"Life in the Freezer" (1993) TV series

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Director:

Alastair Fothergill

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

18 November 1993 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Series exploring the natural history of Antarctica.

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

David Attenborough

...

Himself - Presenter (6 episodes, 1993)

Runtime:

30 min (6 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Antarctica

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Quotes:

Himself - Presenter: At a time when it's possible for thirty people to stand on the top of Everest in one day, Antarctica still remains a remote, lonely and desolate continent. A place where it's possible to see the splendours and immensities of the natural world at its most dramatic and, what's more, to witness them almost exactly as they were, long, long before human beings ever arrived on the surface of this planet. Long may it remain so.

Movie Connections:

Follows "The Trials of Life" (1990)

One of the greatest celebrations of our planet's diversity ever produced

"Life in the Freezer" is a majestic, haunting, extraordinary look at life in Antarctica, the most hostile place on Earth. Producer/Director Alastair Fothergill and his brilliant team of cinematographers and sound recordists journeyed to the icy continent to record more than a year of life in the freezer. The emotions one feels while watching this are overwhelming and we are filled with awe and wonder at a continent that is closer to an alien planet than anything else within our terrestrial boundaries. The successful "March of the Penguins" clearly took both its inspiration and structure from "Freezer". Of course, Fothergill's depiction of the penguins' march possesses a stronger, more haunting quality, and the hostility of the environment is enhanced by George Fenton's stunningly effective musical score. The doco is not all penguins, though. We travel to the most arid part of the world where a seal has been mummified for centuries. We plunge into a blue, spooky canopy beneath the ice and explore incredible caves shaped by the flow. We hang out with whales and ride shotgun with a myriad of birds as they cross the continent for food. Narrator David Attenborough, as usual, delivers powerful, enthusiastic, irony-laced monologues from the Antarctic wasteland and infects us with his unbridled passion for nature and its awesome beauty. In every sense, one of the greatest and humbling celebrations of our planet's diversity every produced.