The Endurance - Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition (2000)
Discovery Channel Pictures

Description

In august 1914 Sir Ernest shackleton set sail with 27 men on his ship The Endurance. His plan was to be the first expedition to cross the Antarctic continent. Considered by experts to be the greatest adventure ever.

Tags

Antarctica, The Endurance

Collected reviews and ratings

10 TV Guide | Stephen Miller

George Butler wisely opted to stick to the cold, hard facts of the expedition's tale while layering in warmer material, like interviews with historians and descendants of the crew and narrator Liam Neeson's lilting bedtime-story delivery.
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10 Amazon user reviews

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.
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9.0 Salon.com | Douglas Cruickshank

The film is a pleasure, which the real thing was not. It's also a chilling adventure and a compelling story from beginning to end.
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8.8 Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

Footage from a remarkable silent documentary has been combined with new photography, music and a narration to produce an even more remarkable sound documentary.
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8.8 ReelViews | James Berardinelli

We do not have to sit through scene after scene of Polar Exploration scholars discussing Shackleton's importance to history (there is one of these individuals, but his comments are limited). Instead, Butler's new footage shows us the terrible beauty of Antarctica, the relatives' contributions further humanize the participants, and the stock images crystallize everything.
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8.0 PopMatters.com | Tobias Peterson

Endurance is an unabashed celebration of Shackleton's abilities as a leader of men, presenting him as the last important figure before the darkness of World Wars, nuclear arms races, and weapons of mass destruction.
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7.8 DVD Verdict | Jonathan Nelson

This may be considered "the greatest adventure ever," but it can still be dull and ponderous to watch at moments. If you want thrills and spills, this isn't the documentary for you.
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6.0 filmcritic.com | Julia Levin

On one hand, the film tells a story that is so gripping and full of unexpected turns it makes one rush to track it on a map. On the other hand, however, pockets of silence and an often sluggish rhythm take away from that suspense.
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