Review of Life Of A Mountain: Scafell Pike (DVD) - by Terry Abraham

Life Of A Mountain; Scafell Pike is a year-round film celebration of England's highest fell. When I saw this was being produced (via crowd-source website Indiegogo), I was one of many who helped fund the project in my humble little way. So I was waiting with some interest to see what the film would look like.

Life Of A Mountain: Scafell Pike DVD

Here's my mini review from Outdoorsmagic:

Just thought I'd add my thoughts to this... I thought it was a great piece of work and really enjoyed it. Found it quite moving at times to be honest. Lots of great lingering mountain shots between scenes (and within scenes!) which was great. Didn't feel the movie was too slow or dragged at all, as clearly it's not an 'action' documentary. Really captured the emotion of the people featured and the score helped with this too. Completely agree with the review that the new age guy could have been axed. Nothing personal but it just seemed totally out of place and nothing to do with Scafell Pike. Other than that it was a real step up from the Cairngorms edit (which was in itself pretty good). So I'd give it 9/10 without hesitation :)

So let's look at things in a bit more detail...

First thing that needs to be commended is simply the labour of love and time that Terry Abraham clearly put into the DVD (and evidenced by his Facebook updates throughout). Absolutely incredible level of investment that shows through the DVD. As a video editor I also understand the level of work that has gone in and the excellent edits throughout the film. Brilliant and a real step-up from the less-refined edits that were on the Cairngorms film where Terry Abraham 'cut his teeth' so to speak!

The Scenery and overall edit

The film has a huge number of lingering shots of Scafell Pike. The review on outdoorsmagic is perhaps slightly unconvinced by this but for me, these inspiring shots from several locations around the Pike and from Scafell Pike itself were breathtaking and awesome. Many scenes begin and end with these shots but with such incredible camera work, who wouldn't want to see this!!

Menu

There is a top menu. Then you can play the movie or choose the four scenes... 'Spring' - 'Summer' - 'Autumn' - 'Winter' which is a very useful way of navigating around the DVD.

The Score

Magnificent. Cinematic, moving, uplifting, full of depth and meaning. Incredible

Spring

The cinematic score mixed with night shots into day shots of the Pike is an uplifting opening. We also start off with the highly interesting and caring thoughts of shepherdess Allison O'Neill. We move onto a local farmer lambing and then onto the work of the National Trust. David Powell-Thompson fascinates us, telling why he loves the Lakes and we journey up the Pike with him. His love for the Lakes is infectious.

Summer

Again we start with a number of inspiring shots of the Lakes. There's a short piece with Carey Davies of the BMC and trying to keep hillwalking sustainable and minimising environmental impact. There are interviews with regular hillwalkers on Scafell Pike, of which the standout is there Scottish guy telling us the views are amazing and asking why anyone would want to go abroad with views like that. (Good point but I can think of a few good reasons!) Then the legendary Joss Naylor features with his farm, his dogs, his life and fell running memories. Finally, Mark Richards shares a huge amount of his memories, his drawings and experiences regarding the legendary Alfred Wainwright.

Autumn

We start off at an intriguing look into the life of shepherding with a meet at Wasdale and all the animals, fell running and other activities. Some of the characters from the film feature. There's a feature with photographer Mark Gilligan and another walk and historical insights with David Powell-Thompson and some more shepherding.

Winter

Everyone's favourite walking season... surely...? We start with the Wasdale MRT where Terry films the guys practising, on a job and feature some brilliant insights from those currently active in the team and those who have been too. Really interesting. The next thing is the great scene with Chris Townsend, 'star' of the Cairngorms film. There is a momentous moment when Chris goes to sleep on a fairly overcast day and awakes the next day to a large amount of snowfall. It's something that is quite precious and Terry captures this. There's a great feature with Alan Hinkes with a bit of scrambling on Broad Stand and Mickledore. Great insights from a great mountaineer.

The last words are left to Allison O'Neill whose gentle voice belies some great insights and beautifully expresses the romantic nature of Scafell Pike and mountains as she explains how sitting around the Pike makes her feel close to heaven.

Terry ends with a kind of reprise to the opening sequence - some inspirational cinemascapes with Freddiehangoler's soundtrack. Wow!

Any Niggles?

Only a couple of very minor ones. The first one is the occasional slightly excessive volume of the violin on the soundtrack.

By far the biggest question is why the scene with the new age guy is in the film. He is slightly odd (and I say this as a spiritual guy myself as a Christian). He doesn't really say anything about Scafell Pike and I felt his interview actually detracted from the movie.

Conclusion

But these are trifles when taken in the context of the whole film which at 2 hours could have been too long but really isn't. Terry has captured Scafell Pike as the magnificent mountain / fell that it is and has brought it to life with those who live, work and play in and around the Pike and the Lake District. Compelling and inspiring. At times this film brought tears to my eyes to be honest - partly because I love the mountains and feel in awe of God - but partly because of Terry's edit and skills. Brilliant.