‘Endurance’ Shipwreck Doc Bosses on Finally Telling ‘the Greatest Survival Story Ever Told’
Preview
When you think of famous 20th century shipwrecks, 1912’s Titanic is usually top of mind. But don’t overlook the incredible story of the exploration ship Endurance, which sank three and a half years later in Antarctica, and offers a mind-blowing survival epic. It gets its due in Endurance, a gripping film directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo) and Natalie Hewit.
The story charts two narratives — one re-creating the past, the other documenting more recent developments. In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton aimed to be the first to cross Antarctica’s icy terrain (all 1,800 miles!), setting sail from England with a crew of 27 men. During the voyage, the Endurance got trapped in pack ice for months. After, the sailors were forced to abandon ship, and it eventually sank in 1915. They ate penguins, seals and boiled seaweed. Four attempted rescue missions later, the full crew was saved.
In 2022, an expedition team led by John Shears (above right, with director of exploration Mensun Bound) retraced Shackleton’s steps using state-of-the-art tech, hoping to locate the lost vessel.
“This is the hardest shipwreck to find,” producer Ruth Johnston says, noting that initially she didn’t think their crew could find the Endurance. “They were going out to an area where the ice could close over, where people had tried before and failed, with technology that was so brand-new and had not been to that depth.”
In a race against time and weather, the team’s efforts were filmed, and the Endurance was located nearly 10,000 feet under the sea. “Shackleton was always kind of the greatest survival story ever told,” notes Vasarhelyi. “When they found the boat in 2022, that was our opportunity to revisit [the legend].”
The filmmakers accessed and color-enhanced the original footage recorded during the 1914 journey and used A.I. to give a voice to the men onboard, who wrote engrossing diary entries. The result is a fascinating account of grit and fortitude that even surprised Vasarhelyi: “I got goose bumps the first time I watched it all put together.”
Endurance, Movie Premiere, Friday, November 1, 9/8c, National Geographic
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