Shackleton's Captain

An outstanding docudrama which tells the true story of the Shackleton adventure from the perspective of Captain Worsley, the captain of Shackleton's ship "Endurance". The film gives us an accurate, rather than a popular sensationalist account, of the adventure in which Shackleton is revealed to be not as big a hero as he has been made out to be. Here we learn through a gripping portrayal of how the survival of the stranded adventurers depended on the skill and judgement of Captain Worsley, rather than Shackleton; and that Shackleton himself showed poor judgement in undertaking the expedition in the first place, given the pack-ice conditions. The filming combines contemporary footage and dramatised reconstructions with interviews of writers, mountaineers and other experts in the field. The narration is achieved through a dramatised portrayal of Captain Worsley giving a lecture to a small audience at a club in the 1920s, in the calm manner of an English gentleman. The information presented is accurate and great attention is given to the visual details using CGI in a subtle but highly effective way. The casting is spot on and the acting is excellent.

...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!

This film is very well done! We watched this in NZ while visiting there, and thought it was brilliant.

History not many of us hear about!! Being a true story added even more to the feeling of the plot line and the tension as Shakelton was attempting to save the crew. The acting was extremely good, and the sets very realistic. I especially liked the attention to detail of the period costumes during the lecture.

As a Canadian, who has experienced it, the cold was portrayed brilliantly.

Frank Worsely himself is an unknown hero to most of us for his saving of the crew, and the crew's ability to maintain relative calm while stranded for 2 months while awaiting word as to what Worsely and Shakelton had or had not accomplished in their attempt to save them is a major storyline unto itself.

Everyone we were with, as Canadians, felt the same way as we did. We hope the feature films in Canada for two reasons. 1. To allow people to learn about this adventure. 2. Be proud of a Canadian born filmmaker who is doing so well in NZ.

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.