140 Days Under the World
About 140 Days Under the World
During the Antarctic summer of 1963–64, New Zealand teams work on the ice. Dog sleds go out to unmapped ground. Scientists measure what they can, large and small. A ship resupplies the base at Cape Hallett. The weather and the ice stay larger than the camp.
Cast & crew
More about 140 Days Under the World
Kell Fowler directed for the National Film Unit. Oxley Hughan and Geoffrey Scott produced. Ron Bowie wrote and edited. Samuel Grau was the cameraman and Val Federoff the sound recordist. Bernard Kearns narrates. NZ On Screen notes that Cape Hallett suffered a serious fire shortly after the resupply shown in the film.
Themes
Background
The film records the 1963–64 summer, when New Zealand's Antarctic work still relied on husky teams as well as scientists.
Making
The National Film Unit sent Fowler's crew to cover one New Zealand summer season in the Ross Dependency while the country's Antarctic bases were still new.
Look
Samuel Grau photographed the sled parties, the science work, and the Cape Hallett resupply.
Preservation
The National Film Unit short survives. NZ On Screen streams it, and a copy is on Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- The picture is also titled 140 Days Under the World.
- NZ On Screen times it at 33 minutes. A full copy online runs 33 minutes and 29 seconds.
- It can be watched on NZ On Screen.
- Fowler later shot Over the Sea and Near Away (1966).
Scenes
- Husky teams leave for the far corners of the ice.
- Stores come ashore at Cape Hallett.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (One Hundred and Forty Days Under The World (1964).webm)
- NZ On Screen