- Overview
Life for Richard Forbush, brilliant biology student and conceited philanderer, is one long round of eat, drink and be merry. But his decision to accept a six-month research post in the Antarctic, making the first detailed study of a penguin colony, changes all that... Living in Shackleton’s derelict hut, Forbush is alone at the frozen edge of the world, his only links to civilisation a two-way radio and letters to his elusive, would-be girlfriend, Tara, in London. Through an often ferocious winter in the company of the penguins, he grows increasingly attached to his hardy, endearing subjects – learning profound lessons in endurance and humility.
- Release Date
29 July 1971
- DirectingArne Sucksdorff
- Budget
$0.00
- Revenue
$0.00
- Stars
Videos
User Reviews
See moreCinemaSerf
04 April 2022
I have only recently come across this film, and John Hurt is super. He is "Forbush", a rather rakish biology student who is coasting through life until his professor (Tony Britton) nominates him for a gig counting penguins - in Antarctica! Meantime, he has been bothering local barmaid "Tara" (Hayley Mills) who isn't really interested in him, and is frankly quite delighted when he announces his imminent project. He duly arrives, settles into Shackleton's hut and waits, and waits, and waits - no penguins! Then they arrive, slowly but surely and, despite himself, his interest is tweaked. He has to count them, weight them and generally monitor them and their behaviour. As winter sets in, they start to lay their eggs and incubate them from the extreme storms that very nearly do for him, too! As the chicks arrive and the skua's begin to raid, he becomes even more protective of his several thousand charges - and devises one hell of a catapult to exact his revenge. It's a bit of a slow starter, this, but once he is in situ, the story appealed to me. He has quite a few Eureka moments that vindicate the approach taken by his professor at the start - to help him grow up and develop a sense of purpose. The photography is fun - especially of the penguins milling about, and I really did quite enjoy Hurt's performance here. Well worth a watch, I'd say.
More Like This
Madagascar
Alex the lion is the king of the urban jungle, the main attraction at New York's Central Park Zoo. He and his best friends—Marty the zebra, Melman...
See more
Icemen: 200 Years in Antarctica
A riveting story of polar exploration that investigates the motivation, psychology, science, and physical endurance that have characterized the...
See more
Dark World: Equilibrium
Every day, they steal your strength, your emotions, your love. We call them the Shadow. Work like us - to deliver them back to the Dark World...
See more
A Woman in Antarctica
For the last fifteen years, French mountaineer, explorer and writer Laurence de la Ferrière has been scaling the heights of the world's highest...
See more
Eight Below
In the Antarctic, after an expedition with Dr. Davis McClaren, the sled dog trainer Jerry Shepherd has to leave the polar base with his colleagues...
See more
Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness
Returning from his previous adventure, Howard Lovecraft must lead an expedition to Antarctica, to prevent the awakening of Cthulhu!
See more
March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step
A young penguin, driven by his instinct, embarks on his first major trip to an unknown destination.
See more
Antarctica
Two Japanese scientists, Ushioda and Ochi, develop a bond with their sled dogs while on an expedition in Antarctica.
See more
The Land That Time Forgot
During World War I, a German U-boat sinks a British ship and takes the survivors on board. After it takes a wrong turn, the submarine takes them to...
See more
Rain in the Sunshine
Schoolboy Hinata has a big crush on his classmate Shigure, but is too shy to tell her. On the day Shigure is leaving, Hinata flies off on the wings...
See more
Penguins of Madagascar
Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private join forces with undercover organization The North Wind to stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine from...
See more
The Penguins of Madagascar: New to the Zoo
The madcap pack of Penguins and everyone's favourite lemur, King Julien star in episodes which each introduce a new character to the zoo. Episodes...
See more
The Chipmunk Adventure
The Chipmunks and the Chipettes go head to head in a hot air balloon race, and the winner gets $10,000. Unbeknownst to the participants, the "race"...
See more
NiNoKuni
Adapted from the video game series of the same name, NiNoKuni follows high school peers Yuu and Haru who must travel between two separate yet...
See more
Minor Details
Someone at the prestigious Danforth Academy is trying to make the students sick. Is it Mia or Riley, the rich girls? Or could it be Emily, the...
See more
The Singing Pond
A new teacher, Uma (Anasuya Subasinghe), arrives at a school with her first appointment in a remote village near Dambulla in Sri Lanka. The school...
See more
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Alex, Marty, and other zoo animals find a way to escape from Madagascar when the penguins reassemble a wrecked airplane. The precariously repaired...
See more
The Last Great Climb
The 2013 film from Alastair Lee is an epic to end all mountain epics se t in the stunning mountains of Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. The feature...
See more
Max und siebeneinhalb Jungen
Max Stricker, an old anti-fascist, informs a class of eighth graders before their planned visit to the former concentration camp in Buchenwald. But...
See more
Scott of the Antarctic
The true story of the British explorer Robert Falcon Scott and his ill-fated expedition to try to be the first man to discover the South Pole -...
See more