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      Scott of the Antarctic

      1948 1 hr. 50 min. History Drama List
      Reviews 71% 250+ Ratings Audience Score Robert Falcon Scott (John Mills) is a determined explorer whose ambition is to be the first man to reach the South Pole. He starts off well, with three modes of transportation -- dogs, ponies and snow tractors -- but the extremely cold weather, as well as the conspiracy against him by a rival team of Norwegian explorers, proves to be too much for the man and his expedition. The film is based on the true story and inspired by footage shot on the actual journey. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

      View All (22) audience reviews
      Audience Member I ashamed to admit I did not know how this story ended. I expected to hear the famous words "I'm going outside.. I might be some time", but other than that I did not know if they got to the antarctic and if they got back. I thought the film tells the story extremely well. True British stiff upper lip throughout. There are some dodgy model scenes at the beginning but once you get passed that the film settles down to a heroic story of adventure. Well worth watching. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Great well made movie . Great cast with the great john mills. Great scenery. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review andy f A solid telling of Scott's ill fated expedition. What comes through most is the bravado and jollity of the team almost right up until the end. This same spirit was clearly evident in They Shall Not Grow Old. People were made of more magical stuff one hundred years ago. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member A true classic of a time when you were allowed to be proud to be British. John Mills at his best as the heroic failure but a true hero nonetheless. Well made and a great supporting cazt. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member The film has remarkable production values and feels genuinely epic for a British film produced so soon after the war. Many scenes were clearly shot in some pretty inhospitable regions and I would swear that there were times when the main cast, and not merely the second unit with their doubles, was placed into these extremes. It shows in their performances. Unfortunately, the depth of their exploration is not matched by a similar depth of character. This is not a serious attempt at biography but a hagiography. Whether Scott was the saint depicted here is irrelevant: he is an affirmation of solid British values so recently questioned by six years of war and the erosion of the Empire. And as such there can be no conflicts, no disputes among any of these stiff-upper-lip paragons of English virtue. Which makes for pretty boring viewing. Oddly, there isn't even a sense of doom or forboding, a suggestion that the elements truly had it in for our heroes and that their deaths weren't really their fault since they only lost to a vindictive nature. In fact, the film doesn't offer any explanation for their failure oddly enough. The practical observation that Amundsen had brought his dogs all the way to the Pole is about all we get. No acknowledgement of why that is a big deal. It's only in the last half-hour as we watch the men slowly succumb to exposure and starvation that the drama really picks up and we start to feel something for the doomed expedition. This section is very gritty for a '40s film and captures the exhaustion and despair stalking the party. I do feel that some of the emotional moments could have been given a more dramatic presentation (Oates' "I'm leaving now. I may be gone for some time" seems rather mundane in context) but that's an issue with '40s English cinema in general. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Tally ho chaps lets get to the South Pole first, before those pesky Norwegians. It was Sunday, i had a big pile of ironing; and this was absolutely perfect. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Scott of the Antarctic

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      Critics Reviews

      View All (2) Critics Reviews
      MFB Critics Monthly Film Bulletin Throughout, an atmosphere of sincerity of character is maintained by the entire cast, and to each and every one of them, whether star or supporting cast, credit is due. Jan 24, 2018 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews When all is said and done, this is an honest account of British Captain Scott's doomed second expedition to the inhospitable South Pole. Rated: B Dec 5, 2009 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Robert Falcon Scott (John Mills) is a determined explorer whose ambition is to be the first man to reach the South Pole. He starts off well, with three modes of transportation -- dogs, ponies and snow tractors -- but the extremely cold weather, as well as the conspiracy against him by a rival team of Norwegian explorers, proves to be too much for the man and his expedition. The film is based on the true story and inspired by footage shot on the actual journey.
      Director
      Charles Frend
      Screenwriter
      Walter Meade, Ivor Montagu, Walter Meade, Ivor Montagu
      Production Co
      Ealing Studios
      Genre
      History, Drama
      Original Language
      English (United Kingdom)
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Sep 23, 2015