Shackleton
Year: 2002
Director: Charles Sturridge
Cast: Kenneth Branagh, John Grillo, Paul Humpoletz, Phoebe Nicholls, Eve Best, Mark Tandy, Cicely Delaney, Christian Young, Embeth Davidtz, Gino Melvazzi, Daniel Webb, Lorcan Cranitch, Michael Culkin, Mark McGann, Abby Ford.
Set Locations:
The bio-pic of the polar explorer was shot largely in Whitby North Yorkshire with plastic snow and computer generated penguins
Shackleton is a two part mini-series made for Channel 4 television in 2002. It tells the tale of one of Britain's most legendary explorers, Sir Ernest Shackleton.
Kenneth Branagh stars a Shackleton, whose 1914 Antarctic expedition on the ship Endurance ran into disaster when the ship was trapped and crushed by pack ice. This incredible story tells of Shackleton's heroic and epic journey to find help for his stricken crew of 28 men whom he has vowed to bring to safety.
Shackleton then undertakes an almost unbelievable journey of some 800 miles across the ice, the freezing ocean and even an uncharted mountain range on the island of South Georgia, in order to reach a whaling station, from which he organises the rescue of his men. Incredibly, no lives were lost and Shackleton was as good as his word, saving all his men in this true story of unprecedented bravery.
The film also features Kevin McNally, Lorcan Cranitch, Embeth Davidtz, Danny Webb and Phoebe Nicholls. It was directed by Charles Sturridge. Despite being a TV mini-series and not a major release, the film was nominated for seven Emmy awards, six BAFTA awards and a Golden Globe Award.
Kenneth Brannagh comes across well as a full blooded English hero in the film. The story concentrates in the first part on Shackleton's private life and his struggles to raise the necessary funds from private individuals and bodies such as the Royal Geographical Society. The historical accuracy of the film is enhanced by the use of actual accounts from the men on the original expedition to tell the story.
UK locations in the film include London, which is the home of the Royal Geographic Society. The Society is based in the upmarket London district of Kensington and is open for visitors. Whitby on the north east coast of Yorkshire also features in the film. This attractive coastal location has a long history dating back to at least Anglo Saxon times. Pre-human inhabitants seem to have included Pterodactyls, whole skeletons of which have been found at Whitby. A lesser known fact about Whitby is the Vampire connection. The port at Whitby is where Count Dracula first lands in the UK and a large section of the story is based there. There is a Dracula Museum open to the public in Whitby.
The studio filming was shot at Shepperton Studios, based at Shepperton in Surrey. The studio is part of the Pinewood Studios Group and has a filming history going back as far as 1931.
Places to stay nearby:
Great places to stay in Whitby include The Duke of Wellington Inn, Resolution Hotel, Ruswarp Hall Hotel and self catering at Shoreline Cottages
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