I'd never heard of the 1928 airship "Italia" disaster, hence throughout the movie I was convinced this was a made-up event, and for this reason I showed less interest in the story than I would have otherwise. I enjoyed the scenery though; the movie looks very good.
To my astonishment, not only did this event really occur (WHY would anyone attempt this nonsensical feat in a fluffy little zeppelin?!), but the events don't appear to have been drastically changed in the script. The biggest change - and the worst one by far - is making General Nobile appear to be the "bad guy" (in a manner of speaking). It is true that rescue pilot Lundborg evacuated him first, but in the movie Nobile is fit and uninjured, unlike in real life where he had a broken leg, arm, ribs and a head injury. So yeah, defecating all over Nobile was an unkind decision by the film-makers, to say the very least. Or was it? (Read on.)
The movie gives the impression that this was Italia's 1st flight. It was actually its 3rd flight to the Arctic. In other words, the mission wasn't an instant failure as the movie would have us believe. (Those bloody film-makers, liars the lot of them...)
One could easily guess that Claudia Cardinale's character was made up, not to mention the idiotic plot-device of Lundborg agreeing to search for her boyfriend Malmgren only because he managed to coerce her into having sex with him (Lundborg, not the missing boyfriend) should the search-and-rescue succeed. But that is about as Hollywoodesque i.e. as dumb as the movie gets. There weren't too many liberties with facts.
Many events that seem invented/altered/exaggerated were actually quite true. Malmgren killing a polar bear - true. Malmgren suffering from frostbite and tragically asking the other two to leave him behind - true. (Indeed, picking Malmgren to have a romantic interest - i.e. his fictionalized involvement with Cardinale - was a logical choice because he was the most tragic person in all of this. In reality, Malmgren had blamed himself for the crash and attempted or threatened suicide - by drowning and by pistol - on several occasions. This is never addressed.) The airship's envelope taking away the rest of the crew to their doom - true. Even Amundsen's involvement and eventual demise, which I at first considered an example of preposterous writing - absolutely true! The Russian aircraft crashing - true.
Amundsen did go on a flight to find the rescuers, and he did perish. However, he was never found. In the movie he finds the envelope's wreckage and dies there alone and without supplies: a fictionalized addition that I find acceptable. In the movie, it is Cardinale who persuades him into looking for his friend Nobile, which is a typical filmism i.e. nonsense.
As for Lundborg, he did insist he take Nobile with him first, but not because he wanted Nobile to push the rescue effort to have Malmgren saved - so he can shtoop Cardinale. (Sexual favours as sole motive for rescue? Only in Hollywood...) No, that was definitely utter nonsense. In fact, the movie doesn't show that Lundborg actually crashed while attempting to save a second survivor, and ended up on the ice with the other survivors for a few days until a pilot colleague rescued him.
So why is Nobile a controversial figure in the film? Well, aside from the fact that film-makers are obsessed with "conflict", especially stuff such as guilt and redemption, it may be because Nobile was a Communist. He certainly wasn't a friend of Mussolini with whose regime he had a mutually hostile relationship. It is also interesting that Nobile was alive when the movie was made, so it'd be interesting to read his opinions on it.
But yeah, finding out that Nobile was a communist - even AFTER Stalin's reign - makes me doubt Nobile's moral fibre. In fact, perhaps the movie was too kind with him?
Sean Connery gets star billing but doesn't appear until the 2nd hour, and Peter Finch is his usual boring self.
To my astonishment, not only did this event really occur (WHY would anyone attempt this nonsensical feat in a fluffy little zeppelin?!), but the events don't appear to have been drastically changed in the script. The biggest change - and the worst one by far - is making General Nobile appear to be the "bad guy" (in a manner of speaking). It is true that rescue pilot Lundborg evacuated him first, but in the movie Nobile is fit and uninjured, unlike in real life where he had a broken leg, arm, ribs and a head injury. So yeah, defecating all over Nobile was an unkind decision by the film-makers, to say the very least. Or was it? (Read on.)
The movie gives the impression that this was Italia's 1st flight. It was actually its 3rd flight to the Arctic. In other words, the mission wasn't an instant failure as the movie would have us believe. (Those bloody film-makers, liars the lot of them...)
One could easily guess that Claudia Cardinale's character was made up, not to mention the idiotic plot-device of Lundborg agreeing to search for her boyfriend Malmgren only because he managed to coerce her into having sex with him (Lundborg, not the missing boyfriend) should the search-and-rescue succeed. But that is about as Hollywoodesque i.e. as dumb as the movie gets. There weren't too many liberties with facts.
Many events that seem invented/altered/exaggerated were actually quite true. Malmgren killing a polar bear - true. Malmgren suffering from frostbite and tragically asking the other two to leave him behind - true. (Indeed, picking Malmgren to have a romantic interest - i.e. his fictionalized involvement with Cardinale - was a logical choice because he was the most tragic person in all of this. In reality, Malmgren had blamed himself for the crash and attempted or threatened suicide - by drowning and by pistol - on several occasions. This is never addressed.) The airship's envelope taking away the rest of the crew to their doom - true. Even Amundsen's involvement and eventual demise, which I at first considered an example of preposterous writing - absolutely true! The Russian aircraft crashing - true.
Amundsen did go on a flight to find the rescuers, and he did perish. However, he was never found. In the movie he finds the envelope's wreckage and dies there alone and without supplies: a fictionalized addition that I find acceptable. In the movie, it is Cardinale who persuades him into looking for his friend Nobile, which is a typical filmism i.e. nonsense.
As for Lundborg, he did insist he take Nobile with him first, but not because he wanted Nobile to push the rescue effort to have Malmgren saved - so he can shtoop Cardinale. (Sexual favours as sole motive for rescue? Only in Hollywood...) No, that was definitely utter nonsense. In fact, the movie doesn't show that Lundborg actually crashed while attempting to save a second survivor, and ended up on the ice with the other survivors for a few days until a pilot colleague rescued him.
So why is Nobile a controversial figure in the film? Well, aside from the fact that film-makers are obsessed with "conflict", especially stuff such as guilt and redemption, it may be because Nobile was a Communist. He certainly wasn't a friend of Mussolini with whose regime he had a mutually hostile relationship. It is also interesting that Nobile was alive when the movie was made, so it'd be interesting to read his opinions on it.
But yeah, finding out that Nobile was a communist - even AFTER Stalin's reign - makes me doubt Nobile's moral fibre. In fact, perhaps the movie was too kind with him?
Sean Connery gets star billing but doesn't appear until the 2nd hour, and Peter Finch is his usual boring self.