SnoopyStyle Sir Ernest Shackleton (Kenneth Branagh) is a celebrated explorer. He's planning for an expedition to journey across Antarctica. He recruits a crew, new equipment, and gathers funds for the trip. He has an affair with Rosalind Chetwynd. In 1914, war breaks out but he is still given the go-ahead for his expedition. His ship Endurance becomes trapped in the ice and crushed. He leads his crew to Elephant Island and eventually makes a desperate dash to the whaling stations on South Georgia Island.One would expect an intense man-against-nature thriller. This is a two part mini-series and the man-against-nature comes in the second part. The first part deals with his London life and his struggles to set up the expedition. It's very informative and more compelling than expected. The nature epic is compelling but something is missing. I couldn't figure it out until I realized their breathe aren't showing. It's obviously not cold enough during the shoot. It may be historically accurate with the summer temperatures but it doesn't elevate the danger level. In general, this is informative but it lacks the intensity.

fcaprilli-1 Having recently devoured 3 books on Shackleton, I was eager to see this. I won't repeat the comments made above, but I would like to second the comment about not enough time being spent on the actual adventure. This movie doesn't really give you nearly a sense of the actual suffering, dehydration, starvation, and just plain thrills and chills of what these men went through. (For this I highly recommend the book by Alfred Lansing - spare prose, yet an irresistible page turner that blew me away.) For example, most of the scenes at sea seem to be in absolutely calm waters, and many scenes on the ice are similarly serene, yet the book (whose author had access to all of the original diaries) tells of many days and nights of gale-force winds. I suspect the budget didn't allow for many special effects.The book describes how the men's faces were blackened with soot from the seal blubber constantly being burned, yet you don't really see this in the movie. Also, the 3-man slide down the glacier looks like a joyride here; in the book it was a hair-raising act of desperation.I would not recommend this as a starting point for discovering Shackleton - for this I obviously suggest the book. But as an adjunct which gives you a visual sense of the ship and the encampments, it's not bad.

davideo-2 STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All CostsThis lengthy two-parter drama details the exploits of Ernest Shackleton,an explorer in the early part of the 20th century who,having vowed to reach the South Pole,finds himself forced to save the lives of himself and his 28 man crew after the ship runs into difficulty.The most impressive thing about this film has to be the build-up.Rather than just plunge headfirst into the expedition and the trials-and-tribulations the crew faced from there,you really get into the hearts and minds of the central characters,and the development is particularly riveting to watch.All this is hindered in no way by an as-ever forceful,powerful lead performance by the always reliable Kenneth Brannagh.If there are any faults,I suppose it kind of inevitably gets a little boring in parts.Other than that,this is very well made and highly recommendable viewing.****

mafew If you do not know the story of Shackleton this is an excellent introduction. If you know the story of Shackleton you will be impressed by the historical accuracy of this movie. My only problem is that the real life events were 20 times as dramatic as protrayed in this movie. Too many parts were rushed - as a mini-series on tv, they should have added an additional two hours to properly cover this adventure.Let me list a few items: 1) When did the third boat show up at Elephant Island? Didn't they just skip over this part? 2) The deprivation of the men on the journey to South Georgia (starvation, water gone bad, etc.) and just how they were able to finally land 3) the trip over the island seemed glossed over - in the movie it appearead as a short walk. And many other items that are missing or just too brief.But having said that, I did love this movie. It showed Shackleton as the man he was - a get rich schemer who only shined when things got tough.So watch this movie, and may it inspire you to read the true story of the Endurance in South.