The Edge of the World

Released Sep 9, 1938

1h 20m

Drama

List

100%

Tomatometer

14 Reviews

78%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

The people of St. Kilda, a tiny Scottish island, have maintained the same simple lifestyle for generations. When the younger adults that inhabit the island begin to leave for more satisfyingly modern lives, the elders start to realize that their culture is disappearing. While James Gray (Finlay Currie), an important figure in the tiny community, grows pessimistic about the future of St. Kilda, his son, Andrew (Niall MacGinnis), is one of the few young people who refuse to desert their homes.

Read More

Read Less

Prime Video

Rent The Edge of the World on Prime Video, or buy it on Prime Video.

Eric Henderson

Slant Magazine

Michael Powell entered the golden age of his career with The Edge of the World.

Rated: 3/4

Dec 18, 2003

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

This first "serious" film by Powell doesn't seem to predict his career. You can't imagine the maker of this film going on to make The Red Shoes. What it does show, though, is a voluptuous regard for visual images.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Angelos Koutsourakis

PopMatters

The Edge of the World has a very loose narrative structure and in many respects the Scottish landscape becomes the major protagonist at the expense of dramaturgy and character portrayal.

Rated: 8/10

Feb 23, 2024

Full Review

Sarah Boslaugh

TheArtsStl

The Edge of the World is a beautiful film, demonstrating the possibilities of black and white cinematography in a distinctive outdoor location.

Rated: 8/10

Oct 31, 2023

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

For all the florid, often studio-bound qualities of Powell's later work, Edge is a model of economy, its stark beauty as well as melodrama determined by the grave dangers of sea and cliffs.

Feb 12, 2021

Full Review

Read all reviews

paul d

Michael Powell's The Edge off the World is the story of the inhabitants of a Scottish island who live a very hard life. They face a constant dilemma: embrace modernity and leave for the mainland, or continue their ancestors' age-old struggle to survive in a harsh environment? This story is told through the eyes of young and old, and through the lenses of friendship, young love and ancient rituals, with some headstrong risk-taking to boot. The cinematography is outstanding, with vivid portrayals of landscapes, seascapes and the faces of the islanders. There's also a love story to tie it all together.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Shot on location at Foula, one of the tiny Shetland Islands off the northwest coast of Scotland, this may be director Michael Powellâ(TM)s first masterpiece. Some suggest that it is very different from the highly stylized Technicolor pictures that Powell later made with his key collaborator Emeric Pressburger (e.g., The Red Shoes, 1948; Black Narcissus, 1947) â" but in truth this seems not too far distant from some of their masterpieces (such as I Know Where Iâ(TM)m Going, 1945, which takes place in the same general locale). There is an almost surreal pictorial beauty here with land and seascape, flora, and fauna sharing almost equal billing with the human characters of the story (Terence Malick must have taken inspiration here). Foula is impressive, with its steep cliffs topped by green pastures and rocky coast lashed by the sea but it is a stand-in for St. Kilda, an island in the Hebrides which was vacated by its residents after they decided that their way of life could not be sustained in the modern world. And this is the plot that Powell pursues â" he examines a community that is grappling with whether it can sustain itself as its young people choose to leave for the mainland and better jobs and less harsh conditions. A young Niall MacGinnis (who I know best from Curse of the Demon, 1957) plays Andrew Gray who wishes to remain on the island with his father (the great Finlay Currie) and accepts a challenge from Robbie Manson (Eric Berry) who wishes to leave â" the challenge is to climb the steepest cliff barehanded and the winner will decide the fate of the island. Itâ(TM)s a nail-biting sequence. Although Gray wins, his love for Mansonâ(TM)s sister Ruth (Belle Chrystall) drives him to leave the island (and his yet-unknown unborn son). Soon the whole community plans to leave, but the Manson patriarch (John Laurie) stubbornly resists leaving without first gathering some rare eggs. The plot itself is almost beside the point here because Powellâ(TM)s sense of the environment, here at the nearly literal edge of the world (or at least the UK), is spectacularly mystical. Surely, this would be a destination for reflection on beauty and on human insignificance in the grand scheme of things. Powellâ(TM)s focus is instead on the loss of culture and community with modernity, a subtle theme that can be traced through his work.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Some of the acting is very stiff and clunky, but the photography and stoic dignity of the inhabitants of the fictional doomed Scottish island at the centre of Michael Powell's short feature more than compensate. As in so many of his films characters are always falling to their deaths from a great height. One of them here is John Laurie, in a marvellous performance that proves what a great actor he was thirty years before Dad's Army claimed him. Strangely moving.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This 1937 film in my opinion is the first masterpiece from Michael Powell. It's a simple and small story, but it is told with passion and skill. The film is gorgeously shot on location in harsh conditions, but it really brings the story to life. This was a very personal film for Powell and he held it in high regard. This is a must watch for any cinema lover!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

year s/b 1937 NOT 2000

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A fine well thought out story as two friends fall out on a remote Scottish isle and challenge each other to a dare with tragic consequences. Being slightly critical, for a short film there are too many and quite lengthy sequences which give it a promotional feel for tourists. Still worth a watch though.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Michael Powell

Director

Finlay Currie

James Gray

Niall MacGinnis

Andrew Gray

Grant Sutherland

John, the Catechist

Campbell Robson

Mr. Dunbar

George Summers

Trawler Skipper

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

100%

92%

Make Way for Tomorrow

89%

72%

The Citadel

95%

77%

The Good Earth

86%

46%

Our Town

100%

33%

Beloved Enemy

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

The people of St. Kilda, a tiny Scottish island, have maintained the same simple lifestyle for generations. When the younger adults that inhabit the island begin to leave for more satisfyingly modern lives, the elders start to realize that their culture is disappearing. While James Gray (Finlay Currie), an important figure in the tiny community, grows pessimistic about the future of St. Kilda, his son, Andrew (Niall MacGinnis), is one of the few young people who refuse to desert their homes.

Director: Michael Powell
Screenwriter: Michael Powell
Distributor: BuyIndies.com Inc., Reel Media International [us], Pax Films Inc.
Production Co: Joe Rock Productions
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English (United Kingdom)
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 9, 1938, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 17, 2018
Runtime: 1h 20m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

Most Popular at Home Now