Scotch Hop

‘In acknowledgement of his Scottish heritage, Maclaine photographed this cine-poem to document an authentic highland gathering in the town of Petaluma, California. The pastimes include speed walking, tossing the caber, traditional dances, bagpipe and drum troops. Using unlikely camera angles and tight, rhythmic cutting, Maclaine performs an impromptu dance with the camera, cut to the tuneful droning of the pipes and drums. You can take the Maclaines out of Scotland, but you can’t take Scotland from the Maclaines.’ – Mark Webber
‘Maclaine did not accomplish the exquisite sense of Scotch Hop by sitting down and figuring dry tables of numbers and rhythms or studying the formalities of composition and rhythm… Chris Maclaine was able to accomplish what he did with this film because he loved what he was filming… He had a camera with him and he had worked with it for years, and he knew how to operate it so that it did not interfere with him. He danced with it.’ – Stan Brakhage.

This is an Anthology Film Archives preservation print.