Australian Frank Hurley's documentary about Shackleton's gloriously failed attempt to cross the Antarctic via the South Pole also gains its intensity from what is not shown. Just a few days after leaving South Georgia at the end of 1914, the Endurance hit pack ice, got stuck and the crew retreated to the ice with their supplies and three lifeboats. After nine months, the ship sank and the crew camped on the ice floes for a further five months before sailing in the boats to Elephant Island. From there, Shackleton and five others sailed 800 miles back to South Georgia in freezing temperatures and rough seas and organised the rescue of the rest of the crew. Only Frank Hurley's heroic leap into the icy waters of the sinking ship saved the film reels and photographic plates.