:49:01
It's a point where
the balance between natural light
:49:05
and, I imagine,
the use of reflectors
:49:08
achieves a very sophisticated,
very ethereal quality.
:49:11
It's an evening light,
and it's beautifully caught,
:49:15
that, knowing how difficult
the making of the film was,
:49:18
is quite miraculous.
:49:20
This quality of light is often known
by cameramen as the magic hour.
:49:25
It involves shooting
just at that point
:49:28
where the lengthening shadows
:49:30
don't interfere with
getting a decent image.
:49:33
Jack Cardiff, the great cameraman
:49:35
who later worked
with Powell and Pressburger,
:49:38
titled his autobiography
Magic Hour
:49:40
and talks about it there.
:49:43
Powell would often seek
these qualities of lighting
:49:46
and in his later Scottish film
I Know Where I'm Going
:49:50
there are also some magical uses
of the gloaming,
:49:54
the twilight effect.
:49:56
(Reel)
:50:00
This is the point where
the whole community comes together.
:50:04
The wounds between the families
seem to be healed
:50:07
by the arrival of the child.
:50:09
At last, we see the community
dancing, singing,
:50:13
playing together,
:50:15
and the camera captures this sense
of community, because it moves.
:50:18
(Schoonmaker-Powell)
A few times during the shooting,
:50:22
they were able to lay down track in
order to do a classic tracking shot,
:50:27
as one would see probably more of
:50:30
if they had been in
a less inhospitable environment.
:50:32
And you'll see that here,
:50:35
as Finlay Currie
moves among the dancers.
:50:39
Here's the tracking shot.
:50:43
Difficult because of
the roughness of the land,
:50:47
but they must have figured out
a way to smooth out the track.
:50:51
But you see very little of that
in this film
:50:54
because of the difficulties
of the shooting.