Shackleton's Captain

This excellent made for TV drama-documentary retell's the story of Shackleton's legendary 1915/16 expedition to the Antarctic but from the viewpoint of the captain of Endurance, Frank Worsley. It is, perhaps justifiably, a bit negative about Shackleton, but in any case you can't fail to be awed once more by the guys involved and the feats achieved. It's all rather well done, mixing Frank Hurleys images contemporary interviews and dramatic reconstructions well.

I felt underwhelmed by this film even before I learned more about Frank Worsley. As another reviewer mentioned, the acting is weak. The actor playing Worsley looks nothing like him- the real Worsley was 5'7" and had brown eyes, not blue. The negativity in this film about Shackleton is odd. Shackleton was not a born navigator, but Worsley was not a born leader. Take either man out of the equation and there would have certainly been loss of life. It feels disingenuous to play up Shackleton's "failures" in a film about a man who loved and respected him, and was loved and respected by him.

The best film about the Endurance expedition is the 1933 "Endurance", featuring Frank Hurley's spectacular cinematography, and presented and narrated by Worsley himself. You can view the film for free on Tubi.

Frankly (pun intended), Worsley's connection with Shackleton is far from the only interesting thing about him. If you are interested in Worsley, read his books "First Voyage in a Square-Rigged Ship", "Endurance", and "Under Sail in the Frozen North". This way you can piece together his life, in his own words, from ages 0-53. He was a wonderful writer! His books are funny and heartfelt. To adequately cover Worsley's rich life and many adventures would require a miniseries. This docudrama just doesn't cut it.

I was in Germany and caught this on television. Even though my German is pretty average I really enjoyed it. I hope it ends up on television in Canada so I can watch it again in English. It was everything a great adventure story should be; exciting, frightening, moving and inspirational. The balance of documentary alongside drama was perfect. I'd known a little bit about Shackleton himself but nothing about his Captain. Typical that we never hear about the people who were behind the front-man. This story really made you think about what a hero is and what it takes to keep going when all seems lost. If it wasn't a true story there is no way I would have believed it. I enjoyed the way the programme was put together as well, with the Captain telling the story himself. I thought this was an interesting way to make a documentary seem more personal. All and all it was a ripper of a yarn and anyone who is interested in sailing will really love it.

...you would never believe it. You would roll your eyes and complain about how ridiculous a story it was. Truly an unbelievable survival story. I've read about this Shackleton expedition before but this gives another angle on the story. Well worth watching.

I know this story intimately, and I was a member of the National Geographic 2016 Shackleton Centennial South Georgia Expedition. This is an easy-to-watch retelling from the viewpoint of Frank Worsley, Captain of the Endurance. Lots of original film and photos. After you watch this, then read Shackleton's expedition book 'South'. How these guys survived is beyond my imagination!