The Great White Silence (1924)

The fact that Capt. Robert Falcon Scott had the presence of mind to ensure that a cinematographer accompanied his expedition to conquer the South Pole allows us - 100 years later - to enjoy this fascinating documentary. It has been recently restored to commemorate the centenary of the ultimately doomed attempt to reach their southernmost tip of the world before his Norwegian rival Amundsen. Using original imagery from their travels, we see the planning, voyage and initial stages of their journey across Antarctica. We get a true sense of the arduous nature of their travails, the weather at sea and on land as hostile as nature can conjure. Wildlife never seen by most of us at the time of filming; their ponies and tractors; their makeshift wooden huts all have you reaching for a jumper. The shades and hues are brilliantly captured, illustrating just how white everything was as they set off. The story is augmented by a map illustrating their progress as they reach then return from their goal. The frustration I felt whilst the dots on the map gradually brought them to within 11 miles of their food dump before... It's captivating in the truest sense of the word, and is really well worth seeing on a big screen.