Cliff Dropping Aka Cliff Hanging (1962)

Westman Isles, Iceland. L/S of four sailing boats sailing in front of the craggy cliffs of the Westman Isles. L/S, from on board a boat, of seagulls nesting on the cliff face. M/S of four men carrying coils of rope, walking over scrubby ground. The men reach the edge of the cliff and put down their loads. M/S of the men unravelling the rope. C/U of an older man uncoiling rope. M/S of the older man tying the rope around the waist of a man in a white boiler suit and helmet. C/U of the older man tugging at the knotted rope. A third man then sits on the ground and ties the other end of the rope around himself. The man in the boiler suit walks to the cliff edge, the man on the ground pays out the rope for him. Low angle L/S of a cliff face. M/S of the man in the boiler suit walking over the cliff edge, holding on very tightly to the rope. In the past, the islanders used to earn a living in this way by collecting and selling the eggs of wild birds - “today there are only a couple of young men who