Early Doors - Thursday x ShAFF 25: The Great White Whale U

Add to your watch list

To book, click a time above.

The Great White Whale 105 minutes

Deep in the wild Southern Ocean, halfway between Australia and South Africa, a snowy volcano, nine thousand feet high, rears up from the sea like a great white whale.

Five times that great white whale of a mountain, tried to kill the first team that sort to reach its summit. Yet in 1963, back they sailed, through the worst seas in the world, to try again, this time with legendary explorer, Bill Tilman as their skipper.

This is the extraordinary tale those first attempts to climb Big Ben, the smoking glacier ringed volcano on Heard Island, Australia’s loneliest, most remote outpost, told by those who were there. At times, expeditioner John Crick sings the story too, as befits such an epic saga.

The beautifully shot original footage of the expedition, the brilliant music score, the quirky humour of the expeditioners, the utter boldness of the quest, adds spice to one of the least known yet most audacious Australian adventure tales of the 20th century.


Director
Various
Duration
1 hour 45 minutes

Explore

We use cookies to help us provide you with a better service, but do not track anything that can be used to personally identify you. If you prefer us not to set these cookies, please visit our Cookie Settings page or continue browsing our site to accept them. Close