1:09:00
which is to make a film
that came from his heart:
1:09:03
What we would call
an "art film" today!
1:09:06
I don't think
he would like that term.
1:09:09
He had been trapped for so long,
1:09:11
making quota quickies in the British
film industry for seven long years,
1:09:16
films that he really
did not care for,
1:09:18
because they were remakes
of American films, some of them.
1:09:21
Some have very interesting things
in them, he cut his teeth on them,
1:09:26
but he always was reserved
in his judgement about them.
1:09:30
I think that was
because he didn't feel
1:09:33
that they were ideas
that he had originated,
1:09:36
subjects that were
close to his heart.
1:09:38
And that is why this film
was his great breakthrough.
1:09:42
An enormous gamble,
and it paid off,
1:09:45
because Alexander Korda saw the film
1:09:49
and, based on the remarkable nature
of the filming in extreme conditions,
1:09:53
hired Michael Powell
and kept him from going to America.
1:10:00
(Dialogue) Oh, Peter!
1:10:05
(Christie) The powerful elemental
images carry the melodrama.
1:10:08
Peter has to die
to mark the island's death.
1:10:12
And what we see is remarkably close
1:10:15
to how Powell originally conceived
the scene in his script.
1:10:18
(Day-Lewis) With his stave and
old rope, he goes on up the cliffs
1:10:22
and the only eye to see him go
is his dog's,
1:10:24
who follows far behind.
1:10:26
Up past his old croft he strides,
1:10:29
up past the last gate,
1:10:31
up onto the moor
and the great cliffs.
1:10:34
With his stave and his rope,
1:10:36
he goes over.
1:10:38
His rope is frayed.
1:10:40
He does not seem to see it.
1:10:42
Down and down he goes,
while his dog peers after him
1:10:46
and whines anxiously.
1:10:48
He finds the rare egg,
1:10:50
but he never brings it back
to the upper air.
1:10:54
James, hunting in the mist,
calls his friend's name,
1:10:58
the dog barks and barks.