The Great White Silence (1924) on Netflix
NR19241h 48mDocumentary
Robert Falcon Scott leads the British Antarctic Expedition from New Zealand aboard the Terra Nova, bound for the South Pole. A photographer records the voyage and the Ross Island base.
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- Netflix4.0/5
- IMDb7.9/102,121 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1910 the Terra Nova leaves Lyttelton, New Zealand, carrying the British Antarctic Expedition, which Robert Falcon Scott leads toward the South Pole. The ship crosses the Southern Ocean and works through the ice floes until the men reach the Antarctic coastline. On Ross Island they build their base, pitch their tents and train on skis before the push toward the Pole begins. The expedition's photographer has brought a cinematograph, the first on the continent, and turns it on the local wildlife, among it Weddell seals, killer whales, Adélie penguins and south polar skuas, and on the explorers and scientists at their work. The climate is harsh and the journey south is punishing.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Great White Silence (1924)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Herbert Ponting was the first known photographer to bring a cinematograph to the Antarctic continent, filming killer whales, Adélie penguins, south polar skuas and Weddell seals there, as well as the explorers and scientists.
- Expedition leader Robert Falcon Scott did not choose cinematographer Herbert Ponting to accompany him to the South Pole, so Ponting stayed on base and survived with his film and photographs, eventually returning to England.
- The Great White Silence and its successor 90° South were not commercial successes, and director Herbert Ponting died impoverished, but his work was later acclaimed as some of the best images from the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration and the film was restored and re-released in 2011.
