Kon-Tiki

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Kon-Tiki

1951

1h 13m

Documentary

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4 Reviews

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500+ Ratings

This Academy Award-winning documentary follows Norwegian explorer, filmmaker and writer Thor Heyerdahl on his highly publicized 1947 sea expedition. Heyerdahl, along with five other crewmen, set sail in a wooden raft designed to duplicate what the ancient Incas might have used to sail from Peru to Polynesia. The goal of Heyerdahl's bold journey is to validate his own disputed theory -- that South American natives could have settled Polynesia's many islands.

Chuck Bowen

Slant Magazine

It lacks the fire and eccentricity that we want from our stories of adventurers driven by obsessions that could be seen as egotistical or just plain bonkers.

Rated: 2/4

Apr 21, 2013

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Frank Swietek

One Guy's Opinion

A sort of grown-up version of a boys' adventure tale...most travelers will be happy to disembark when the credits roll.

Rated: C

May 2, 2013

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Andrew L. Urban

Urban Cinefile

Technically superb and made chronologically to capture the verity of men growing beards and scars and deep tans when spending over 100 days at sea

Apr 6, 2013

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Louise Keller

Urban Cinefile

Much of the exposition is fascinating, although the execution is surprisingly rigid with the plot's natural crescendos failing to peak and our emotions never stretched

Apr 6, 2013

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Leaburn O

Putting Bear Grylls to shame with their manly survival skills, these Norwegians achieved a remarkable feat but their documentary proved pretty average. Highlights were the interactions with sharks during the journey across the ocean. Winner of best documentary at the Oscars in 1950. Watched on YouTube.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/25/25

Full Review

spencer p

For its length, this voyage doc is informative, fascinating, slyly humorous, and an early example of actions taken against scientific reason, all in the same film.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

Thor Heyerdahl deve ter sido um sujeito extraordinário. Que aventura absurda.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

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deke p

I saw it in class, on a movie projector, in elementary school in the sixties. The subject was fascinating. We took it to be a documentary. Not, as some of these reviewers below seem to have mistaken it, as an adventure tale, lacking 'drama', a 'plot', 'lacking fire we want from stories'. Absurd.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

Great to see the real footage from their journey.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Audience Member

Oscar's BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURE nominee of 2012 from Norway, KON-TIKI is an ambitious endeavour from directors-duo Rønning and Sandberg (currently are recruited by Hollywood to shoot the fifth instalment of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN franchise), to recount the story of Norwegian national legend Thor Heyerdal's monumental near 5,000-mile expedition on a balsawood raft (named Kon-Tiki) sailing from Peru to Polynesia in 1947, to simply prove that it is possible for South Americans to migrate in Polynesia in pre-Columbian times. keep reading my review on my blog: http://wp.me/p1eXom-1ZO

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

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Thor Heyerdahl

Director

Thor Heyerdahl

Narrator

Thor Heyerdahl

Writer

Thor Heyerdahl

Producer

Olle Nordemar

Producer

Knut Haugland

Cinematographer

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Synopsis

This Academy Award-winning documentary follows Norwegian explorer, filmmaker and writer Thor Heyerdahl on his highly publicized 1947 sea expedition. Heyerdahl, along with five other crewmen, set sail in a wooden raft designed to duplicate what the ancient Incas might have used to sail from Peru to Polynesia. The goal of Heyerdahl's bold journey is to validate his own disputed theory -- that South American natives could have settled Polynesia's many islands.

Director: Thor Heyerdahl
Producer: Thor Heyerdahl, Olle Nordemar
Screenwriter: Thor Heyerdahl
Distributor: RKO Radio Pictures
Production Co: Syncronfilm, Janson Media, Artfilm, Sol Lesser Productions
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: Norwegian
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 3, 1951, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 9, 2017
Runtime: 1h 13m

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