THE GREAT WHITE SILENCE (1924)
restored documentary with soundtrack, 108 minutes.
Tickets: $25/$20
(T 0419 267 318)
“Herbert Ponting's official record of Captain Scott's ill-fated expedition to the South Pole, The Great White Silence was recently restored by the BFI National Archive from the original expedition negatives and has reintroduced the film's sophisticated use of colour. The alien beauty of the landscape is brought dramatically to life, showing the world of the expedition in brilliant detail.
Captain Robert Scott described Herbert Ponting as ‘an artist in love with his work’, and after the Antarctic expedition’s tragic outcome, Ponting devoted the rest of his life to ensuring that the grandeur of the Antarctic and of the expedition’s heroism would not be forgotten. The images that he captured have fired people's imaginations ever since.
Ponting’s footage begins in 1910 with the departure of the Terra Nova from New Zealand’s south island, for the Antarctic – a perilous journey during which animals and stores were lost overboard in a gale and the ship had to break through unusual amounts of pack ice for 400 miles to reach the Great Ice Barrier. Ponting took some of his most impressive footage – showing the ship breaking through the ice – from a makeshift platform over the side of the ship. Once arrived on Ross Island, Ponting filmed almost every aspect of the expedition: the scientific work, life in camp and the local wildlife – including killer whales, seals, Antarctic skuas and the characterful Adelie penguins. What he was unable to film, he boldly recreated back home. Most importantly, Ponting recorded the preparations for the assault on the Pole – from the trials of the caterpillar-track sledges to clothing and cooking equipment – giving us a real sense of the challenges faced by the expedition.”
Tickets: $25/$20
(T 0419 267 318)
“Herbert Ponting's official record of Captain Scott's ill-fated expedition to the South Pole, The Great White Silence was recently restored by the BFI National Archive from the original expedition negatives and has reintroduced the film's sophisticated use of colour. The alien beauty of the landscape is brought dramatically to life, showing the world of the expedition in brilliant detail.
Captain Robert Scott described Herbert Ponting as ‘an artist in love with his work’, and after the Antarctic expedition’s tragic outcome, Ponting devoted the rest of his life to ensuring that the grandeur of the Antarctic and of the expedition’s heroism would not be forgotten. The images that he captured have fired people's imaginations ever since.
Ponting’s footage begins in 1910 with the departure of the Terra Nova from New Zealand’s south island, for the Antarctic – a perilous journey during which animals and stores were lost overboard in a gale and the ship had to break through unusual amounts of pack ice for 400 miles to reach the Great Ice Barrier. Ponting took some of his most impressive footage – showing the ship breaking through the ice – from a makeshift platform over the side of the ship. Once arrived on Ross Island, Ponting filmed almost every aspect of the expedition: the scientific work, life in camp and the local wildlife – including killer whales, seals, Antarctic skuas and the characterful Adelie penguins. What he was unable to film, he boldly recreated back home. Most importantly, Ponting recorded the preparations for the assault on the Pole – from the trials of the caterpillar-track sledges to clothing and cooking equipment – giving us a real sense of the challenges faced by the expedition.”
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Location
State Library NSW
Metcalfe Auditorium, Macquarie Street
Entrance is via rear of the cafe
Sydney NSW 2000
Contact Form
STATE LIBRARY NSW - 4 Feb - The Great White Silence (1924)
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