This film stars John Mills and is about the Scott expedition to the South Pole shortly before WWI. It shows the preparations and actual expedition--mostly shot in Norway, as going to Antarctica would have been prohibitively expensive and difficult.
Although "Scott of the Antarctic" is a very well made film (after all, it's from Ealing Studios!), it suffers from two major problems. First, for the viewer to really get into the film and enjoy it, you need to buy into the notion that going to the South Pole is actually worth doing and is not a complete waste of time and lives. I hate to be a downer, but I clearly fall into that category and feel that people who attempted things like this were brave but also rather foolish--especially since the film shows many mistakes Scott made in planning the expedition. Sorry but I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way. Second, anyone who knows history knows of the fate of Scott and his expedition--and so the film is extremely anticlimactic and you know it's just a matter of time until they all become human popsicles. For me, it was just a waiting game. Plus, their competition had already made it to the Pole before Scott-- making the entire expedition a waste of time and human lives.
If you can ignore all this, then yes, it is a very good film. Unusual for its time, the movie was shot in color and extensively followed the actual logs of events. The acting is lovely, as is the music and direction. All in all, it's full of all the glory and pomp you'd want in a movie that appears to glorify the British Empire and the 'can do' spirit. But, when you think about it, it's a great example of the 'can't do' spirit--and is, perhaps, a bit of a metaphor for the British Empire circa 1948.
Although "Scott of the Antarctic" is a very well made film (after all, it's from Ealing Studios!), it suffers from two major problems. First, for the viewer to really get into the film and enjoy it, you need to buy into the notion that going to the South Pole is actually worth doing and is not a complete waste of time and lives. I hate to be a downer, but I clearly fall into that category and feel that people who attempted things like this were brave but also rather foolish--especially since the film shows many mistakes Scott made in planning the expedition. Sorry but I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way. Second, anyone who knows history knows of the fate of Scott and his expedition--and so the film is extremely anticlimactic and you know it's just a matter of time until they all become human popsicles. For me, it was just a waiting game. Plus, their competition had already made it to the Pole before Scott-- making the entire expedition a waste of time and human lives.
If you can ignore all this, then yes, it is a very good film. Unusual for its time, the movie was shot in color and extensively followed the actual logs of events. The acting is lovely, as is the music and direction. All in all, it's full of all the glory and pomp you'd want in a movie that appears to glorify the British Empire and the 'can do' spirit. But, when you think about it, it's a great example of the 'can't do' spirit--and is, perhaps, a bit of a metaphor for the British Empire circa 1948.