Customer Reviews
FANTASTIC - By: Vincent Plasschaert, 02 Apr 2008 
After reading the book whatching this documentary makes it all come alive.
Truly a wonderful gemm (Cousteau avant la lettre).
I preferred watching it without sound (so I don't hear the piano) & try to imagine the true sound & atmosphere. Come the think of it I should try crawling into my freezer & watch it from there.
For those who love Antartic & Artic exploring this is a must.
More for understanding than excitement. - By: M. S. Ridgeway, 24 Aug 2007 
Frank Hurley's 1919 film must have been awe inspiring when showing it at the time & to really enjoy this footage you need to look at it purelyin the context of its time. For me, the most interesting part of the footage are the spontaneous scenes, men `fighting' with the dogs & the football game, which are on the `cut' scenes - they have a much more natural & relaxed atmosphere. To the `uninitiated', there is no story, just a series of scenes with a few notes of commentaryin between. However, if you've read any of the biographies, diaries or commentaries on Shackleton & his men, then you'll find the animation adds to the posterity & reinforces the understanding gained from the words read.
A bit of a bore. - By: , 05 Jan 2006 
My recent interestin Shackleton was raised after watching the BBC drama starring Kenneth Branagh. I then read Endurance by Alfred Lansing. A superb account of the expedition & the near death experiences of the partyin their attempts to escape the ice floes.
I therefore looked forward with huge anticipation to watching South & the footage shot by Frank Hurley. However, what was assembled - presumably with the help of Shackleton himself - is a fairly tame tale of good old British comradeship & a lot of uninteresting footage of various birds & animals.
Perhaps all of this was interesting & new &in the spirit of the age backin 1919. But having read Lancing's bookin particular, it seems unworthy of such an epic adventure. My recommendation is to not just rely on the film to understand how the events unfolded backin 1914/15 but to read more comprehensive accounts. Shakleton & his men were truly quite heroic!
The restored 1919 documentary by Frank Hurley - By: , 03 Nov 2004 With the recent two-part television movie of "Shackleton," there should be renewed interestin this documentary feature. "South: Ernest Shackleton & the Endurance Expedition" is Frank Hurley's 1919 film record restoredin 199 by the British Film Institute. Quite simply, this is the historic film record of the now famous survival story of Sir Ernest Shackleton & the crew of the Endurance taken by Australian cinematographer & documentararian Frank Hurley, who accompanied the expedition on the first leg of its voyage from Buenos Aires to the Antarctica. It is still absolutely amazing to see the actual film of the Endurance, trapped & being crushed by the ice flow. The details of what happened after that always seem to palein consideration of the fact that not a single one of the crew lost their lives. The only disappointment is that because Hurley stayed behind on South Georgia to await rescue while Shackleton & a small group traveled by small boat 800 miles to find help, the last part of the film becomes more of a nature documentary. But then, reality is like that sometime. Hurley's amazing film has been restored with its original, intended tinting, & a new piano score (uncredited). This DVD includes audio commentary by the British Film Institute's Luke McKernan & an excerpt from "Southward on the Quest." My understanding is that the British version runs 81 minutes. Hurley's original working title for this film was "Endurance," but when it was releasedin known as "In the Grip of Polar Ice"in Australia & "Shackleton's Expedition to the Antarctic"in the UK. Clearly, any one interestedin the story of the Endurance Expedition is going to want to Hurley's unforgettable documentary.
Priceless - By: Dennis E. Sisterson, 22 Sep 2003 I couldn't bear to give this less than five stars after everything expedition photographer Frank Hurley went through. The film from Shackleton's expedition is wonderful glimpse into a past age, & Hurley's daring efforts provide some awesome & dramatic images. The last twenty minutes or so is of little interest to the modern viewer as it consists mainly of wildlife film of South Georgia - fascinating to the publicin 1919 perhaps but far surpassed by more recent work.
The commentary adds greatly to the disc, pointing out many details that might otherwise be missed, such as Shackletonin the background of one shot, evidentlyin a grumpy mood & kicking a dog.
Curiously, some of the most interesting film isin the 'deleted scenes' section - the crew playing football on the ice, & playing with the dogs - being unedited, these scenes have a greater feeling of naturalness & spontanaiety than the film itself.
Also on the disc are a few scenes that appear to record a whaling voyage, though there are no notes or commentary to accompany these pieces so I can only guess.
Anyone interestedin the history of polar exploration hardly needs me to recommend this. I hope the BFI follow it up with Ponting's '90 Degrees South', from Scott's last expedition.
