Shackleton (2002)

To me, this movie is perfection.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I saw "Shackleton" on A&E around 2002-03 and taped it because I thought it was so good, watched it again on Thanksgiving 2005, then it disappeared somewhere. I tried finding the DVD online, never could find one until FINALLY, about 2 weeks ago, I saw that Amazon had it for like $10. I immediately ordered the DVD and am waiting for a rainy, lazy weekend to watch it. It may be a while before I can view this fantastic adventure story again but at least I have the DVD in my possession--finally.I love Kenneth Branaugh, the man can't give a bad performance, and his portrayal of explorer Ernest Shackleton is among his best. The movie goes into great detail about how Shackleton managed to talk the British government into funding an expedition to Antarctica. He had already been down there before, but now he wanted to cross the continent pole to pole. He managed to get the money despite the fact that Britain needed it for the Great War, which had just started that year (1914). So Shackleton, on a ship named Endurance and a crew of men and dogs, set out for the South Pole. What starts out as a grand adventure turns into a struggle for survival in the middle of the frozen nowhere w/hardly any communication to the outside world. You just shake your head and wonder "Why did these guys even decide to do this and how are they going to get out it?" You have to watch this great movie to find out!

Shackleton was truly one of the greatest explorers Britain produced. The extraordinary true story of the 1914 expedition is a tale that deserves to be told. And told it is in suitable fashion: with a strong emphasis on authenticity, not just period mannerisms and costuming, but weather and settings. This makes for very good viewing indeed.This is stirring stuff - Branagh's portrayal is a superb study in the British colonial style of leadership and worth watching on that basis alone. He is human, a gentleman, but tough as nails. The rest of the crew are excellent and one really takes this extraordinary tale of survival with them.The disastrous expedition is covered from inception and funding through to the mind- boggling hardships experienced by the crew and their extraordinary tale of survival.I defy anyone to watch this and not be motivated, moved, and inspired. Beautifully made and realised this is simply notch above normal viewing. Highly recommended.

Branagh is very believable as Shackleton. He has the grace, the poise, the leadership and the sheer presence to carry off such a role. He is one of not many actors who would be believable in the role.This tale of one of the great heroic rescues of all time has it all, and is excellently shot -- although a cynic might say that it would be hard to find a cinematographer who could not do wonders with the Antarctic landscapes!Definitely worth seeing, and one of the better historical tales to have been told in recent times.

This is an true story and Epic Tale. I've been waiting for years for someone to step up and make a good movie about this. Surprisingly this movie was both extremely well done and made for TV. If this story had not been a matter of fact, it would seem unrealistic that anyone could have survived such hardships.Branagh actually looks a bit like Shackleton (at least in the limited footage I saw). I cannot speak for entire historical accuracy, but we see a man of amazing courage and compassion for his crew (an earlier attempt at the Pole was aborted to avoid killing his men). As a researcher, I also found the grant getting exercises and search for support interesting.I also enjoyed very much the portrayal of the crew, the supporting cast performed quite well. The special effects were also good. Many details from Shackleton's book were omitted (because he described things like hunger for starchy food). However, the show was in a two parts, and most of the heroic stuff happens in the second part.So, I gave this a 9 out of 10 (well told classic story) with only minor deductions for some slowness in the first part.