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Ernest Shackleton has become quite popular recently. Not only resulting in this excellent in all ways documentary by George Butler, but also "Shackleton" starring Kenneth Branagh, an IMAX movie, Caroline Alexander's book, and much more. Despite the popularity, Shackleton is a tricky subject. He's destined to be remembered by history, as is the rest of the crew of this expedition. He and his crew are, as noted, the subject of untold books and films. And, he has his spot in rather noteworthy museums. He is remembered, chiefly, for managing to get every member of his crew home alive after this expedition. He was, so all accounts will lead us to believe, an excellent leader of men, keeping morale up and men going in the worst circumstances imaginable. On the other hand, it is quite difficult to look at what accounts there are, and avoid also coming away with the idea that, apart from anything having to do specifically with leading men, he was quite likely the biggest idiot the world has ever known. He certainly did much to ensure the safe return of his crew, and it is pretty likely that they would not have made it home without him, but it seems equally true that if not for his incompetence in other respects they should not have needed saving at all, or at least their safe return would not have been nearly such a large feat. **

Having already failed in two attempts to reach the South Pole (and there's a few dodgy bits to those adventures), and thus having lost the Pole to Norway, Shackleton now determines to cross the continent, being simply something left available that no one has done. Assembling a crew, complete with several teams of dogs to pull them all across Antarctica, Shackleton sets out for adventure. About two weeks after leaving their last true port and setting off, the Endurance becomes trapped in the ice it hoped to negotiate in order to reach land. Thus begins a two-year quest to reach safety. One bumbling idea after another (perhaps beginning before the ship left home when the thought "Let's not bring any explosives" seemed a good move) eventually, somehow, ends up in a 'happy' ending to the story. Shackleton, once the ship has been crushed by ice and gone down, decides the party will try to cross the ice to the continent. This proves futile after only a few days, and we've left behind a good portion of supplies. After sitting about for quite some time, Shackleton comes up with a cunning plan..., and decides to try again. This also proves futile after a few days, and we've left more supplies. The second march even resulted in near mutiny. "The Endurance" is a documentary of a near disaster 'averted', and it is one in which our narrator can hardly go five minutes without saying (or at least implying furiously) "and then disaster struck". You don't get to the halfway point of the film, however, before you're never sure that this statement won't be followed by, "Shackleton had an idea." ***

Be that as it may, 'The Endurance' is a documentary of the highest order. Butler does little actually, except provide new footage of the areas in question, and interview the descendants of members of the crew. He pieces together photos and 35mm motion footage taken by the expeditions photographer Frank Hurley. Hurley's work will and should go down in history as probably the best documentary work ever. His pictures are stunning. Butler pieces Hurley's work together with his own, a long with diary entries, and ends up with an amazing testament to the two years of these men's lives. As Butler cuts in and out between new footage and old, the viewer eventually gets lost, and you end up with the closest thing to 'being there' that the world of documentary has managed in quite some time. ***

The documentary is particularly remarkable in its objectivity, never pushing Shackleton's status, detailing his obvious failures, and reporting the diary entries that do not put Shackleton in a rosy light. During that second march, the man who nearly revolted was McNish, the ship's carpenter. Keeping in mind that the march was not only a hopelessly stupid thing to do, but was indeed proved so a day or two later, a bit of 'revolt' doesn't seem such a terrible thing. Many months later, when the expedition made its way to Elephant Island using the lifeboats, and a last ditch effort needed to be made to return to civilization, the carpenter's skills were sorely needed. He scavenged the three lifeboats to make one boat that had the best possible chance of surviving further ocean voyage. Six men would take that boat to civilization, and return for the rest. There was no other hope of rescue. Tom McNeish (grandson of McNish) will tell you that the man responsible for the survival of those men was McNish and his, almost literally, fashioning of a seaworthy vessel practically from whole cloth. Throw in a bit for Captain Worsley's almost unimaginable piece of navigation, and he'd be absolutely right. But after Shackleton reached South Georgia Island, having to cross from one side of the island to the other (a feat no one had previously attempted), and the fourth rescue operation finally saved the men left for six months on Elephant Island, Shackleton left McNish's name off the list (along with only two others) of those he recommended receive the Polar Medal. The 'revolt' had cost him, whether he was right or not, and whether or not he had saved everyone. ***

It's an adventure that is hard to imagine. Whatever one might say about spending a winter on the Antarctic continent (and not even actually on it), rowing lifeboats for seven straight days and having to chip your hands off the oar at the end of your shift, living for six months on something which may be called an island, but is actually a mere snow-covered rock, or walking 36 straight hours over mountains in deep snow, no one would ever understand any of it. Here is a documentary though, that puts you in the situation as much as any documentary can, and it is a documentary that will grab hold of you more than virtually any fiction. ***

It's an amazing combination of original footage from the expedition and new footage shot of the places these men were. Along with footage of interviews from the survivor's descendants, and footage of interviews with the men themselves (mostly audio recording). It is a combination that delivers the other combination. The combination of breathtaking beauty that made up something that could not be lived in. The determination and human spirit that allowed a group of men to do what was simply impossible to do. Whatever the thoughts, or results, the implications, or moral verdicts, it is all sideline to the larger goal of this documentary. This is a film that takes on a task nearly as impossible as the survival of those men, giving an accurate portrayal of what it was like to be among them, and it succeeds.

It's not surprising that 'The Endurance' looks great. After all, it's not even 'documentary' footage in a sense, it's just footage of icebergs, ice flows, and the ocean. That it's beautiful, delivers mood, and involves the audience is an achievement, but that it is solid technically is not particularly noteworthy. The old footage from the original expedition is another thing altogether, and it looks surprisingly good. The combination is put together well, occasionally playing with the old footage, but there is little that can be said overly positive or negative from a technical view. It looks great overall, with only the slightest of flaws that can be attributed to the DVD transfer. ***

The sound is amazing, so long as you qualify that as being amazing for a documentary. There is actual use made of surround, though how interesting that ultimately is must be left to the viewer. The score is wonderful, and the film can be viewed with only the score. A strange feature perhaps, and can't really imagine viewing the entire presentation in this mode, but it is definitely worth a look. Certain scenes in particular are wonderfully engaging in this mode. ***

Technically, the sound is virtually flawless. Range is well represented with no loss to highs or lows, and everything is clear as can be. Again, for those who find it a worthwhile feature, there is an impressive range of surround.

The DVD has some wonderful special features that compliment the film to great effect. First, "The Tale of the Endurance" has author Caroline Alexander providing voice over to scenes from the film as well as other footage. She gives a brief overview of her perspective on the expedition and what she learned while researching the book. This approximately 15 minute pseudo-documentary of her experience writing the book is a nice addition to the book as we get a somewhat different perspective on things. ***

"In the Wake of Shackleton" is an approximately 18 minute documentary of the making of the film, with Butler narrating some Behind-the-Scenes footage. He details the preparations involved in the filming, and opens the door to the process of gathering the footage and data used to produce the film. It's rather interesting as far as it goes, but there is a certain sense that with the film, the subjects of the film, and the attempt here at being more documentary again rather than simple 'Making of', we've somehow got Butler on Butler on Butler. ***

"Iconic Images" is 12 minutes on Frank Hurley, including interviews with his two daughters. If McNish and Worsley are the ones who deserve most of the credit for the actual 'saving', Hurley absolutely deserves all the credit for the historic value of the expedition. His pictures and film footage are extraordinary, and this feature lets us in on the man behind them. It's a very interesting piece, and a great addition to the DVD. ***

"Past and Present" is a rare treat for a DVD. This feature captures a gathering of the descendants of the survivors for the opening of the Endurance Exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History. You can imagine this being along the lines of the scene at the end of "A League of Their Own" when the real players are shown in Cooperstown. This is a wonderful way to cap off the experience this DVD has to offer. Seeing the real descendants as they encounter the exhibition for the first time. Again, McNish's grandson steals the show, though his 'English' is translated in subtitles. ***

Also, as noted, the movie can be played with only the score running. Again, perhaps a strange feature, but many of the scenes can be quite moving when viewed in this mode. It's an impressive score. ***

There are also three trailers included. One for the film itself, as well as "Anne Frank Remembered", and "Vertical Limit"

'The Endurance' is possibly the best, certainly the most gripping and entertaining, documentary piece ever. The story does much of this work on its own frankly, but Butler has done excellent work in every respect. An enjoyable, enthralling trip through the most disheartening of historical events. Though the DVD does not exactly provide a monumental amount of bonus to the film itself, what it does have is for the most part worthwhile additions.

Marc Eastman

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