Antarctica Movie,
DVD / Video - History, Drama, and Nature
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 March
of the Penguins (2005)
March of the Penguins instantly qualifies
as a wildlife classic. French filmmaker Luc Jacquet spent a full year
of extreme conditions in Antarctica to capture the life cycle of Emperor
penguins on film, and their diligence is evident in every striking
frame of this 80-minute documentary. Narrated in soothing tones by Morgan
Freeman, the film focuses on a colony of hundreds of Emperors as they
return, in a single-file march of 70 miles or more, to their frozen
breeding ground, far inland from the oceans where they thrive. At times
dramatic, suspenseful, mischievous and just plain funny, the film conveys
the intensity of the penguins' breeding cycle, and their treacherous
task of protecting eggs and hatchlings in temperatures as low as 128
degrees below zero. March of the Penguins remains family-friendly throughout,
and kids especially will enjoy the Antarctic blue-ice vistas and the
playful, waddling appeal of the penguins, who can be slapstick clumsy
or magnificently graceful, depending on the circumstances. A marvel
of wildlife cinematography, this unique film offers a front-row seat
to these amazing creatures, balancing just enough scientific information
with the entertaining visuals. --Jeff Shannon
Widescreen DVD
Fullscreen DVD
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 Antarctica
(1983) - the original and best
A Japanese Antarctica movie with English
subtitles. Based on the story of a 1957 Japanese Antarctic
expedition and how an abandoned dog team survive alone.
The Japanese name for the movie is NAN
KYOKU MONOGATARI. Ken Takakura (Mr. Baseball), plays the leader of a
dog sleigh team. If you like Dogs this is the movie for you. Forget
Bengi, Balto, Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, Old Yeller. This is based on a True
Story and Legend in Japan.
Recently remade as the Disney movie
"8 Below".
Buy on VHS (limited availability)
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 Last
Place on Earth (1994)Scott and Amundsen
both wanted to be first to the Pole. One of them was. The other became
a hero. Scott vs. Amundsen. It wasn't meant to be a race,
but race it becomes, as the world awaits news of the first to reach
the Pole. What follows is a tale of heroism, foolhardiness, selflessness
and self-delusion, in a land where victory must be secondary to survival.
Beside the outstanding script and acting, the cinematography
is absolutely breathtaking and the almost Herculean efforts to film
this in the harsh environment of Greenland really paid off in making
making one of the most impressive productions ever to be seen on television
or the cinema. Anyone who is interested in history, exploration, or
the psychology of men in extreme conditions will immensely enjoy this
treasure.
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 Shackleton
(2001)
The highly acclaimed film
of Shackleton's 1914 ill fated attempt to cross Antarctica via
the South Pole and the subsequent heroic adventure. Starring
Kenneth Branagh, magnificent as Shackleton with Lorcan Cranitch
and Mark McGann as his loyal lieutenants Frank Wild and Tom
Crean. The ice scenes and atmosphere of the deep south are wonderfully
portrayed.
BAFTA award winner!
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 National
Geographic's Antarctic Wildlife Adventure (1990)
National Geographic
wildlife programmes are to the same excellent standard as the
magazine. The highest quality photography in the best looking
settings. Narrated by Richard Attenborough.
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Buy on VHS |
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 The
Blue Planet
An
epic, eight-part series that took five years to complete,
The Blue Planet firmly re-establishes the BBC as
the world's pre-eminent producer of top quality nature documentaries.
Exploring every aspect of marine ecosystems, from coastal
marshes to deep-sea trenches and from polar waters to tropical
reefs. Only partly about Antarctica, but an amazing collection
of natural history programmes.
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 Shackleton's
Boat Journey - The Story of the James Caird
(1999)
Shackleton's journey in a small
boat to seek help for his stranded crew--is told in this documentary.
With virtually no chance of success, Shackleton and three crewmen
set out across some of the most violent seas on earth in a boat
that was only 23 feet long. What this video lacks in fancy production
it makes up for with dramatic and concise storytelling. The
difficulties of navigating in perilous weather, on a tossing
sea where the sun is seldom visible, is told by excerpts from
Shackleton's own writings.
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Buy on VHS
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 Shackleton's
Antarctic Adventure (2001)
IMAX dramatization
The only documentary that traces the actual steps
of the explorers' blessed journey. While providing a concise summary
of the Shackleton team's 1914-16 expedition, this breathtaking IMAX
feature employs exacting re-creations and flyover footage (from 1999
and 2000) of the same harsh landscapes that Shackleton and his men traversed,
by land and sea, during their ill-fated voyage. As with most IMAX films,
climactic moments are driven by a bombastic score, and the harshest
facts of the Shackleton journey (e.g., sacrificing beloved dogs for
food and euthanasia) are omitted for family viewing. What matters here
are the visuals (both vintage and contemporary), and they're absolutely
magnificent, conveying the sheer horror--and divine beauty--of the greatest
survival story of all time.
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 South
- Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance Expedition
(1919)
Original footage
The actual
footage shot by Frank Hurley on Shackleton's
ill fated Trans-Antarctic expedition. Hurley's camera
work gives a good indication of what the 28 men endured. No
drama could take the place of the actual footage from the expedition
seen in this documentary. It is spellbinding. Lack of the men's
voices (it is the 1910's after all) and lack of narration is
no impediment, the pictures tell the story well enough, and
the piano soundtrack just adds to the feeling of time gone by.
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 90
Degrees South: With Scott to the Antarctic (1933)
In 1910, Captain Robert Scott led a band
of explorers to the South Pole, traversing hundreds of miles
of the most brutal Antarctic topography only to discover that
Swede Roald Amundsen had reached the Pole before them. Cinematographer
Herbert Ponting made the journey with Scott, shooting still
photographs and movie footage along the way. The story was first
released to the public in instalments in 1911 and 1912, then
reedited with Ponting's narration in 1933. A
landmark documentary that is moving and powerful to this day.
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Buy on DVD
Buy on VHS
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 Crystal
Lab
"The New Explorers"
- heads south to - "show how scientists are making this remote land
their own."
They are driven not by conquest but by the thrill
of discovery--and what they are finding out could have important
implications for the future of the planet. The research is not
all done by professionals; a number of students are learning
what it is like to perform research in these inhospitable conditions.
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Buy on VHS
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 With
Byrd at the South Pole: The Story of Little America (1930)
Selected as one of the "Ten Best Films
of the Year" by The New York Times and winner of the Academy
Award for Best Cinematography, "With Byrd at the South Pole"
is a celebration of the American hero at its zenith. Byrd's
establishment of Little America and the spectacular first flight
over the South Pole - part publicity stunt, part scientific
milestone - marked the end of an era.
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Buy on DVD
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 Life
in the Freezer - BBC
The "The Life
in the Freezer" series presented in 1993 by David Attenborough
brings excellent photography, rich details in animals' life
of the region (including various breathtaking hunting images)
and interesting information on the geological and other characteristics
of the Antarctic continent. Get this if you're at all interested
in Antarctica and its wildlife.
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Buy on DVD
Buy on VHS
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 Shackleton
- Escape from Antarctica
(1999)
Not the story of Shackleton and his men as
such, but a mixture of Frank Hurley's original footage shot
on Shackleton's voyage with film of the re-creation of the boat
journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia by a group of
Irish adventurers. Offers a more up to date take on the
story and gives a modern take on the real extent of what the
crew of the James Caird went through all those years
ago.
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Buy on VHS
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 IMAX
- Antarctica: An Adventure Of A Different Nature (1991)
True to the IMAX tradition,
Antarctica is replete with breathtaking aerial and underwater
footage of the earth's highest, coldest, and driest continent.
Antarctica has some of the best production values on
film today. The story begins with a flock of penguins above--and
below--water, and moves to gargantuan underwater ice sheets
and then to a look at Antarctic climatic changes.
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Buy on
DVD
Buy on
VHS
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 Mr. Forbush And The Penguins [1971] UK
(Released as "Cry of the
Penguins" in USA)
A young London biologist spends most
of his time pursuing girls rather than pursuing science. When the
opportunity to go to the Antarctic to study a colony of penguins presents
itself he agrees to go, not so much for the benefit of science but rather
to impress the girl he has recently been chasing. The longer he stays
in the Antarctic, however, the more he becomes truly interested in the
penguins fight for survival. When the time to go home finally arrives,
he is a changed man with a totally new outlook on life. Starring John
Hurt.
Buy on VHS
Buy on DVD
A personal note - When I was about
14, I was off school with some real or imagined illness, this
film was on TV in the afternoon. As a result I decided that I wanted
to go to Antarctica.
Paul Ward - Webmaster
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The
Adventurers: Richard Byrd: Alone in Antarctica
Buy on VHS
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Heart of Antarctica
(1998)
Buy on VHS
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Emperors of Antarctica
(1994)
Buy on VHS |
Cousteau: Lilliput in Antarctica
Buy on VHS
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