If you read my review of Sam Mendes’ 1917, you’d know I hardly ever go to the cinema unless the film piques my interest and at the beginning of March 2020, my husband and I went to watch an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma. Our going out for a movie ended up being one of our last few outings considering a virus came into the picture and made everything shut down.
Just like everything else after March 2020 along with public places opening during summer 2020, my husband and I decided to not go to the cinema anymore because of the way people treated us as well as wanting to avoid the leper treatment. But moreover, there was absolutely nothing good playing in the cinema and so it did not bother me. I have long grown out of franchises like Star Wars, the Marvel Universe, and even Disney offerings that do not have as much appeal as an adult. So I was content with skipping it.
Therefore, when the Barbican announced that on 11 March 2022, they would be screening Scott of the Antarctic accompanied by the BBC SO who would perform the film’s score live, directed by Martyn Brabbins, together with the BBC Symphony Chorus and soprano Elizabeth Watts, I must admit that I was rather dubious. Unlike the other venues, the Barbican was not quite so evangelical about the whole COVID-19 insane measures, and now with the restrictions gone, it was pretty much how it was like during our last visit in 2019, we decided could simply sit back and enjoy the film.
The film, released in 1948, tells the story of Captain Robert Scott’s doomed second expedition to Antarctica, with hopes of becoming the first man to reach the South Pole. Of course, as with every other Scott of the Antarctic film, it shows the struggles that he and his men, Dr. Edward Wilson, Captain Lawrence Oates, Petty Officer Taff Evans, and Lieutenant Teddy Evans had to go through during the entire expedition.
Scott of the Antarctic, for late 20th century Americans obsolete as it may seem today and these people did not understand how neo-film technology would have improved Scott’s image, still has its merits like the acting, Norway and Switzerland mountains made to stand in for Antarctica, and the opulent scores by Ralph Vaughan which eventually became the items for his seventh symphony called Sinfonia Antarctica and was first liked in the movie for the powerful treasures it added.
The remaining members of Scott’s 1912 expedition serve as a source to learn about a deeper insight the film represents. Using Scott’s remaining notebooks, the script was crafted from recollections he made just before his demise. The script poorly explores all other vehicles of storytelling because it is solely focused on narrating Scott’s life. To adhere to the conservativeness of the period, no other characters were attempted to be explored. The extremely cold and harsh conditions that the men were put through were altered, though the directors put more effort into making life in Antarctica seem unyielding and brutal.
Although the movie is rather overly praised, especially in today’s world of academic analysis over the last fifty years or so, the scriptwriters don’t really shy away from critiquing Scott for a number of reasons that led to his downfall. For example, he seemed to completely ignore the advice of veteran Polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen who recommended “dogs, dogs, and only dogs” being the most suitable means of transport for the harsh terrain of the Antarctic. The usage of sleds never really took off, so we had to abandon those too. In the end, the horses that we used had to be shot when even they struggled with the weather and landscape. The only smart decision Nansen made was guessing the dogs would produce the best results.
Even with the terrible outcome, there are amusing scenes peaking to the crew’s Midsummer Day celebration, which Scott himself orders to smile for the official group picture like it is Christmas, hiding the bitter truth of defeat from the Norwegian Roald Amundsen. It was fantastic to watch the movie with the live orchestra and choir, though at certain stages my husband and I struggled to hear bits of the dialogue due to the volume of the music.
Scott of the Antarctic may seem like an old and boring movie that looks down on today’s values, such as feeling pride for your country, duty, and belief. On the positive side, the movie Scott of the Antarctic can be regarded as a depiction of how mankind is capable of achieving great things despite what failure may seem like. By historical standards, this film was perhaps his final stand as an ideal British hero before the lens of revisionism that emerged in the 1960s to the late 20th century would consider him a failure.
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