The Great White Silence
- 1922
- 1h 20m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
In 1910 the British Antarctic Expedition, led by Capt. Robert F. Scott, embarks from Lyttleton, NZ on a quest to become the first to reach the South Pole.In 1910 the British Antarctic Expedition, led by Capt. Robert F. Scott, embarks from Lyttleton, NZ on a quest to become the first to reach the South Pole.In 1910 the British Antarctic Expedition, led by Capt. Robert F. Scott, embarks from Lyttleton, NZ on a quest to become the first to reach the South Pole.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIncluded among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.
- Quotes
Robert Falcon Scott: It is a terrible disappointment and I am very sorry for my loyal companions... Great God! this is an awful place.
- Crazy creditsJust before the end credits, a verse from Punch is reproduced: "So on their record, writ for all to know / The task achieved, the homeward way half-won / Though cold they lie beneath their pall of snow, / Shines the eternal sun."
- ConnectionsEdited into 90° South
- SoundtracksAbide With Me
Words by Henry F. Lyte (as Henry Francis Lyte)
Music by William H. Monk (as William Henry Monk)
Featured review
The Great White Silence is a very interesting silent documentary about an expedition to the Antarctic back in the early 1910s, and the age of the footage and the documentary itself makes it all weirdly eerie and a bit sad. Maybe part of the sadness came from listening to Sigur Ros while watching this - I was trying to think of wintery music without lyrics, or with minimal vocals, and that band came to mind first. Their 2002 album simply known as "( )" paired well with the visuals on offer.
It's a pretty straightforward historical document, with many title cards being used throughout for context, and little by way of story. It almost didn't need any narrative - much of the documentary is just spent on wildlife and simply how human beings are to live in freezing cold conditions, and so eventually, I forgot about the whole expedition thing, until the film seemed to remember that was the point all of a sudden and then got back to covering it.
Some might find it all a bit boring, but I think for its time, this was pretty amazing, and for capturing so much footage on Antarctica from this long ago, I'd say The Great White Silence certainly has merit. It's a shame it falls into the Dambusters and H. P. Lovecraft camp of giving a pet a very racist name (that whole segment was more than a bit awkward), and I feel like they're also kind of mean to the animals (scaring a mother away from her newly-hatched chicks every hour to document their process of growing, and a "game" played with young penguins really just involves chasing/frightening them all over the place), but that's the 1910s for you, I guess. Speaking of the 1910s, it's crazy to think all this footage was shot before the Titanic disaster, and the director filmed plenty of icebergs.
Anyway, documentary fans should check this out. I feel like it's a classic/definitive title within the canon of documentary cinema.
It's a pretty straightforward historical document, with many title cards being used throughout for context, and little by way of story. It almost didn't need any narrative - much of the documentary is just spent on wildlife and simply how human beings are to live in freezing cold conditions, and so eventually, I forgot about the whole expedition thing, until the film seemed to remember that was the point all of a sudden and then got back to covering it.
Some might find it all a bit boring, but I think for its time, this was pretty amazing, and for capturing so much footage on Antarctica from this long ago, I'd say The Great White Silence certainly has merit. It's a shame it falls into the Dambusters and H. P. Lovecraft camp of giving a pet a very racist name (that whole segment was more than a bit awkward), and I feel like they're also kind of mean to the animals (scaring a mother away from her newly-hatched chicks every hour to document their process of growing, and a "game" played with young penguins really just involves chasing/frightening them all over the place), but that's the 1910s for you, I guess. Speaking of the 1910s, it's crazy to think all this footage was shot before the Titanic disaster, and the director filmed plenty of icebergs.
Anyway, documentary fans should check this out. I feel like it's a classic/definitive title within the canon of documentary cinema.
- Jeremy_Urquhart
- Aug 26, 2023
- Permalink
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- El gran silencio blanco
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $85,780
- Runtime1 hour 20 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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By what name was The Great White Silence (1922) officially released in India in English?
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