Watching During Lockdown-"Shackleton's Captain”

With about 17 of Australia’s 26 million people confined to their homes, SWS suggests a few activities.

The full version of this 2012 documentary/recreation is freely available on Youtube

The story of Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated 1914 bid to cross Antarctic is one of the most extreme survival epics of the 20th century. All the more so because Shackleton took Frank Hurley, a superlative photographer and film-maker who captured most of the misadventure on film. That appeared in 1919 – and is simply called “South”.

There have been many documentaries about the expedition which became a peerless small boat saga after Shackleton’s ship the ENDURANCE broke up in the ice. The 28 crew took three lifeboats lived on pack ice until they could reach Elephant Island after which one boat was recaulked and decked to sail with six men 800nm to South Georgia for help.

Shackleton’s Captain uses Hurley’s original footage and embellishes it with a cast of modern actors, experts and graphics to explain how important Frank Worsley, the Endurance’s captain was to the expedition, both as a navigator and experienced sailor, especially of small boats. Worsley’s diaries bring in-depth detail to the day to day business of survival after the ship was stuck in the ice and the extraordinary voyage to South Georgia in the 22ft 6in JAMES CAIRD, a triumph of seamanship. I’m a little bit sceptical as to whether the technique of combining interviews, original footage and not very convincing recreations of the action really works, but the majesty of the story itself is enough to make this film worthy of your attention.