Antarctic film for Shackleton documentary

Press, 25 June 1981, Page 15

Antarctic film for Shackleton documentary

(From

KEN COATES

. in London) ■ A New Zealand television camera crew will shoot film in the Antarctic later this year for an ambitious 8.8. C. documentary on the explorations of Sir Ernest Shackleton.

The 8.8. C. has just given the go-ahead to the fourepisode epic, estimated to cost more than SIM. The New Zealanders, who would in any case be in the Antarctic filming for a 8.8. C. natural history programme, will take a series of “establishing shots” of features such as Mount Erebus and the Ross Ice Shelf, said the series producer, Mr John Harris. “Because of the problems in getting actors down there, we will send costumes and will try to persuade a couple of New Zealand scientists to walk among the penguins, or on the ice, so we can get some long shots,” he said. It is now planned to begin the series, of hour-long episodes, with re-creating the

first of the early expeditions from Britain. This was when Captain Scott went south with a party in 1902, but did not even get as far as the Beardmore Glacier. Shackleton, who was with Scott as his third officer on the Discovery expedition, had to be sent back to Britain because he was ill with scurvy. He later mounted independent expeditions, first with the vessel Nimrod and later with Endurance.

Of the four hours constituting the series, one-and-a-half hours will- be taken up with the Endurance expedition of 1914. This was when Shackleton got caught in the ice in the Weddell Sea for almost a year. A second group of men laid depots from the Ross Sea side.

Recreating the realism of Shackleton’s adventures in the Weddell Sea also poses problems for the filmmakers.

But the Royal Navy has agreed to take a film unit from Britain to South Georgia in November — this is on the side of the continent opposite to New Zealand. “We hope to get three of the ship’s crew to dress up and double, as three chaps who crossed South Georgia,” said John Harris. “We will film around thO old whaljng •station site, and will also go south to the Antarctic Peninsula. to Elephant Island, and possibly to the mainland.”

Most of the drama with a central group of eight to 10 actors, to be cast in October, will probably be shot in Greenland, mainly' because the 8.8. C. can get a ship there more easily. A Norwegian ship will be chartered, and will double as the Nimrod and Endurance.

Shackleton stopped in New Zealand on his way south in the Nimrod in 1907; and Mr Harris talks of the possibilities of “marvellous scenes” that could be shot there.

“But, unfortunately, the problem is to justify economically taking up to 25 people all the way down there, plus actors, when we can do the filming just as well somewhere else,” said Harris.

Co-production is being arranged with both Australian and New Zealand television.