Shackleton - The Greatest Survival Story of All Time (3-Disc Collector's Edition)
by Charles Sturridge
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Actor: Eve Best, John Grillo, Kenneth Branagh, Paul Humpoletz, Phoebe NichollsDirector: Charles Sturridge
Brand: A&E
Writer: Charles Sturridge
Producer: Delia Fine
Producer: Emilio Nunez
Producer: Francesca Barra
Producer: Rupert Ryle-Hodges
Producer: Selwyn Roberts
Producer: Snorri ??risson
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 200 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-04-09
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: A&E Home Video
DVD Reviews of Shackleton - The Greatest Survival Story of All Time (3-Disc Collector's Edition)
DVD Review: Grand adventure, excellent bonus features
Summary: 5 Stars
Kenneth Branagh brings his customary swagger to this portrayal of the British adventurer Ernest Shackleton, together with a first-class supporting cast. Perfectly arrayed in Edwardian period costumes and sets, the story starts with the Antarctic veteran and lecturer learning that Roald Amundson has become the first person to reach the South Pole. He decides to one-up the Norwegian with the first trans-Antarctic expedition. The film follows Shackleton as he raises money, selects a crew, and carries on a love affair that his wife discovers. But he soon leaves both wife and paramour for his irresistable compulsion to conquer the unknown.
Shackleton and his men travel to Argentina and thence to Antarctica via the aptly-named sailing ship Endurance. When it is trapped and then crushed by the ice, they set off with their dogs by foot, pulling lifeboats and supplies through ghastly weather until they can finally launch the boats and, though heroic efforts, reach land and eventual salvation. These scenes are interwoven with scenes at home in Britain, where friends and family wait anxiously and where rescue missions are proposed but never undertaken, as the ongoing carnage of World War I makes the fate of 28 men seem small by comparison.
Shackleton himself comes across as something of a glib promoter, an ambitious man drawn by fame and glory. Yet when his back is to the wall, he proves that he is not just a great explorer but also a great judge of character and an indomitable leader of men. His charisma and motivational abilities literally save his expedition-mates, allowing them to come home after three incredible years, long after most Britons have given them up for dead, with nary a life lost.
The script draws much of its dialog and detail from the diaries and letters of crewmen, who survived a harrowing journey through an amazing combination of strength, courage, and sheer determination. The production values are superb, worthy of a feature film, and the photography, based on the documentary photos and films of the expedition's photographer, is breathtaking. You truly feel the bitter cold and exhaustion of the men, and their survival seems nothing short of a miracle.
The first two discs in this three-disc set contains only the 206-minute made-for-television miniseries, without so much as a commentary or a subtitle, but the third disc holds three worthwhile documentaries. The first is a 49-minute presentation entitled "Breaking the Ice: The Making of Shackleton," the second a 43-minute biography called "Ernest Shackleton: Looking South," and the third a 92-minute history special: "Antarctica: A Frozen History." A profile of Kenneth Branagh rounds out the disc.
I heartily recommend this gripping, inspiring, educational set.
DVD Review: 3 stars out of 4
Summary: 4 Stars
The Bottom Line:
The first half of this made-for-tv movie, which concerns itself with Shackleton back in England, is often slow, but the fine acting of Branagh and the more adventure-packed second half make this a film worth watching for those interested in the man himself or polar expeditions.
DVD Review: Everything you could want as long as the truth about Shackleton doesn't matter to you.
Summary: 4 Stars
Gloriously filmed, with excellent acting, everything you could want as long as the truth about Shackleton doesn't matter to you. Have read about Shackleton I was struck over and over at how poorly he was conveyed, reduced to a shallow, yelling, man, when he was in fact calm, cool, and collected. How did the script writers fail to realize that a man who cannot control himself cannot control his men and the Shackleton story is in essence a study of successful leadership under extreme conditions
The movie contains some absolutely fantastic footage, however, I could never settle down and enjoy the film as I desired because so many factual errors kept being presented. Shackleton was assisted by very able men and the film belittles most of them into little more than a mob of frightened men. There was much wonderful stuff here - don't get me wrong, but if you actually know the story - have read the books - then turn off your brain before watching or it will drive you crazy!
2 stars for attention to set details and 2 stars for great cinematography, however, I took away 1 star for failure to present Shackleton as he was. Perhaps it was their desire to humanize the man that lead to this. Unfortunately Shackleton really was a larger than life figure - a man - not unlike some other well know men like George Patton, or Oscar Schindler - men who were uniquely suited for an extreme situation and excelled like no other men could have.
DVD Review: amazing film!
Summary: 5 Stars
I didn't expect this very high quality production when I ordered this . Excellent all around.DVD Review: Shakleton...
Summary: 4 Stars
An okay movie loosely based on Ernest Shackleton's doomed voyage to the bottom of the world. The movie does its best to stick with his life from his diaries.
This is a set of 3 dvds that give you a biography Shackleton, discovery channel of Anartica, and the movie itself.
Description of Shackleton - The Greatest Survival Story of All Time (3-Disc Collector's Edition)
Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 07/29/2003 Run time: 200 minutes Rating: NrShackleton is not a biopic of the great Anglo-Irish explorer but a dramatization of the failed trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914-1916. As written and directed by Charles Sturridge (Longitude), the production, filmed on real ice floes in Greenland, stays remarkably close to the facts, capturing the look of the surviving expedition photos by Frank Hurley (collected in the book South with Endurance) with great fidelity. Kenneth Branagh makes no attempt at an authentic accent but otherwise gives a powerful impression of a most commanding personality. When the expedition ship Endurance became locked in the Antarctic ice, Shackleton vowed to bring every man home alive, and against virtually impossible odds, including a 700-mile journey in an open boat through some of the worst seas in the world, he did just that. This superlative miniseries realizes the story with production values and cinematography that would not disgrace a big-budget feature (South, Hurley's 1919 silent movie featuring some motion-picture footage from the expedition, is also available on video). Intense physical drama, strong performances, and Adrian Johnston's fine score combine here to deeply moving effect, marred only a little by a rushed conclusion. With Roland Huntford, author of the definitive Shackleton biography, as production advisor, this easily stands as the benchmark for all future comparable films. --Gary S. Dalkin
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