The Red Tent

G

1971

2h 1m

Adventure

Drama

List

89%

9 Reviews

Tomatometer

66%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In his apartment in Rome in the 1960s, the elderly and guilt-stricken Gen. Umberto Nobile (Peter Finch) recalls the tragic airship expedition he led to the Arctic 40 years earlier and the equally catastrophic rescue effort that followed. The story is told through flashbacks to the original voyage and a present-day trial of Nobile by the angry ghosts of the men who died in the debacle, including the stern specter of the legendary explorer Roald Amundsen (Sean Connery).

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delysid d

this was a pretty good movie about heading to north pole, but sean connery was hardly in it at all!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/23/18

Full Review

Audience Member

Now here is an interesting film: (1) a Search & Rescue in the Arctic circa 1928, (2) an ecumenical production of British-French-Italian-Soviet cast and crew (during the Cold War), and (3) the political atmosphere at the time (1969), which allowed a film like this to be made. Make no mistake, this film is very much a product of the Cold War. Anyone who watches this film closely, can sense the hidden distrust, annoyance, and general uneasiness. Is that due to the nature and subject of the film, or due to the outside political atmosphere; no one can say for certain, but probably both. The film concerns the leadership, search, and rescue attempts of various nations for General Umberto Nobile and his surviving airship crew who crash near the North Pole after a violent wind storm. Prior to this, there is the flash-forward of General Nobile and his roundtable of ghosts circa 1969. Also, Claudia Cardinale's expanded role as a nurse in love with a key member of Nobile's crew. Narrative interest in the film wanes after about thirty minutes, with a few interesting micro-events such as polar bear hunting with a pistol and a Sean Connery extended cameo as legendary polar explorer Roald Amundsen being the only relief. Remembering the political context at the time in the late 1960s with space exploration being dominated by the U.S., Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev surely wanted the world to see (and remember) a triumph of his country in the realm of exploration, which was the search and rescue of Western experts in the Arctic - a noted Soviet playground. A few final thoughts are these: (1) it's nice to see a late-career Peter Finch in a leading role that isn't The Network (1976, Sidney Lument), (2) it's good to see Sean Connery in anything, but alas, he is simply a device for English-language markets here and his character doesn't bring much to the film (although it had potential), and (3) that definitive Cold War actor- Hardy Kruger; Kruger steals the otherwise lackluster film by using his devil-may-care attitude whenever possible, flirting frequently and often with Ms. Cardinale, and trying to humor an otherwise humorless film. Also, Kruger's character drills Finch's Nobile at the central theme of the film, which is the nature of leadership. Let's leave it at this Umberto Nobile is no Ernest Shackleton.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

s r

A surprising historical story that I knew nothing about. An Italian Zepplin that went to the North Pole, only to be wrecked and its crew stranded makes for an interesting story. Then to tell it from the prespective of the captain looking retrospectively was interesting as he put himself on trial against his imaginary peers was creative. The speech at the end was interesting about who and what leaders are, and that when you become a leader you no longer can be human if you want to be successful. For when you do you compromise your judgement. It did lack though with engaging me past the building of the Red Tent. Many of the decisions made seemed rash and illogical. Then again these may have been the exact actions of the crew historically, and for that it can be excused. Additionally, many of the character embellishments were irelevant and for that I also lost interest. Connery being heralded as the main draw was over exagerating his relatively small role as Amundsen, he is only in the last half of the movie after a one minute shot in the beginning. The real lead was Kruger.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Mikhail Kalatozov's final film is a little-known anti-epic masterpiece. Heroic folly coupled with heroic fortitude, the film has awe-inspiring polar photography and an intense Ennio Morricone score.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The story of the arctic expedition of Umberto Nobile told from its protagonists, those who lived and those who died. If you like Pirandello and Kurosawa's "Rashomon", you'll like this film. And you'll also like one of the best soundtracks by Ennio Morricone.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A nice examination on the nature of leadership and heroism. The expository approach of the trial could have been better handled in the confines of the story and there could have been a clearer delineation between the questions of military leadership and glory hunting. Over all a good approach and a beautifully shot film.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

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Mikhail Kalatozov

Director

Sean Connery

Roald Amundsen

Claudia Cardinale

Nurse Valeria

Peter Finch

Gen. Umberto Nobile

Hardy Krüger

Aviator Lundborg

Massimo Girotti

Romagna

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

The survival tale is sober and as rough as an iceberg. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 7/10

Feb 4, 2021

Full Review

TV Guide

The northern climate provides the existential atmosphere appropriate to the material, and the score by Morricone underlines these conditions.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 29, 2006

Full Review

Chuck O'Leary

Fantastica Daily

Rated: 4/5

Sep 8, 2005

Full Review

Peter Canavese

Groucho Reviews

An unusual and rich blend of epic film and memory play.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 30, 2005

Full Review

Christopher Null

Filmcritic.com

Spare the art. Give me the adventure.

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 16, 2005

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Aug 10, 2005

Full Review

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Synopsis

In his apartment in Rome in the 1960s, the elderly and guilt-stricken Gen. Umberto Nobile (Peter Finch) recalls the tragic airship expedition he led to the Arctic 40 years earlier and the equally catastrophic rescue effort that followed. The story is told through flashbacks to the original voyage and a present-day trial of Nobile by the angry ghosts of the men who died in the debacle, including the stern specter of the legendary explorer Roald Amundsen (Sean Connery).

Director: Mikhail Kalatozov
Screenwriter: Richard DeLong Adams, Ennio De Concini, Mikhail Kalatozov
Rating: G
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Aug 23, 2005
Runtime: 2h 1m

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