THE ENDURANCE: SHACKLETON'S LEGENDARY ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION
In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton, having lost his bid to be the first explorer to reach the South Pole, set sail with a crew of 28 men to be the first to cross the Antarctic continent. His three-masted sailing vessel, built to withstand ice, was named after his family motto, 'By endurance we conquer.' In 1999, producer/director George Butler mounted an expedition to retrace Shackleton's two year struggle of extraordinary courageousness in "The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition."
Among Shackleton's many wise decisions was to bring along Australian photographer Frank Hurley, who documented their journey in both still photographs and moving film, which he editted into the 1919 documentary "South." While Hurley's original film features amazing footage and striking imagery, it suffers from injudicious editing and pacing, with almost a half hour of the film's end turned over to nature photography to fill in the gap Hurley experienced when Shackleton journeyed on, leaving Hurley and twenty-one others behind awaiting rescue.
What Butler has done is to recreate the entire amazing story, beginning with descendents of Shackleton's crew recalling the tales they were told (or not as the case may be) and filling out personalities of the men who responded to Shackleton's newspaper ad (which began 'Men wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold...'). Butler has actors provide the voices of the crew as excerpts from their diaries are read, revealing the incredible leadership Shackleton provided under threat of mutiny and overwhelming odds. While he uses Hurley's footage and photos, Butler's documentary is a far richer, more emotional work. New footage and unobtrusive recreations continue Shackleton's determination to save his men after ten months trapped in the ice pack which crushed their ship.
After getting his men to Elephant Island in three lifeboats, Shackleton and five others travelled 800 miles through wild seas to South Georgia, a whaling station and their last point of departure. This journey alone is often called the most daring ocean voyage in modern maritime history. Starved, frostbitten and exhausted, Shackleton still faced a 36 hour trek, including scaling a glacier, when they made land on the opposite side of their destination. It took him four voyages before he finally arrived back at Elephant Island and succeeded in bringing his entire crew back to civilization alive. Ironically, they returned to a world at war which paid scant attention to their return. Shackleton himself began another Antarctic expedition some years later with many of his former crew, but died of a heart attack at the age of 48 upon their arrival at South Georgia's whaling station.
Butler's first rate documentary is only hurt by Liam Neeson's narration. His soft, lilting voice often lacks the drama the events he's recounting demand. Music by Michael Small ranges from a deep, foreboding orchestral piece which recalls whale sounds to Irish jigs and Tibetan vocals. Transitions from old footage to new are seamless.
"The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition" is an awe-inspiring, uplifting tale of human fortitude and one man's incredible capacity to lead men through unthinkable obstacles.
A-
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