14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must for all polar exploration enthusiasts, December 20, 2001
This review is from: Scott of the Antarctic [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Director Charles Frend showed he could turn real life stories into stirring drama with war films like The Foreman Went to France, and here turned his hand to a different sort of heroism. Whilst the war films showed small victories in what we hoped would prove to be a big victory, Scott Of The Antarctic shows a peculiar sort of victory, that of the human spirit in the midst of failure.
Whilst Scott is held up as a role model to every schoolboy, he was a flawed man, sometimes putting his own vanity and the desire to win above the safety of his crew. The film does not dwell on this, but the shoestring budget and hasty preparations are shown, as are some of Scott's own misgivings. The war had honed Ealing studios' skills in making films in the drama-documentary style and the realism of the sets is to be applauded. Photographs of the hut Scott built look almost identical to that shown on screen and the recreation of the Antarctic on Soundstage 1 in Ealing Studios is a marvel (though some scenes are shot on location in Norway).
The casting is very nice, with square jawed leading men Kenneth More and John Gregson in supporting roles here, James Robertson Justice in an unusually subtle role as Taff Evans and of course John Mills as Scott. The length of Mills's career, spanning from 1932 to date is surely tribute to his acting skills, as well as his amiablity. He isn't the John Gregson type you would necessarily associate with the heroic lead, but a smaller man, more human than super-human, and this probably works better in portraying a man like Scott.
A major contribution to the film's success is the rousing music by Vaughan Williams, which somehow adds a sense of realism and scale to the landscapes. Vaughan Williams cited this score as a particular favourite of his, and it makes a change from the usual Benjamin Frankel music that Ealing employed during this period.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Poor transfer, December 17, 2006
This is a film I remember fondly, but was very disappointed with this transfer (from 905 Entertainment); the colours are faded and the soundtrack very coarsened and almost unlistenable - indeed, the very opening of Vaughan Williams' superlative score has been clipped in this version. There's now a far superior transfer available from Optimum Classic as part of their Easling Studios Collection - on sale from amazon.co.uk: vibrant colours and a much better soundtrack, so the extra dollars for that version are worth it!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
5 star story - 1 star transfer to DVD, December 23, 2006
I'll have to agree with the previous reviewers both in appraisal of the story-- it's great, and denigration of the technical quality of this particular DVD version. Just be forwarned to prepare yourself for only fair to poor video quality (grainy & high contrast) and continous distortion in the audio.
Having said that I kind of doubt we'll see a better transfer anytime soon of this 1948-49 film. I'm willing to give the DVD's technical weaknesses a pass in order to have this important film in my library.
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