Customer Reviews

The Endurance - Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
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In August 1914, the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, comprised of 27 men under the leadership of Sir Ernest Shackleton, set sail from England in the wooden ship ENDURANCE. The plan was to land a team on the Antarctic Continent, and the men to dogsled across the frozen landmass to the other side via the South Pole. However, one day's sail from the Antarctic shore, the vessel became entrapped in the ice pack, and was subsequently crushed and sunk. Shackleton and his group were stranded on the drifting floes out of contact with and beyond the ken of the rest of the world. The expedition's grueling, heroic journey back to civilization, culminating in an 800-mile voyage across a stormy, frigid ocean by Shackleton and five companions in a small, open boat, is the subject of this documentary based on the book by Caroline Alexander.

The spell-binding nature of this film is due to the masterful mix of material from several sources: archival 35mm footage, still photos and drawings from the expedition itself, narrated excerpts from diaries, radio interviews with survivors and filmed interviews with their descendents, and contemporary film footage shot along the route of the men's ordeal. One is amazed at the quality of the 35mm moving images shot by Frank Hurley, the team's photographer. What you see is not a re-enactment - it's real, and as crisp as if shot only last week instead of almost ninety years ago.

Besides being the visual narrative of an extraordinary survival story, ENDURANCE is also a show-and-tell presentation on the essence of leadership. Two years after departing England, Shackleton successfully brought all his 27 men back from the brink of extinction. Not a single member of the venture was lost. (Ironically, they arrived back in a Europe entangled in the throes of World War One, in which some of the Expedition's survivors were subsequently killed.)

For a fuller presentation of the subject in text, I would strongly recommend ENDURANCE: SHACKLETON'S INCREDIBLE VOYAGE by Alfred Lansing.

This is easily the best documentary I've seen since "Crumb" and "Hoop Dreams". The phrase "triumph of the human spirit" gets thrown around so often these days that it has lost its meaning, but I can't think of any other words to describe this incredible documentary. Even though the story is rather simple and we already know how it ends, I was at the edge of my seat the entire time. It's unfathomable what these men had to endure during the 2 years, and it's absolutely amazing that even one of them, let alone all, managed to survive.

The breathtaking original footages and still photographs are extremely crisp and it's hard to believe that this was shot nearly 9 decades ago. And while the lack of original materials during the later stages of their ordeals is a little disappointing, we can hardly blame them for that. The narration by Liam Neeson is excellent as well.

'The Endurance' is a documentary originally aired as a 'Nova' special, and is one of the most amazing documentaries on any subject that I have ever seen. In the summer of 1914 Ernest Shackleton and his crew set sail on the 'Endurance' for Antarctica, with the goal of being the first expedition to cross the Antarctic continent. After becoming ensnared in ice their ship slowly disintegrated, and forced the survivors onto land, and eventually into their small wooden lifeboats in an attempt to make a perilous voyage back to civilization.

The crew endured for 635 days and nights without real shelter or sufficient rations, frequently eating seal blubber and even their beloved dogs. As an animal lover, I came to realize the true depths of their situation when they had to shoot their cat and dogs, and ultimately eat some of their true canine friends.

The story is one of tremendous hubris and heroism all wrapped up into one larger than life explorer. Shackleton's true gift was not in being a great explorer, but in being able to largely control the morale of the crew and provide leadership when it was most critical. Only thanks to that leadership did every man on the expedition survive.

The documentary itself is a brilliant mix of the film shot by expedition photographer Frank Hurley (including a lot of motion picture film) and modern film of the sites in question, along with a bit of reenactment footage of recreated lifeboats identical to the originals. The work is seamless, deeply moving, and will give anyone a new appreciation for the powers of ice and the human spirit.

In addition to the actual documentary the disc has several choice extras including a director's commentary track, interviews with children of survivors, and, best of all, a documentary on the making of the documentary, which I found absolutely fascinating. The most amazing thing that was revealed in the 'making of' documentary was the fate of the duplicate lifeboats, which under the control of the modern seamen ultimately sank in heavy seas, but seas far less than Shackleton encountered.

This is in every way a spectacular production, and I would recommend it highly to anyone. You will never forget this film.

This version is good, no question. It accurately portrays the story of the Endurance. But if you are a true fan of this wonderful adventure, you must see the original Nova version. David Ogden Stiers narration is magnificent. His intonation and phrasing perfectly reflect the mood of the adventure and places you amid the expedition. Interviews with descendants are plentiful and seem almost as effective as if they were the participants themselves. Expert interviewees add insight into the natural forces that were in constant combat with the expedition. Last and not least, the soundtrack is a subject lesson in matching mood and music. I'm lucky enough to have a poor VHS recording of the original Nova production. I would buy a DVD of it in a heartbeat if Amazon could find it.

"The Endurance"--the saga of the struggle of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew to survive the Antarctic wastes--is more amazing than any plot Hollywood has ever devised, and every word of it is true. The closest real-life equivalent I can think of is the story of Apollo 13--and whereas that crisis lasted three days and involved three men, the story of the Endurance lasted two years and involved 28. The film footage and still photos by Frank Hurley, Shackleton's official photographer, add an eerie, you-are-there quality to the bleakly gorgeous, modern-day footage of Antarctica taken by director George Butler. (That so much of Hurley's film survived is in itself incredible.) While the courage and stamina of the crew were amazing, I also can't forget the tales of all-too-human pettiness among them. I'll always remember the snooty, aristocratic Col. Thomas Orde-Lee, who disdained rowing but eagerly bailed out his boat (rowing was for commoners, but bailing was heroic). I also can't forget Shackleton's total lack of forgiveness for mutinous ship's carpenter Chippy McNish, even after McNish repented of his rebellion and took actions which essentially saved the lives of all the crew. In showing both the grandeur and the pettiness of the human spirit--as well as the mercilessness of the perpetual Antarctic winter--"The Endurance" is one of the greatest stories of exploration, as well as one of the best movies of 2001.

THE ENDURANCE (Columbia Tristar) brings to vivid life Ernest Shackleton's nightmarish Antarctic expedition (1914-1916). Expedition photographer Frank Hurley's startling movie and still pictures, shot under the most extreme, unfavorable conditions, show Shackleton's ship, the ironically named Endurance, trapped in a blizzard and then jammed in an expanding ice pack. The vice grip of the ice relentlessly squeezes the Endurance until it cracks like a walnut and the 27 crewmen move onto the ice with salvaged items. And then the real terror begins. It was truly Providential that all the men lived to tell this fantastic survival story. This is a truly mesmerizing documentary and is highly recommended.

I have seen this version, as well as the IMAX, Nova, BBC TV-series versions of the great Sir Earnest Shackleton Antarctic Expedition.

The IMAX is a good overall general synopsis of the story but leaves out the more interesting details and hardships that the Shackleton team endured, during their 2-year expedition against the elements. The BBC TV-series was good but takes too many "artistic liberties". This version and the NOVA one are very similar but distinct enough to warrant watching them both.

The criticism by one reviewer that this particular version lacked interest because it didn't use dramatized re-creations to depict the adventurer is like saying Ken Burn's "Civil War" series was boring because it didn't have any motion picture footage. Any one who has seen that series knows how even a photograph or painting, backed by dramatic readings of letters and battle accounts, along with exquisite modern and period background music, pulled you right into that era and made you hungry to know more.

The story is captivating enough and the narrative by Liam Neeson is just as riveting as the David Ogden-Stier version by Nova. They are both excellently done and complement one another. You can't make a comparison. This one gets a hearty thumbs-up from me.

Newspaper ad: "Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success. Sir Ernest Shackleton, 1900."

That was the ad run by explorer Sir Earnest Shackleton in order to man his ship, The Endurance, for an historic expedition across Antarctica in 1914-16.

I was attracted to this documentary by the cover on the DVD, which is an engaging and eerie photograph of the ship, Endurance, frozen in the ice with the men grouped in front of it. The documentary turned out to be even more engaging and eerie. I'm not a big fan of documentaries, but this one enthralled me. I still can't get over the fact that this story really happened, or that Shackleton was the leader that he was.

As is pointed out in the documentary, and by Caroline Alexander - the author of the book on which it is based - Shackleton had his finger on the pulse of each of his 27 men to such a degree that he could pull each one back from the brink of depression or despair before he went over the edge. No polar expedition that had ever run amuck before theirs had ever survived; and in most cases, insanity had preceded death. So when Shackleton realized he wasn't going to make it across Antarctica, he changed his goal to that of saving all his men. And, miraculously, he accomplished it - he didn't lose one.

Every expert says that every leg of their journey back was impossible; yet they did it. And even though the drama with Kenneth Branagh (Shackleton - The Greatest Survival Story Of All Time) is good, it doesn't do as much justice to the real story as this documentary by George Bulter.

Liam Neeson does an excellent job narrating. Included in the film are the extraordinary photographs of expedition photographer Frank Hurley, who performed a major miracle just saving his glass negatives. The extra features are as engrossing as the movie itself, especially comments made by author Caroline Alexander.

The ship was well-named: Endurance. The men endured for 635 days under the most horrendous conditions imaginable, and survived to tell the greatest tale ever. There is even a mystery involved in how Shackleton and two of his men made the last leg of their journey across a mountain range with the help of a "fourth man," which they believed was an angel. It is clear that God was with these men throughout.

This is one documentary, one story and one man you'll never forget.

Waitsel Smith

This is an exemplary documentary, based upon author Caroline Alexander's critically acclaimed, best selling book of the doomed 1914 Antarctic expedition led by Sir Edward Shackleton. Effectively narrated by Liam Neeson, the film tells the story of this star-crossed expedition which set sail upon the ironically named ship, "The Endurance". Shackleton and his crew set out to attempt the first expedition across the vast, still uncharted, icy regions of the Antarctic continent.

Unfortunately, the ship became locked in an icy vise created by polar floes not long after it set sail, which eventually encased and crushed the ship it held in its grasp. This forced the crew out on the ice to survive an adventure that was to last them over a year and a half. Only the courage and determination of Shackleton and his crew enabled them all to survive their harrowing experience, escaping the icy death that was the expected outcome of their dire situation.

Told through the incorporation and use of expedition photographer Frank Hurley's archival silent film footage and stills, which miraculously survived, as well as modern day film and photographs, a rich in situ backdrop is provided for this gripping story of survival. The film is also augmented by interviews with elderly relatives of the survivors. The makers of this documentary also ground the story in the historical context of the day, enriching this story further. All in all, this is an exemplary documentary and one which those who are interested in explorations will enjoy, as will those who enjoy films in which the human spirit triumphs.

Far, far and away superior to both the Branagh and the iMAX versions of the story. Put together as a documentary featuring the hundreds (thousands??) of photographs and actual movie footage filmed by a member of the actual expedition. An awe-inspiring, spine-tingling tale of survival simply beyond imagination. "Endurance" indeed.