The Edge of the World

Powell's first major movie, shot on location and as much an account of the harshness of life on the isolated Shetland Isles as the story of two friends torn apart by the elements they struggle against for sustenance. In an interesting move in 1978, Powell was commissioned by BBC TV to return to the island of Foula and film a new introduction and epilogue to his original film. The resulting 'bookends', in colour, give Edge of the World (retitled Return to the Edge of the World) even greater strength, pushing the story further back and emphasising the mysterious and frightening poetry that Powell captures in his search for images that define the waywardness of nature. (The film was later recut by Powell to 65 minutes.