The Great White Whale

Release date: 19 August 2024
104mins | Documentary

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The Great White Whale

104mins | Documentary

The Great White Whale

RELEASE DATE: 19 August 2024
RATING:
Mild themes
RUNTIME: 104mins
DIRECTOR: Michael Dillon.

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.