Filmmaker Michael Powell hits the mark with this Breathtaking Early work

DIRECTED BY MICHAEL POWELL/1937

BLU-RAY STREET DATE: OCTOBER 17, 2023/MILESTONE FILMS (Via Kino Lorber)

An astonishing movie by Michael Powell, one half of the lauded British filmmaking team of Powell and Pressberger (“the Archers”), The Edge of the World (1937) arrives to Blu-ray courtesy of Milestone Films (via Kino Lorber). Portraying the bleak, cliff-ridden atmosphere of Scottish isle of Hirta, the film tells the story of the challenges of its people as they navigate whether or not they have any kind of promising future there. Stars John Laurie, Belle Chrystall, Eric Berry, Finlay Currie, and Niall MacGinnis traverse the rough cliffs and amid high drama and heavy turmoil.

Milestone has gone all out with this beautiful release in terms of copious bonus features (some featuring Powell’s widow, editor Thelma Schoonmaker; see the video review below and the list below that for details) and a terrific presentation. Though The Edge of the World is an early work for Powell, it proves to be an essential one. Fans of the Archers will not want to overlook this lovingly curated disc.

The official blurb…

“Shot entirely on the wild, windswept island of Foula in the Shetlands, The Edge of the World is beautiful, thrilling, and profoundly moving. For cinema great Michael Powell (who went on to make such enduring masterpieces as The Red Shoes and I Know Where I’m Going!), this was his first important film and one that remained dear to his heart.

Two families living on a remote island off the coast of Scotland, the Mansons and the Grays, are united by friendship and the romance between young Ruth and Andrew. Ruth’s brother Robbie plans to leave the island in spite of Andrew’s objections, believing that there is no future living there. To settle their argument, the two men follow an ancient local tradition and race to the top of the island’s 1,220-foot cliffs to see whose opinion should prevail. The outcome shatters the island’s peace and splits the two clans apart.”

Special Features:
• Audio commentary by Oscar®-winner Thelma Schoonmaker, film historian Ian Christie, and Oscar®-winner Daniel Day-Lewis reading from Michael Powell’s book on the making of the film
• Return to the Edge of the World (1979), in which Michael returns to Foula with the cast and crew
• An Airman’s Letter to his Mother (1941), Michael Powell’s WWII-era short film
• Alternative Scenes (1944, 9 minutes)
• Michael Powell’s Home Movies narrated by Thelma Schoonmaker
• Original Trailer