 A film in three minutes. The Endurance. Antarctica. A land of desolate beauty, brutal climate conditions, and the perfect setting for one Ernest Shackleton to undertake his most daring and most notorious adventure. The first attempted land crossing of the entire continent via the South Pole. And what better way to discover the trials and tribulations of this legendary explorer's greatest voyage than with director George Butler's 2000 feature length documentary The Endurance, Shackleton's legendary Antarctic expedition. Narrated by the gravely voiced Liam Neeson, The Endurance follows the final years of Shackleton's remarkable career during the fading era of heroic exploration. With the race to the South Pole having been won by Norwegian rolled Ann Munson three years previously in 1911, Shackleton's new determination was to be the first man to journey across the entire land mass of Antarctica, setting sail in 1914 at the eve of the First World War. The mission, which would soon find itself in grave danger, tested Shackleton's leadership abilities to the extreme and pushed the mental and physical limits of both he and crew to near breaking point time and time again. With the end result becoming one of the most remarkable stories of human endurance ever recorded. What makes the documentary stand out from others that focus on struggles for survival rests simply in how captivating the disastrous circumstances Shackleton faced with his crew quickly became. From having the ship, named The Endurance, trapped in deadly pack ice, to navigating to South Georgia Island on a tiny rowboat for 17 days, it's difficult to resist not becoming transfixed to the screen as more and more mesmerizing misfortune befalls the doomed expedition. Surviving archive footage shot by crew member Frank Hurley provides photographic insight into the adventure, documenting moments of great natural beauty juxtaposed with comedic levity before the ship's downfall. This footage helps to humanize the accounts of the men in a way that's few diary entries about high adventure from the period could muster, making it much easier for us to empathize with the long deceased adventurers during their terrifying ordeal. The desperate lengths that Shackleton was willing to undertake to bring his entire crew back safely are breathtaking to behold, with the recorded interviews from their descendants providing unique anecdotal glimpses into the rugged psyches of the trapped men whilst their conditions worsened. By the film's end, you will be moved as much as shocked by the truly incredible ordeal that was Shackleton's last major expedition. From near starvation, low morale, attempted mutiny, and dreaded frostbite, Shackleton's ability to hold firm and keep the spirits of his men high against increasingly insurmountable odds is well deserving of its now legendary reputation, with the words of his erstwhile colleague Sir Raymond Priestley summing it up best. When disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton. After watching the endurance, you'll know exactly why and be forced to agree.