We use cookies to help us understand how you use our site, and make your experience better. To find out more read our privacy policy.

The Big Ice

Television (Full Length Episode) – 1984

Though it plays hell with cameras, Antarctica has long fascinated filmmakers. This hour-long National Film Unit documentary was assembled from a five-part TV series of the same name. It looks at scientific research, early explorers, and Antarctica's affect on global climate. Made almost four decades ago, the programme warns of a possible "new and potentially dangerous warming period", and describes the greenhouse effect as a "controversial scientific theory". The large cast includes penguins, a seal birth (clip two) and a heavyweight team of Kiwi scientists.

Bigger than the United States and Europe combined, its interior is incapable of sustaining any form of life. Yet along its shores and in its surrounding nutrient-rich seas live large populations of penguins, seals, fish and other marine species.
– Narrator Clive Revill on the Antarctic

Key Cast & Crew

Generic Profile image for Bayly Watson

Bayly Watson

Cinematographer

Generic Profile image for Clive Revill

Clive Revill

Narrator

Generic Profile image for Thomas Horton

Thomas Horton

Writer

Profile image for Lynton Diggle

Lynton Diggle

Director - Antarctic Unit

Generic Profile image for Ann Horton

Ann Horton

Co-Director, Writer

Generic Profile image for Tom Williamson

Tom Williamson

Co-Director, Writer, Producer

See all 23 credits