On the Mountain (1973)

• 84%
• 1973
• Margaret Tait

"Made in Edinburghs Rose Street, On the Mountain incorporates the whole of a previous film (Rose Street, 1956), including the leader and the titles. The original was shot in black and white, and the negative was lost, and for this reason Tait had the idea of preserving the film by framing it complete in colour , in a contrasted look at the same street in 1974. On the Mountain records and preserves the change. The camera broods and recognises the dustcart . Changed is too gentle a word, the street has ben ripped apart by the developers. An ugly modern precinct has emerged with shabby boutiques and plastic food. The back lane where the children played hopscotch reveals a gap site, a decaying Princess Street, with thumping machines and concrete.