| gvmelbrty |
04-12-02 02:40 AM |
IMO, a renter
I very much wanted “Shackleton” to be a keeper, but unfortunately, in my opinion, it’s a renter. Even at three hours, it’s a rushed telling and is really just a general overview of the complete story. Kenneth Branagh did a great job as did the rest of the cast, and if an overview is ok with you, then certainly it’s worth having around.
But, if you’ve read “Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage,” by Alfred Lansing, or “The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition,” by Caroline Alexander and Frank Hurley (Photographer), then you just can’t help but be disappointed w/ this movie.
Each of the 28 men kept detailed dairies and in their words are the incredible details that make this story simply amazing. I highly recommend that you read one or both of these books. I stumbled across Alexander’s book sitting on a friend’s coffee table. I picked it up and couldn’t put it down again until I was done - stopping occasionally to read various passages to whomever would listen - just so I could share my amazement. Lansing's is equally good.
This movie just leaves out too much. A story of this magnitude needs its details intact to retain its jaw-dropping power ... I'm thinking a Masterpiece Theatre treatment would give it room to breath, maybe five two-hour episodes. Luckily we have the books and Hurley’s spectacular photos.
I’m hoping to see NOVA’s special on the subject that aired in March, “Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance,” and also the movie narrated by Liam Neesen now in limited release, “The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition.”
-tom
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