Antarctica: A Year on Ice

Play trailer

Antarctica: A Year on Ice

PG

Released Nov 28, 2014

1h 31m

Documentary

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Explorers spend a year in the southern-most continent.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Matthew Lickona

San Diego Reader

Way too much screen time is given over to folks describing what it's like to live in such a place, as opposed to, you know, actually living there.

Rated: 1/5

Dec 12, 2014

Full Review

Peter Keough

Boston Globe

"Antarctica" ultimately does evoke a sense of the place - its magnificent emptiness and inhuman, unspoiled purity.

Rated: 2.5/4

Dec 4, 2014

Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan

Washington Post

It is the simple glimpses of ordinary life in an extraordinary place that are the most stirring moments in the film.

Rated: 3/4

Dec 4, 2014

Full Review

Neely Swanson

Easy Reader (California)

... come for the beauty and adventure of seeing nature's last holy land but stay for the interesting and unusual story of individuals who brave isolation and privation to experience something that so few have ever felt.

Sep 15, 2017

Full Review

Kathy Fennessy

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

As a film about human beings in extreme isolation, [Anthony Powell] tapped a particularly rich vein.

Aug 21, 2017

Full Review

Indra Arriaga

Anchorage Press

Powell is not a film school chum but his work in Antarctica: A Year on Ice shows a great deal of commitment, understanding of the subject matter, and technical skills.

Jun 20, 2017

Full Review

Read all reviews

Thomas B

Just a fantastically honest and revealing look into the real life of those living and working on the worlds loneliest continent.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/10/20

Full Review

Audience Member

The cinematography was good, and the time-lapse was beautifully done. However, I quit watching this "promotional video for Antarctica" when he said, "It's heartbreaking to see the wildlife in distress, but we're not allowed to help. We just have to let nature takes its course." oh, the humanity! If we as humans will not step up to be stewards of our fellow creatures - who will!? Nature itself - that we're invading and destroying!? I will not consciously recommend watching this "promotional video for Antarctica." It had the connotation of - 'Come on down! Let's continue to invade and take over!'

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Beautiful scenery. Compelling.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Beautiful and interesting scenery.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I just could not get into this documentary about life in Antarctica. The scenery is beautiful, but the narrative was a bit too dull for my liking. Lots of people liked this one, I guess it just wasn't for me.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Yes, it's visually stunning, and paints a magnificent portrait of the environment in Antarctica. But it goes beyond that, giving a glimpse into the harshness of life and the loneliness of working on the frozen continent. As Anthony Powell, the creator of the film notes, the only way to truly understand is to spend a year on the ice, but this film does evoke deeply the experience of isolation, cold, storms, and such a small population to interact with, combined with the tedium of day-to-day work that most of us experience in our daily lives. It also gives a sense of the beauty and unspoiled grandeur of Antarctica, with its clean air, shockingly loud silence, and extraordinary displays of natures wrath and beauty.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Anthony Powell

Director

Genevieve Bachman

Self

William Brotman

Self

Michael Christiansen

Self

Tom Hamann

Self

George Lampman

Self

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

The Short Game

84%

84%

The Short Game

Watchlist

Fed Up

80%

84%

Fed Up

Watchlist

Dark Horse

96%

76%

Dark Horse

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Dark Horse

Return to Hardwick

%

92%

Return to Hardwick

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Return to Hardwick

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Dave Chappelle Specials, Orphan Black, Train to Busan, and More on Netflix and Amazon Prime This Week

Critics Consensus: Penguins of Madagascar Is Silly Fun

View more photos

Synopsis

Explorers spend a year in the southern-most continent.

Director: Anthony Powell
Producer: Anthony Powell
Screenwriter: Anthony Powell, Simon Price
Distributor: Music Box Films
Rating: PG (Language|Mild Thematic Elements)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 28, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 21, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $242.2K
Runtime: 1h 31m

Most Popular at Home Now