Shackleton

[Aenima]

Watched Longitude and Shackleton on the weekend. Both directed by Charles Sturridge. Longitude is the story of two men, the 18th century clockmaker John Harrison (played by Michael Gambon) and his 40 year technical and political struggle to solve the problem of measuring longitude at sea. The second, the effort of a shell-shocked British Navy veteran Rupert Gould (played by Jeremy Irons) 200 years later to restore the glorious clocks that Harrison had built . This is wonderful stuff. Both actors (and supporting cast) are at the top of their game in this production. Harrison was a genius of his time and a true working class hero in the face adversity from the scientific establishment of the time. If you haven't seem this get it!! I can't recommend it highly enough.



Same goes for Shackleton. This is a dramatisation of the failed trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914-16 by Shackleton (played by Kenneth Branagh) and his struggle against all the odds to bring back every man of the expedition party alive.

Again this is recommended if you haven't seen it.



Cheers,

A

[Jim]

Originally posted by Aenima@Jul 4 2005, 11:39 AM

Watched Longitude and Shackleton on the weekend. Both directed by Charles Sturridge. Longitude is the story of two men, the 18th century clockmaker John Harrison (played by Michael Gambon) and his 40 year technical and political struggle to solve the problem of measuring longitude at sea. The second, the effort of a shell-shocked British Navy veteran Rupert Gould (played by Jeremy Irons) 200 years later to restore the glorious clocks that Harrison had built . This is wonderful stuff. Both actors (and supporting cast) are at the top of their game in this production. Harrison was a genius of his time and a true working class hero in the face adversity from the scientific establishment of the time. If you haven't seem this get it!! I can't recommend it highly enough.

Same goes for Shackleton. This is a dramatisation of the failed trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914-16 by Shackleton (played by Kenneth Branagh) and his struggle against all the odds to bring back every man of the expedition party alive.

Again this is recommended if you haven't seen it.

Cheers,

A

100 per cent correct Aenima! Both excellent films! A triumph of the human spirit over adversity. Gives you hope in the modern world!

[mrs_emma_peel]

Shackleton ...

Yesterday … Monday 19 October, 2009 – Thursday 22 October 2009 5.00-6.00pm … Freeview/Sky

Yesterday … Monday 19 October, 2009 – Thursday 22 October 2009 9.00-10.00pm … Sky



A very welcome repeat showing of the epic drama Shackleton (2002) broadcast in four-parts on the Yesterday channel and starring Kenneth Branagh as Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February, 1874 – 5 January 1922).





Ernest Shackleton b/w photo ... Kenneth Branagh as Shackleton



The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–17, aka the Endurance Expedition, is generally considered to be the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.



Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing of the entire Antarctic continent via the South Pole. Norwegian Roald Amundsen’s team of 6 had reached the South Pole first on 14th December, 1911 and Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s team on 17th January, 1912 (Scott’s party of 5 died on the return journey in an appalling blizzard just 11 miles short of One Ton Depot safety) …

so the crossing from sea to sea remained, in Shackleton's words …

'one great main object of Antarctic journeyings'.



The expedition failed to accomplish this objective, but became recognised instead as an epic of incredible endurance and survival.



Shackleton was one of the most expensive and ambitious television dramas ever made.

Longitude director Charles Sturridge's television film charts Sir Ernest Shackleton's … initially ill-fated transcontinental expedition to cross Antractica via the South Pole in 1914/1917 … and tells the tale of two … even more extraordinary land jouneys and two virtually impossible sea voyages … an astonishing story of genius of leadership, indomitable survival and unyielding endurance … when a freezing death seemed inevitable and escape … absolutely impossible.



Kenneth Brannagh delivers one the finest performances of his career as the complex Ernest Shackleton. This is a superb drama about an enigmatic hero whose brilliantly inspired and steadfast leadership resulted in, despite unbelievable adversity, one of the greatest feats endurance in the history of exploration …



The films start with Shackleton's ingenious plans and efforts to finance his dream in London, the journey to the Antarctic, the epic expedition and fight for survival; concluding with the final dramatic rescue of his crew. With location filming in London, Buenos Aires and the Arctic, the production of the film is as dramatic and heroic an undertaking as the original expedition.



Shackleton had served in the Antarctic on Captain Scott's Discovery Expedition of 1901–04, (Shackleton reportedly, had an uneasy relationship with Scott) and had led the British Antarctic Expedition, 1907–09. In this new expedition he proposed to sail to the Weddell Sea and to land a shore party in the vicinity of Vahsel Bay, in preparation for a transcontinental march via the South Pole to the Ross Sea.



Shackleton’s ship the Endurance became trapped in the ice of the Weddell Sea before reaching Vahsel Bay, and despite efforts to free her she drifted northward, held in the pack ice, throughout the Antarctic winter of 1915. Eventually the ship was slowly compressed, compacted, crushed and finally sunk, stranding her 28-man complement on the ice with no hope of rescue.







After months spent in makeshift camps as the ice continued its northwards drift, the party took to the lifeboats to reach the inhospitable, uninhabited Elephant Island. Shackleton and five others then made an absolutely astonishing, 800-mile open-boat journey … enduring vicious gales, heavy grey seas and terrible freezing uncompromising cold … in the James Caird boat to reach South Georgia …



I first heard about this extraordinary tale in a piece by BBC broadcaster and reporter Bob Langley … when he wrote and narrated the incredible tale of Ernest Shackleton’s transcontinental expedition to Antarctica in 1914/1917 in an excellent documentary film on Pebble Mill At One on BBC1 in the early 1980’s.



Ernest Henry Shackleton … Kenneth Branagh

Frank Wild … Lorcan Cranitch

Frank Worsley … Kevin McNally

Frank Hurley … Matt Day

Tom Crean … Mark McGann

Rosalind Chetwynd … Embeth Davidtz

Cecily Shackleton … Cecily Delaney

Lord Curzon … Corin Redgrave

Sir James Caird … Robert Hardy

King George V … Rupert Frazer



Directed by Charles Sturridge



Adapted and edited from sources …

DigiGuide/Wikipedia/IMDb/SouthPole.com/AntarcticConnection.com/BBC History/Channel Four/Amazon.co.uk/Play.com

[dpgmel]

AS Mrs P says a more than welcome repeat for this one, top flight drama indeed.

[batman]

I enjoyed this one as well .... yet another fine performance from Mr B.

[Freddy]

Shackleton is available for the foreseeable future on Channel 4oD



Shackleton - 4oD - Channel 4



Two parts of 104 mins.



4oD has a good list of all available programmes, click on see all

[Richard_in_wales]

I watched this two parter again and througherly enjoyed it all, the acting, script, direction and locations were all first rate

Shackleton - 4oD - Channel 4

Any other fans of this production here?

[dpgmel]

Well I am for one Mr Branagh is as you'd expect is excellent and the fact that this amazing story is true makes it all the more remarkable.

Great telly.

[CaptainWaggett]

Well I am for one Mr Branagh is as you'd expect is excellent and the fact that this amazing story is true makes it all the more remarkable.

Great telly.

But Mrs Chippy

[Richard_in_wales]

I'm a great fan of Arctic/Antarctic exploration, this production and attention to detail was remarkable.

[dpgmel]

I'm a great fan of Arctic/Antarctic exploration, this production and attention to detail was remarkable.

Me too, if you haven't seen this Richard I'd also recommend this ( although I still prefer the 1948 Scott of the Antarctic film ) :



Last Place on Earth (The): The Complete Series: Network DVD

[Edward G]

Thanks for the link, Freddy

Shackleton is available for the foreseeable future on Channel 4oD



Shackleton - 4oD - Channel 4



Two parts of 104 mins.



4oD has a good list of all available programmes, click on see all

[judylou]

I must agree, I have seen both these programs (some time ago) and they are up there with the best. I have visited the Greenwich Observatory and seen Harrison's clocks. I have also seen an exhibition of Frank Hurley's amazing photographs of Shackelton's expedition of ultimate survival. These have to be 2 of the most brilliant and educational television productions that I can think of. They should be in every school history curriculum.

[Nick Dando]

I haven't, yet, bought the DVD, (but I do have the two-disc special edition of the soundtrack by Simon Fisher-Turner), but sometime soon I will get The Great White Silence. Has anyone else seen this?

Nick

[didi-5]

I haven't seen the Great White Silence yet, but agree that Longitude and Shackleton are both superb and well worth tracking down. Sturridge also directed Brideshead Revisited, I think?

[CaptainWaggett]

I haven't seen the Great White Silence yet, but agree that Longitude and Shackleton are both superb and well worth tracking down. Sturridge also directed Brideshead Revisited, I think?

He also had a brief career as an actor - he can be seen as in the title role of Edward VII in the early episodes.

[didi-5]

He also had a brief career as an actor - he can be seen as in the title role of Edward VII in the early episodes.

That's right - he wasn't bad in that although he didn't look as if he would grow up to be Timothy West!

[Captain Oates]

Me too, if you haven't seen this Richard I'd also recommend this ( although I still prefer the 1948 Scott of the Antarctic film ) :



Last Place on Earth (The): The Complete Series: Network DVD

We should not forget the BBC2 series of Shackleton that was shown in 1982 and I have been searching for this ever since:

Shackleton (TV 1982) - IMDb

It was praised for its realistic locations...

[cumberbatches_woman]

what more can i say, i totaly agree with mrs emma peel and dpgmel !!!

[Richard_in_wales]

Me too, if you haven't seen this Richard I'd also recommend this ( although I still prefer the 1948 Scott of the Antarctic film ) :



Last Place on Earth (The): The Complete Series: Network DVD

I enjoyed it very much BUT... it turns out the writer of the series based much of the script on work written by Roland Huntford who seems to live in a bit of a Walter Mitty world, very biased against Scott, dare say I'd watch it again though.

Roland Huntford - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The books by Susan Solomon and Ranulph Fiennes are both well worth reading.