In the year 1910, British explorer Robert F. Scott (John Mills) set off on an expedition - his bid to become first to reach the South Pole. Incidentally, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen had the exact same thoughts. While Amundsen is mentioned often in the film, he is never shown, as this film focuses entirely on
Scott's arduous trek. Watching this, you wonder why anyone would attempt such a dangerous, seemingly foolhardy undertaking. I suppose - it's a testament to the adventurous spirit of man - the desire to be the first to plant your footsteps on unexplored territory - as explained by Scott's wife, Kathleen (Diana Churchill) early in the film, as she ruminates on her husband's upcoming plans.
The story is told in a relatively straight-forward manner. It's almost documentary in style in that regard - free of extraneous drama. The attention to detail is marvelous here...from the clothing on down to the equipment used by the expedition. The atmosphere becomes grittier and grittier as the toll of dwindling supplies and the hardships of the quest wear on the men. The downside to the script being that there does seem to be a few dull spots here and there as the film recreates a trek involving men trudging through hundreds & hundreds of miles lasting months and months. There's just no getting around that fact!
On the plus side is the cinematography. Three names are credited here in that department: Jack Cardiff, Osmond Borradaile, and Geoffrey Unsworth. I'm not too familiar with Borradaile...but Cardiff is especially known for his work on the films directed by Michael Powell. Cardiff's use of Technicolor here - especially his color pallette of muted earth tones reminds me much of his work in BLACK NARCISSUS. Unsworth would go on to shoot Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. Even the sets, shot at Ealing Studios have a painterly background - giving a lyrical quality to turn-of-the-century England. The outdoor scenes were shot mostly in Norway and Switzerland - standing in for Antarctica.
Seeing men as tiny specks on the frozen expanse - very humbling indeed.
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December 3, 2009
