Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure is a documentary film that tells the extraordinary true story of polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s now-legendary 1914-1916 British Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. While never accomplishing its goal of the first crossing of the Antarctic continent, this expedition has become a larger-than-life testament to heroism and human endurance, with all 28 men surviving nearly two years in the barren, frigid Antarctic when their ship, Endurance, was caught in pack ice and eventually crushed.
In October-November 1999 and April 2000, the Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure production team undertook two expeditions to the Antarctic, capturing stunning images as they retraced and re-created the journey of Shackleton and the crew of the Endurance.
In addition to re-creating the experiences of Shackleton and his men, Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure features three of the world’s most-accomplished mountaineers—Reinhold Messner, Stephen Venables, and Conrad Anker. These three climbers retraced the historic steps of Shackleton, Frank Worsley and Tom Crean across the mountains and glaciers of South Georgia Island, providing perspective on what the three explorers accomplished during this seemingly impossible traverse, the last leg of their 17-month-long quest for civilization and rescue.
Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure recounts a true story of epic proportions that is ideally captured in the giant-screen format, where viewers will feel as if they have been transported back in time to experience what is considered to be the greatest survival story of all time.
Released in 2001. 40 min. Narrator: Kevin Spacey. Documentary film.
