With Byrd at the South Pole: The Story of Little America
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Features
• Black & White
• DVD-Video
• NTSC
In Theaters : 28 June, 1930
DVD Release : 01 February, 2000 |
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With Byrd at the South Pole: The Story of Little America Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥ |
"Even the dogs proved themselves human " with Byrd at the South Pole
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It's tough to be totally objective in 2007 about the 1930 docudrama WITH BYRD AT THE SOUTH POLE. Definitely groundbreaking for it's time, this film "chronicles" the 1928-1930 expedition of Admiral Byrd and his team to conquer the Antarctic and fly over it. Cameramen Willard Van der Veer and Joseph Rucker shot this marvel in 35mm and for their work this film is to be highly recommended. This George Cukor production for then burgeoning Paramount Studio, though, is just too "Americana rah-rah sis-boom-bah" for many modern day thinkers.Words such as "golly gee, boy oh boy,swell" seem just a little TOO precious. The film extols the virtues of man against the elements and gives the dogs credit for proving themselves human (which is frankly insulting to the dogs!)WARNING TO PARENTS: lead dog, Spy, is shot for being too old and infirm and the other dogs react as they look on!
The script is pure propaganda schmaltz and is quite laughable. But,this was 1930 and unless you still act, think and talk that way, you will more than likely be amused.This is not in any way to discredit what was accomplished in Byrd's feat and in Paramount's vision for the time.The soundtrack is one big melange of Sousa Marches, American popular tune and National Anthems which will stir some to patriotic fervor and belief in the superiority of men, not man necessarily, over the universe. The entire film is very staged and Admiral Byrd, for all his bravery, appears totally inept and quite uncomfortable in front of a camera as he thanks "Divine Providence"! One viewing will suffice.
Excellent companion films would be SHACKLETON and THE ENDURANCE. |
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With Byrd at the South Pole: The Story of Little America dvd movie.