mumm</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ers cavorted among the mud and thatch roundhouses.<span style="font-size: +0;"> </span>There were falconry displays, dru</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">mming workshops, forest craft demonstrations, Iron Age food-tasting and consultations with an herbalist.<span style="font-size: +0;"> </span>The beer tent was dr</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ained dr</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">y of real ale and lo</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">cal cider long before its clo</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJh3kBQun1QHq2VwDyZSMr2jue-JMOwXaFzzjwlG7UTC9jDeHRLuyexk6kou2uJVvcnWBhstpKJL0sNAGjeTP-PEt4KlUxmVyo2vhVkmhqEX8uRv2M85rz9wDj4vMVNajXFBjnGX49dgoZ/s1600/P5011678.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467151257133420626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJh3kBQun1QHq2VwDyZSMr2jue-JMOwXaFzzjwlG7UTC9jDeHRLuyexk6kou2uJVvcnWBhstpKJL0sNAGjeTP-PEt4KlUxmVyo2vhVkmhqEX8uRv2M85rz9wDj4vMVNajXFBjnGX49dgoZ/s320/P5011678.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 240px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">sing time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Around </span><st1:time hour="21" minute="0"><span style="font-family: Arial;">9pm</span></st1:time><span style="font-family: Arial;">, a procession was formed to march down to the Wicker Man.<span style="font-size: +0;"> </span>Among</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> the crowd, high priestesses could be spotted assembling their covens.<span style="font-size: +0;"> </span>When everyone reached the field, an incongruous church fete note was added to the proceedings in the form of a raffle to determine who among the ticket-holders should be privileged to light the flames.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Wicker Man was, of course, by this stage empty of bodies and, sadly, the crowd appeared to be ignorant of the words to the ancient song “Sumer Is Icumen In” used with such effect in Paul Giovanni’s movie soundtrack.<span style="font-size: +0;"> </span>Instead, many spectators chose to carry out the 21<sup>st</sup> Century ritual of holding aloft camera phones to record the primeval event.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8t_fI2Y_plFH_mKclveXuX5fhXloOoqcaiZ3u9d-Bhk46vNhyjIWFrj_aLjHKVn3RtcVauyTTawsGlDtG0iRfyDSV2rpUho7RIBcOd2aGCs9b8lor1oMSnCtRREO7Gf44cwQ9NBFyGhfT/s1600/WickerMan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467148617990240258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8t_fI2Y_plFH_mKclveXuX5fhXloOoqcaiZ3u9d-Bhk46vNhyjIWFrj_aLjHKVn3RtcVauyTTawsGlDtG0iRfyDSV2rpUho7RIBcOd2aGCs9b8lor1oMSnCtRREO7Gf44cwQ9NBFyGhfT/s320/WickerMan.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 356px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 254px;" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Despite the Festival’s claim to be an historical reenactment, whether a Wicker Man was e</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">v</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">er in actual fact burnt befor</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">e the film was made in 1972 is open to question.<span style="font-size: +0;"> </span>Evidence that the Druids sacrificed condemned </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">criminals and other victims by burning them alive in an anthropomorphically shaped wicker construction comes solely from the pen of Julius Caesar, so</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> may just be Roman propaganda.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer’s screenplay has been criticised for its over</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">-reliance on discredited works on folklore and anthropology such as, most notably, Sir J.G. Frazer’s “The Golden Bough”.** But this is missing the point; as Lord Summerisle explains to Sergeant Howie, the island’s Pagan society is a <i>recreation</i> introduced by his great-grandfather, not a genuine folk-survival.<span style="font-size: +0;"> </span>So it is with the folk traditions and neo-Paganism showcased at Butser.<span style="font-size: +0;"> </span>The Ancient Farm itself is a sober-minded archaeological experiment which lets its hair down once a year and indulges in some money-spinning flights of fantasy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It is impossible not to wonder, h</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">owever, exactly how </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">some of the more serious Pagans queuing up at the vege-burger stal</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">l reconc</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ile their participation in the reconstruction of such a bloody and murderous ritual with the words of th</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">e m</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_Kg0A35WSSI5aNhJnwLxHwHqbDkL9q0O7hT9X5P_Wi4XUgDrtUvHCysy8RUvKKPstJ47RvqZrkaKWym4W8Qdmk0SeDC6zZc4_ix9kYNAjFY-sUNlbtuKcoqwaPWC9-mydYP5JY59zSgD/s1600/howie.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467149592132793810" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_Kg0A35WSSI5aNhJnwLxHwHqbDkL9q0O7hT9X5P_Wi4XUgDrtUvHCysy8RUvKKPstJ47RvqZrkaKWym4W8Qdmk0SeDC6zZc4_ix9kYNAjFY-sUNlbtuKcoqwaPWC9-mydYP5JY59zSgD/s320/howie.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 218px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 300px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">odern-day Wiccan Rede: <span style="font-style: italic;">“</span><span style="font-size: +0;"><span style="font-style: italic;">An it harm none do what ye will”</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">For lovers of w</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">eirdness, the event </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">is hig</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">hly recommended.<span style="font-size: +0;"> </span>Watching the giant human effigy being consumed by flames does actually provo</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ke s</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">ome deep feelings that could easily be interpreted as spiritual.<span style="font-size: +0;"> </span>It is the same emotional charge that powers the film, turning </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Shaffer’s anti-religious and somewhat </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">c</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">erebral script into an addictive expe</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">rience for man</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">y of its viewers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 85%;">* "<span style="font-style: italic;">The Wicker Man</span>, May Day and the Reinvention of Beltane" <span style="font-weight: bold;">Richard Sermon</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 85%;">** "The Folklore Fallacy: A folkloritic / filmic perspective on <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wicker Man</span>" <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mikel J. Koven</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 85%;">- both in <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quest-Wicker-Man-Historical-Perspectives/dp/1905222181/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272988382&sr=8-1">"The Quest for the Wicker Man"</a>.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Antony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9053180878507967014.post-47237326573180103102010-04-26T03:10:00.000-07:002010-04-26T13:21:13.605-07:00"The Witch of Prague and Other Stories"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZYsGOjnmusjdKJVZ6gNeWE1zJOOXCSfLCSXtrVXaZZNLp2IkRL6xk8GNPF_jYfDAWJl42EyvEn_-VJmM1LRkQnki_c5wxPwVZ_v7-ntdwrWF4MPMOeunThJJbI23YyCRe-S1Gp_rHzkcV/s1600/witch.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464393471712621986" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 202px; height: 320px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZYsGOjnmusjdKJVZ6gNeWE1zJOOXCSfLCSXtrVXaZZNLp2IkRL6xk8GNPF_jYfDAWJl42EyvEn_-VJmM1LRkQnki_c5wxPwVZ_v7-ntdwrWF4MPMOeunThJJbI23YyCRe-S1Gp_rHzkcV/s320/witch.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong>In his introduction to “The Witch of Prague and other Stories” (a volume in the Wordsworth <em>Tales of Mystery and the Supernatural</em> series) David Stuart Davies presents us with a mystery:</strong><br /><br /><em>“During his lifetime Francis Marion Crawford (1854 - 1909) … [was] one of the most popular and commercially successful authors of his day. Yet strangely, quite soon after his death … [he] became a forgotten writer and there seems to be no logical reason for the evaporation of interest in this skilled author.”<br /></em><br />Well, after working my way through the 300 page novel that forms the centrepiece of this collection, I feel I am on my way to solving this mystery.<br /><br />Despite the originality of its conception, some interesting characterisation and an atmosp<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_xFsBv15OhC_DmtF7KN41q2t4KTo7ToHbr8QxfTj_Gie4kNKGDtHAEIuJN0a_Hqyh2SjLYil4Rbjhrb-kc9gK0DrnKrtnL06IlRKF4ymzoPcZzDWX1vy7aFRNaT_TLhoCmJWB53-dbr28/s1600/crawford.jpg"></a>heric, if sketchily realised, setting, the “classic of occult fiction” (as Dennis Wheatley, who presented a previous paperback edition in 1974, dubbed it) has several fatal flaws. Tedious purple passages full of rambling conjecture slow the action to the pace of a charnel worm and Crawford’s over-reliance on conventional plot contrivances such as unlikely coincidences and “love at first sight” undermine “the suspension of disbelief”, bogging the novel down in clichés. Overall, the modern reader is likely to feel crushed by the dead weight of Victorian Romanticism.<br /><br />This is a pity, because at root, “The Witch of Prague” is an intriguing attempt at speculative fiction, largely inspired by the new science of hypnotism. In his exploration of this topic, Crawford rejects the “animal magnetism” theories of Mesmer and adopts an explanation based on “moral” influence. His central character, the beautiful but capricious Unorna, possesses hypnotic powers that she (and others) can’t help attributing to “superstitious” causes, hence her reputation as “the witch”.<br /><br />Materialistic and reductionist science is caricatured in the bizarre figure of Keyork Arabian, an aged dwarf whose obsession with extending his own life leads to grotesque experiments with both living and dead subjects. The description of his Frankenstein-like chamber of horrors, full of dismembered remains and semi-revivified specimens, provides one of the most straightforwardly Gothic and enjoyable sections of the novel:<br /><br /><em>“Here a group of South Americans, found dried in the hollow of an ancient tree, had been restored almost to the likeness of life, and were apparently engaged in a lively dispute over the remains of a meal – as cold as themselves and as human. There, towered the standing body of an African, leaning upon a knotted club, fierce, grinning, lacking only sight in the sunken <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPCKAuBzgMAOFqZEJQnTaREkoc6PaA-vpZKf9jfZFQJJz0ITnofNnZU25QnLil-bbKyKRRtl4o80xyovDCCt13tQPZJ3McSyNq7-zsVBjEQ_ieXfwisYS4RVb_6roLzRsnphP3dYg4hqlE/s1600/crawford.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464393845600462930" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 209px; height: 264px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPCKAuBzgMAOFqZEJQnTaREkoc6PaA-vpZKf9jfZFQJJz0ITnofNnZU25QnLil-bbKyKRRtl4o80xyovDCCt13tQPZJ3McSyNq7-zsVBjEQ_ieXfwisYS4RVb_6roLzRsnphP3dYg4hqlE/s320/crawford.jpg" border="0" /></a>eyes to be terrible. There again, surmounting a lay figure wrapped in rich stuffs, smiled the calm and gentle face of a Malayan lady, decapitated for her sins, so marvellously preserved that the soft dark eyes still looked out from beneath the heavy, half-drooping lids, and the full lips, still richly coloured, parted a little to show the ivory teeth. Other sights there were, more ghastly still…”<br /></em><br />Arabian’s self-centred quest for physical immortality throws him into an alliance of convenience with Unorna, whose skills are essential for his most sinister project; maintaining a centenarian in a state of hypnotic suspended animation pending rejuvenation via non-consensual blood transfusions from her young Jewish suitor, Israel Kafka (also kept hypnotised throughout the week-long procedure).<br /><br />The main story is driven by Unorna’s abuse of her powers in advancing her unrequited passion for the mysterious, unnamed “Wanderer”. He in turn is single-mindedly engaged in tracking down his own long-lost love, Beatrice, in pursuit of whom he has travelled the globe before sighting her in a Prague church. Unorna’s egocentric ways (exacerbated by Arabian’s amoral tuition) eventually lead her to a state of moral crisis which precipitates the novel’s melodramatic conclusion.<br /><br />A subplot concerns the fate of Israel Kafka, whose one-sided adoration of Unorna ironically mirrors her own predicament. Unfortunately, the novel’s portrayal of Prague’s Jewish community falls back on anti-Semitic stereotypes that still find favour among Far-Right and “Anti-Zionist” conspiracy theorists;<br /><br /><em>“…Israel sits, as a great spider in the midst of a dark web, dominating the whole capital with his eagle’s glance and weaving the destiny of the Bohemian people to suit his intricate speculations. For throughout the length and breadth of Slavonic and German Austria the Jew rules and rules alone.”</em><br /><br />At one remarkably queasy point, Unorna, out of sadistic pique, places Kafka in a hypnotic trance and forces him to relive the life and death of Simon Abeles, a young Jewish apostate who (according to the Jesuit John Eder’s miracle-ridden account) was martyred by his father and an evil rabbi for converting to Christianity.<br /><br />Crawford’s Prague is a spectrally foggy and frozen place of Gothic churches and deserted graveyards, a far cry from the stag party capital of today. This archetypal <em>Mitteleuropean</em> city seems to be more of a state of mind than a geographical location, and its icy gloom contrasts with the warmth of the tropical conserva<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibmgrjFCRgAoymSSO1PhauZYBGlsmqCQ8tCRSDUffUkFeLvNcvIXvXOYTwxs1A240ydjBT9vcLJ6mLYrjG6f2EQb02juJRODUcMccWrOyO5wOp4S_QXgQxOUT7i9NLTPwYsh2gmQ2yAGbv/s1600/witch2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464395809498079106" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 164px; height: 264px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibmgrjFCRgAoymSSO1PhauZYBGlsmqCQ8tCRSDUffUkFeLvNcvIXvXOYTwxs1A240ydjBT9vcLJ6mLYrjG6f2EQb02juJRODUcMccWrOyO5wOp4S_QXgQxOUT7i9NLTPwYsh2gmQ2yAGbv/s320/witch2.jpg" border="0" /></a>tory in which Unorna receives her visitors. The fact that the unnamed protagonist is referred to simply as “The Wanderer” adds to the feeling that we are reading some kind of psychological allegory.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhus7dHk2t-1RCW0fGi1LaIqCTH3WT0_4fkGmUhJblGxsBMjPrdW9LBBZDgNUbSBhUiEh8RQlYvc5Y74APiZF0lVL7eAdzRX0e1HSMBV6mo7EWJD8NiDHd1PkCCsTsLS7fEUwskEtTFY3ug/s1600/witch2.jpg"></a><br />David Stuart Davies reports that Crawford was in poor health when he drafted the novel, and its long, rambling passages certainly reveal some dark meditations that have scant relevance to the plot. These digressions try the reader’s patience and ultimately stifle any enjoyment or interest in the story. In contrast to <a href="http://www.denniswheatley.info/lo_intros/08_prague.htm">Dennis Wheatley’s</a> praise of the novel’s “fascinating reading” and the author’s “penetrating analysis of the powers of the human mind”, an <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RL8XYNHEFAVPQ/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm">Amazon reviewer</a> wickedly hits the spot:<br /><br /><em>“If ruthlessly edited, it might have made a passable short story itself, but the melodramatic gothic tale goes on and on and on, padded out by relentless swathes of descriptive prose, philosophical treatises on life, love, romance, and a million other concepts, and bosom-heaving twaddle.”</em><br /><br />If Crawford is remembered today, it is for a much-anthologised pair of short stories that have become classics. “For the Blood is the Life”, described by Basil Copper in his study of <em>The Vampire: In Legend, Fact and Art</em> as “one of the most original and unusual essays in the genre” is the tragic tale of Cristina, a murdered girl who returns to vampirise her lover, “he knew that her lips were red … and that she was dead”. Full of pathos and eroticism, the story is particularly memorable for its sun-drenched Italian setting.<br /><br />“The Upper Berth”, lauded by H. P. Lovecraft as “one of the most tremendous horror stories in all literature” is the account of a haunted cabin aboard an Atlantic crossing. Its realistic setting, first-person immediacy and the narrator’s initial scepticism make its unexplained supernatural terrors all the more ghastly.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLiJY1bO9IydgHPa6wDwATZg251FNBJI7amKv78lrpZBLIzfZEwAhKi8SaxjB2XIOwgEafD0pJF03U0X7m_he1cCDZacosoWeu7JPN3oNa9wv2H9q4NdXPd99iYtWYwrKxV-QSqEpVRwmN/s1600/screamingskull.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464395276025914610" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 166px; height: 247px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLiJY1bO9IydgHPa6wDwATZg251FNBJI7amKv78lrpZBLIzfZEwAhKi8SaxjB2XIOwgEafD0pJF03U0X7m_he1cCDZacosoWeu7JPN3oNa9wv2H9q4NdXPd99iYtWYwrKxV-QSqEpVRwmN/s320/screamingskull.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />“The Screaming Skull” is inspired by a “real” 17th Century legend concerning a skull reserved at Bettiscombe Manor in Dorset. It is an effectively scary tale, narrated in the cantankerous persona of a retired sea captain. It was filmed in 1958 and the movie was promoted with the gimmick of a free funeral for anyone scared to death during a screening. There is no record of any takers! It also seems likely that the story was an influence on Robert Bloch’s 1945 <em>Weird Tales</em> contribution “The Skull of the Marquis de Sade”. This was far more effectively filmed by Amicus in 1965 as “The Skull”, featuring the immortal combination of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.<br /><br />From the rest of the stories, “The Dead Smile” is the purest Gothic, full of dark family secrets and mouldering crypts; “The Doll’s Ghost is a Dickens-like exercise in sentimentalism; “Man Overboard!” is a seafaring ghost story featuring identical twin, marred by an excess of nautical terminology; “By the Waters of Paradise” is a Gothic romance and “The King’s Messenger” is a tale of premonition.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCTR7Iibg4cW5aMJ0kvjKjnEB1iitueKe38xkzXb02PMXiXoRDXmykY-UjaSfA3gBObrrGxwyMWDGXz3b5Gf5HBpZaSk4XDag0ue02w-EPl2Kh5ItgcU8YRfInC_YHAJpCRrUeFmlDLKq/s1600/skull.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464394548830405970" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 130px; height: 189px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCTR7Iibg4cW5aMJ0kvjKjnEB1iitueKe38xkzXb02PMXiXoRDXmykY-UjaSfA3gBObrrGxwyMWDGXz3b5Gf5HBpZaSk4XDag0ue02w-EPl2Kh5ItgcU8YRfInC_YHAJpCRrUeFmlDLKq/s320/skull.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The <strong>Wordsworth Editions</strong> <em>Tales of Mystery and the Supernatural</em> series is a bargain-priced set of volumes from the publisher which launched the “£1 Classic” back in 1992. Retailing at under £3, the series contains some obscure works that would otherwise only be available in expensive small-press editions, alongside better-known works by Dennis Wheatley, H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard (including the “The Right Hand of Doom”, the only British edition of Howard’s original <em>Solomon Kane</em> stories).<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd5ZggxoyK1OleEbUfsq3qrezen29RhXfWm7x-SnBRx8Pt7xwFkn39hQHA4Gp7IdbLY2xkPbf0uowPjljUIWE_nWIfZCyiwd27RFxCHaG3w2EwU7Re7vbrzLj2hsbe2T9Qz-_-Pz6uUCq1/s1600/witch+of+prague.jpg"></a>Antony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9053180878507967014.post-73266888499804853172010-04-14T08:24:00.000-07:002010-06-16T16:41:57.549-07:00"Solomon Kane" - The Movie<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZjLXlVzWW7KlPrz7L3qypPVCMaj5OO4OZxhI9BXgrQRT4xtHvnXay9781YVNI_9PTtU8HEIigwFh-RWt3xTSdiYI94FbTFTEhOVJqSTdiNai8-98sXqEe-G_TUHnsJT4W12RiPdDWqtF/s1600/solomonkane_277138e.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZjLXlVzWW7KlPrz7L3qypPVCMaj5OO4OZxhI9BXgrQRT4xtHvnXay9781YVNI_9PTtU8HEIigwFh-RWt3xTSdiYI94FbTFTEhOVJqSTdiNai8-98sXqEe-G_TUHnsJT4W12RiPdDWqtF/s320/solomonkane_277138e.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460015090227163762" border="0" /></a>The advent of Michael J. Bassett's <a href="http://www.solomonkanethemovie.com/"><em>Solomon Kane</em></a> was awaited with great anticipation by the Robert E. Howard fan community. The production's links to the abortive <a href="http://www.wanderingstarbooks.com/"><em>Wandering Star </em></a>publishing venture, set up to release luxurious (and expensive) illustrated editions of Howard's works, which eventually morphed into the highly regarded <span style="font-style: italic;">Del Rey</span> trade paperback series, raised expectations that the movie would be respectful of its source material.<br /><br />For many, these hopes were dashed when it became obvious that Bassett's Kane would not be a faithful reproduction of the original. Specifically, the revelation that Howard's "man with no name" type Puritan would be saddled with an expository back-story was sufficient to arouse understandably furious indignation from "purist" Howard fans.<br /><br />For those of us prepared to overlook this enormity and offer the movie a chance of acceptance on its own terms, the project still held promise. From my own perspective, Bassett's citing of Michael Reeves' legendary <em>Witchfinder General </em>as a key influence was enough to set the cinematic salivary glands a-drooling.<br /><br />So, has <em>Solomon Kane </em>delivered on the big screen? Whilst no classic, Bassett's movie has successfully captured the feel of British horror's '60s / '70s heyday. For a start, it is unrelentingly grim and gritty. Snow and rain fall ceaselessly on bleak winter landscapes as ragged figures trudge through the mud. Eternally grey skies loom over scenes of violence and desolation, apocalyptically foreboding.<br /><br />The acting is accomplished with a strong lead from James Purefoy, ably supported by character actors of Peter Postlethwaite and Max von Sydow's calibre. (It would be unfair, of course, to draw any comparison with the once-in-a-lifetime performance teased out out of Vincent Price by the crazed young genius of Michael Reeves.)<br /><br />Plotwise, Bassett has opted for an "evil sorcerer enslaves the land" scenario which will raise few eyebrows among <em>Sword and Sorcery</em> die-hards. The plot twist tying it into Kane's much lamented back-story ticks around like clockwork and concludes with a somewhat disappointing climax featuring a generic Balrog-like CGI monster. (As a low-budget production, the movie is fortunately up to that point free from excessive CGI).<br /><br />The evil sorcerer, Malachi, is a mini-Sauron, and the sight of his zombified minions transporting terrified peasants in cages raises the ghastly spectre of 20th Century Nazism, and there are some genuinely scary and even gory moments in the film. At one point there is even a crucifixion scene, which pays simultaneous homage to both <em>Witchfinder General</em> and (less auspiciously!) <em>Conan the Barbarian</em> as Kane is hoisted aloft and then escapes by dragging the nails through his palms.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr1o5S3y-2kjAVomljG8KUGpUTkUebPoOgZViM6OvRyE39sDJ3EqxzHPlKrjz8FMukYwKkG9IaeBqo8BimtqNYB5z36ANrDcLAlfA8Zsizh2rArIJtOqUZn8mgGwxwLIAuzlN-uHlbRfzw/s1600/Solomon_Kane.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr1o5S3y-2kjAVomljG8KUGpUTkUebPoOgZViM6OvRyE39sDJ3EqxzHPlKrjz8FMukYwKkG9IaeBqo8BimtqNYB5z36ANrDcLAlfA8Zsizh2rArIJtOqUZn8mgGwxwLIAuzlN-uHlbRfzw/s320/Solomon_Kane.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467459251715938722" border="0" /></a><br />Whether or not one sees oneself as an "REH purist", Kane's back-story (insisted upon, we are led to believe, by the movie's money men) creates some serious problems with his character. Robert E. Howard's original 17th Century Puritan is a splendid creation, much of whom's power derives from the mysteries of his origin and what drives his motivations. Single-minded to the point of fanaticism in his persecution of wrong-doers, this enigmatic "man of God" appears at times to be driven by an almost demonic will. Even his Puritanism is tinged by pagan elements; he has no scruples, for example, in forging a supernatural alliance with an African witch-doctor when it serves his ends. Lacking introspection, he wholeheartedly accepts his role as the tool of his own righteous anger.<br /><br />Bassett's Kane, on the other hand, is a much more conflicted character. A damned soul seeking redemption from sins committed in far lands whilst buccaneering in the service of Queen Elizabeth, he is guilt-ridden and self-obsessed. As the dispossessed younger son of a West Country nobleman, he is further burdened by psychological "baggage" in the shape of family trauma. In the face of these obstacles, his religion seems weak and, at the start of the film, he is ejected from a monastery's guestroom because his presence is deemed in some unexplained way to be disruptive.<br /><br />Most worryingly, Kane's Puritanism is reduced to the adoption of his characteristic (and historically inaccurate!) black garb, which is presented to him as a gift by the family of Peter Postlethwaite's aspiring Pilgrim Father, who take him under their wing after he is beaten up by wayside robbers. His commitment to this stern belief system therefore stems more from feelings of personal gratitude than from ideological fervour or divine inspiration. All in all, this is "Solomon Kane Lite", a watered-down, more sympathetic anti-hero, driven by psychological impulses that drive the plot along in a way which it is hoped will be familiar and comprehensible to modern film-goers.<br /><br />Right at the end, however (following the Balrog), there is a promising hint that, with all this psychological kerfuffle brought to some kind of "closure", Kane may well be able to shed his past and set out across the globe smiting bad guys in the single-minded manner expected of him by admirers of Robert E. Howard. So really the movie we've all been waiting for is in fact the <span style="font-weight: bold;">sequel</span> to <em>Solomon Kane</em>.<br /><br />The sad <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YGyzRthPKI8wBYWf3iFKQtOAgFYGuvjRCmHYggr17xU1CGsTqOTlCZYdNq6R-gXmAPIL-zRIhCFz4D98eWthlkvvoa8FDMbwWLifR4UXKjnhRt-FGp0F3Hhh2CDpqvjw0KVlGKxzxvnn/s1600/REHoward.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YGyzRthPKI8wBYWf3iFKQtOAgFYGuvjRCmHYggr17xU1CGsTqOTlCZYdNq6R-gXmAPIL-zRIhCFz4D98eWthlkvvoa8FDMbwWLifR4UXKjnhRt-FGp0F3Hhh2CDpqvjw0KVlGKxzxvnn/s320/REHoward.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467459716070680962" border="0" /></a>irony of all this is that it now seems likely that the promised sequel will never be made. It is a testament to the deep conservatism and risk-averse nature of the modern film industry that <em>Solomon Kane </em>failed to find a theatrical distributor in the States and will not be screened in Howard's own country. As Al Harron has pointed out over at <a href="http://www.thecimmerian.com/?p=12277">The Cimmerian</a>, the only hope now is that dvd sales will be spectacular enough to warrant further investment.<br /><br />One is, of course, left wondering what would have happened if the producers had shown faith in Howard from the outset and created a movie faithful to his character or, better still, based on one of his original stories. Would the general public have been able to cope with such an enigmatically vengeful and mysterious character? We may never know, but one thing is certain; Sergio Leone's masterful "Man with no name" trilogy could never have been made in today's impoverished cultural climate.Antony Trepniakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494572175006404939noreply@blogger.com4