Hardy’s vision of the film clocked in at 102 minutes, however, negatives of his cut were believed to have been trashed.
With the help of Facebook and various trade publications and blogs, they put out a call to film collectors and archivists to help resurrect Hardy’s cut.
According to Screen Daily, a print has been found and StudioCanal is planning a release of The Wicker Man: Final Cut this fall.
The trade says a September 27th theatrical release is planned with an October 14th DVD/Blu-ray release to follow…for the UK. No word on a U.S. release.
Here’s a statement from Hardy, per SD:
“Im very pleased to announce that StudioCanal have been able to find an actual print of The Wicker Man, which is based on my original cut working with Abraxas, the American distributors, all those years ago. They plan, and this is the exciting bit, to actually release it. This version has never been restored before, has never been shown in UK theatres before, has never been converted to Blu-ray before. This version will – optimistically – be known as the Final Cut.
When there’s more news to share about a U.S. release, we’ll let you know.
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