:40:01
not to shoot
with the camera in the boat.
:40:03
You can imagine
how difficult that is.
:40:06
The amount of space
is very little,
:40:08
but a director who really knows
what he's doing
:40:11
will decide to do that,
no matter what the difficulty.
:40:16
The next sequence in the film,
of Ruth standing on the cliff side,
:40:21
mourning the loss of Andrew,
:40:23
is one of the most amazing
sequences in the film.
:40:26
Scorsese and I, when we first saw
the restored version,
:40:29
and discovered this
beautiful piece of film making,
:40:33
were just staggered.
:40:35
I don't know whether Michael
shot this sequence in the camera.
:40:39
I doubt it.
:40:41
I think, probably, he had this
very dramatic up-angle of Ruth
:40:46
and a beautiful shot that pans
from Ruth down to the ocean,
:40:52
and this beautiful, beautiful
superimposition
:40:56
which gives you the feeling
:40:58
of her desperation
and thoughts of suicide.
:41:09
(Christie) The movement of the film
is between segments of drama
:41:14
and segments that show us
the life of the islanders
:41:17
and this is another of those...
everyday life on Foula.
:41:21
We're seeing the harvesting.
:41:23
There's the turning of the seasons
:41:25
because it has underlying
seasonal structure.
:41:28
And seasons are very important
on the island,
:41:31
not only the brief growing season,
:41:33
but then, of course, the onset
of the winter and the storms
:41:36
and the heavy seas, which make
communication impossible.
:41:39
So these two dimensions
are woven together.
:41:41
This is the peat cutting,
:41:44
which is another feature of spring.
:41:47
Although Powell
was often quite dismissive
:41:51
of documentary film making,
:41:54
this wasn't because he undervalued
the documentary aspect of film.
:41:58
Not at all.
:41:59
I think what he objected to