Skye - The Movie (DVD)

...on our last trip to Skye in 2002 to remind us of our holiday and how lovely Skye is. As we are going back again in September I thought I would dig the DVD out and watch it again. Now I can't wait til September to get back there! The scenery is so amazing and the pace of life is so slow, it is like another world over there.

The Isle of Skye is known as the misty isle and is off the coast of western scotland and can be reached by crossing ...
...some of the castles on Skye and they are well worth a visit. This is a nice section, especially the eagles. There is a centre in Portree where you can find out more about the eagles on Skye.

3. WATER WORLD. Dramatic footage from the deck of a vintage sailing boat, showing wonderful waterfalls, seascapes and beaches. Skye has several fantastic natural waterfalls and some are off the beaten track, so not easily accessible to tourists.
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Skye: The Movie is a 50 minute DVD made by Scottish Films.

We bought the dvd on our last trip to Skye in 2002 to remind us of our holiday and how lovely Skye is. As we are going back again in September I thought I would dig the DVD out and watch it again. Now I can't wait til September to get back there! The scenery is so amazing and the pace of life is so slow, it is like another world over there.

The Isle of Skye is known as the misty isle and is off the coast of western scotland and can be reached by crossing the Skye Bridge. I am not reviewing Skye however (have already done that).

The DVD shows the landscapes, seascapes and people of the Isle of Skye. It is an audio visual experience, in that you get to watch the pictures accompanied by the scottish folk music soundtrack.

According to the cover, filming began in the winter of 2003 and finished in May 2004 and filmmaker Mahmoud Drury included his footage of the solar eclipse.

The DVD is divided into seven sections.

1. HIGHLAND FESTIVALS. The Highland Piping Festival & Highland Games - this shows scenes from the festivals. Interesting, but not too exciting.

2. ANIMAL & PLANT KINGDOMS. This shows dolphins, eagles, seals, plus some of the castle gardens and the open countryside. I have been to some of the castles on Skye and they are well worth a visit. This is a nice section, especially the eagles. There is a centre in Portree where you can find out more about the eagles on Skye.

3. WATER WORLD. Dramatic footage from the deck of a vintage sailing boat, showing wonderful waterfalls, seascapes and beaches. Skye has several fantastic natural waterfalls and some are off the beaten track, so not easily accessible to tourists.

4. ISLAND PEOPLE. Meet the folk of Skye at work and play in some wonderful locations. This shows island folk at home and at work. You get some real old characters here. Its a shame that you can't hear them talking though.

5. HISTORIC SITES. Ancient and mysterious remains of past cultures and Skye's fantastic castles of the MacLeods and MacDonalds. Skye is simply covered in history. There is Dunvegan Castle, Armadale Castle (a ruin). There are visitor centres for the various Clans.

6. THE LAND. World famous, highly scenic terrain shot from all angles throughout the four seasons designed to take your breath away. This is probably the most amazing section of the dvd. It shows the mountains and wild moors in all seasons and weather and shows how they change during the year.

7. THE PLANETS. A host of planetary phenomena crowned by the very rare solar eclipse, on May 17 2003. This is nothing too spectacular, but they are obviously very proud that it could be seen so clearly.

Portree is the capital of Skye. The Cuillin mountains are famous and the DVD also shows several other natural features. Skye has a great mix of wildlife and the dvd covers some of this.

The soundtrack of the dvd is all by known Scottish artists, such as Runrig and Capercaillie, Blair Douglas and Donnie Monroe.

I must admit that the soundtrack did get on my nerves a bit, as there is no talking at all on the dvd, only scottish music endlessly through the whole 7 chapters. I have been to see Runrig twice now as my husband is a fan and I love their music, but some of the gaellic stuff gets on my nerves. (Apologies to anyone who likes this music, but each to their own!)

Of course, you can always turn the sound down and just watch the pictures.

I would have preferred a mix of music and talk and then some of the places shown on the dvd could have been identified.

Unfortunately the tracks are not listed on the dvd and I do not know my Scottish music that well in order to identify them all. They are shown in the closing credits of the dvd though, so you could identify a song if necessary. It would take too long to keep pausing the dvd and writing them all down though!

If you are thinking of going to Skye I would recommend it to give you an idea of the places that you would like to visit. If you have already been to Skye I would recommend it as a lovely reminder of your holiday.

The DVD is available from Amazon for around £10.

There are no special features on this dvd.

 

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