Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure Review

The story of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 attempt to become the first man to cross Antarctica is one of the most amazing in exploration history. Early on, his ship, the Endurance, became trapped in pack ice and, for 17 months, he and his 27-man crew were cut off from the rest of the world.

Their plight was captured on film by photographer Frank Hurley and these miraculous images — blown up to giant IMAX size (and only showing at the South Bank in London at the moment) — give this documentary an eerie authenticity.

There’s an educational edge to the presentation that not even Spacey’s narration can shake, but new footage of Antarctic landscapes is awesome indeed. A continent of ice and water stretches as far as the eye can see and, in the IMAX format, fills the audience’s entire vision.