Critic Reviews

• Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

  Fascinatingly evokes not just the gruelling, first-person details of this particular polar expedition, but the waning moments of the entire spirit of romantic, white-European Boy's Own adventurism.

• Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

  Beautifully blends interviews with scholars and descendants of that crew, still photos and movie film from the trip and re-creations of the events of the voyage.

• Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

  Hands-down, the most stirring and pertinent documentary of 2001.

• Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

  Footage from a remarkable silent documentary has been combined with new photography, music and a narration to produce an even more remarkable sound documentary.

• John Petrakis, Chicago Tribune

  Most of all, it is a salute to Shackleton himself, whose calm and grace under extreme pressure helped guarantee that not a single crew member would be lost.

• Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

  Those who see Endurance, however, are not likely soon to forget what they see, even if they have some difficulty imagining how it could be possibly be true.

• Phil Hall, Film Threat

  So-so documentary on ill-fated South Pole journey.

• Ryan Cracknell, Apollo Guide

  The interesting and almost unbelievable subject matter legitimizes the legend of Ernest Shackleton, even if it is a little slow in the process.

• Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

  A documentary that instructs as it entertains.

• Jeffrey Bruner, Des Moines Register

  A compelling story of survival and determination.

• Brad Haynes, Orlando Weekly

  The key to making this work is to keep the suspense building, which Butler does admirably.

• Liz Braun, Jam! Movies

  ... a good choice for a family movie outing.

• Widgett Walls, Needcoffee.com

  The tale is so damn compelling, you could do a documentary hosted by Ben Stein in boring teacher mode and the audience would still be gnawing on their fingernails.

• Robert W. Butler, Kansas City Star

  The great strength of this documentary is that when it's all over, you half feel you've been to the South Pole, too.

• Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope

  Much of the power of "The Endurance" derives from the artistic images captured during the voyage by pioneer Australian documentary photographer Frank Hurley (1885-1962).

• Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review

  A first-rate documentary about an exploit that almost defies belief.

• Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press

  Better than the book it's based on.

• Marc Mohan, Oregonian

  The sense of scale inherent in both Hurley's ancient film clips and Butler's more recent shots is greatly enhanced on the big screen.

• Annlee Ellingson, Boxoffice Magazine

  The footage -- all hand-cranked by Hurley -- of the Endurance buckling under the pressure of the shifting ice is an image one will not soon forget.

• David Keyes, Cinemaphile.org

  "The Endurance" doesn't simply care about the facts, it has genuine regard for the people who were involved.

Read all 21 critic reviews