South: Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance Expedition

Director: Frank Hurley
Antarctica. 1919.
88 minutes. B&W, Tinted, Toned.

Cast:

Sir Ernest Shackleton, Expedition leader

Frank Wild, Second in Command

Frank Worsley, Captain

Lionel Greenstreet, First officer

Hubert T. Hudson, Navigator

Thomas Crean, Second officer

When Sir Ernest Shackleton set sail on the Endurance on August 8, 1914, he was already an internationally renowned Antarctic explorer and a national hero.

He planned a brave attempt to cross the continent of Antarctica via the Pole. Raising money for the Imperial Trans-Antarctic (ITA) expedition was a huge struggle. With an eye toward profiting from their adventures, Shackleton hired experienced cameraman Frank Hurley, whose films and photographs would hopefully pay for part of the expedition.

But within a day’s travel (80 miles) of land, the Endurance was trapped in unusually heavy pack ice. Completely stuck, Shackleton and his crew drifted helplessly northward during the long Antarctic winter night while listening to the shrieks and moans of the Endurance slowly being crushed by the mounting pressure.

What followed is one of the greatest adventure stories ever and a unbelievable tale of courage and survival.

 

The crew drifted on ice floes for months before landing on the completely deserted Elephant Island. Though his crew was safe for now, there was no chance for resue. So Ernest Shackleton and five of his men made a 850-mile journey in an open boat with only a sextent to guide them across the roughest seas in the world to miraculously reach Georgia Island. Even then, they had to become the first people ever to climb over the island's forbidding mountain to reach civilization on the other side.

 

One of the greatest epics in the history of exploration, this is the original 1919 film produced by Shackleton and Frank Hurley. Restored by the British Film Institute with the original tints and toning, this DVD release is one to cherish.

Bonus Features

Excerpt from The Quest (1922)

Audio recordings of Shackleton produced in 1909 and 1911.

Second soundtrack by film historian Luke McKernan.

Reviews

"What did happen became legend. The saga that defined heroism."- Time

A painstakingly restored 80-year-old silent documentary can teach some of this summer’s projected screen action blockbusters a thing or two about adventure. “South: Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance Expedition,” a Milestone Film and Video release, is an awesome chronicle of “a wonderful and true story of British pluck, sacrifice and indomitable courage.” - Donald Liebenson, Chicago Tribune