SoftInloveRox Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Infamousta brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Alonzo Church Dashing explorer Rod LaRoque, married to dashing aviatrix Leni Riefenstahl, gets stuck on an iceberg floating out to sea. Leni crashes her plane on that same iceberg, so she gets stuck too. Will the radio message "SOS ICEBERG" bring anyone to save them, or will they die of arctic cold and Luke-warm plot?Well, this one is odd, and not worth much of an effort, despite some breathtaking visuals. The plot, involving some reckless and stupid arctic adventurers, a series of poor decisions, and a wanton disregard for wearing gloves in cold weather, makes it impossible to care much about the fix these dingbats are in. And the last scene, involving a five mile hike/swim to an Eskimo village, is too absurd to deal with without giggling. If I am going to suspend my disbelief willingly, I need something to hold onto, and could not find it here.This is the only movie you'll find where Leni Riefenstahl speaks English. She doesn't say much, and her acting isn't too embarrassing. One imagines an alternate history where she makes a big splash (among other things, she is a looker), and stays in the US, and doesn't make Triumph of the Will. Problem is, this movie was never fated to make anyone a star. The only person who makes any attempt at stealing the film is Gibson Gowland (from Greed), whose hirsute villainy is more repellent than attractive.

dlee2012 *Note: this review is of the German language version of the film with English subtitles.* This film is certainly not one of the great pieces of European art cinema that I normally relish. It is, unabashedly, a simply adventure narrative yet, on its own merits, it succeeds brilliantly. It is in the vein of a "Boy's Own" adventure, yet, thankfully, the jingoism so often present in those tales is completely absent. Indeed, anyone who grew up reading adventure stories of polar exploration and the hunt for the North-West Passage will love it.Unfortunately, the characters are weakly-written and largely interchangeable. Leni Riefenstahl is particularly wooden and the character she plays is ridiculous (a female pilot/adventuress.) The lack of characterisation is the film's biggest flaw but the director wisely lets the environment star instead in this wonderfully-atmospheric man-versus-nature drama and the cinematographic views of Greenland are quite stunning at times.There are some wonderful symbolic moments, many symbolising the failure of modern technology to cope with this beautiful yet intrinsically hostile environment. Hence, there is the beautiful shot of the man standing alone on the tiny piece of ice, rapidly moving past the other man on the sinking aeroplane. There is also the brief but beautiful shot of the gramophone covered in icicles and the general unreliability of the radio-telegraph and Riefenstahl's crash in the other aeroplane.The film also depicts the irony of man, accustomed to being the master of his environment, suddenly finding himself vulnerable as the hunter becomes the hunted in the polar bear scene.The return to the primitive is also symbolised as the men are forced to eat raw fish, losing even one of the most basic hallmarks of human progress, the ability to make fire. This scene parallels that of two polar bears attempting to eat a seal, showing how the people are returning to the animalistic just to survive in this hostile terrain.Ultimately, this film really displays the spirit of adventure found in those novels typically beloved by young boys between the ages of nine and thirteen. However, it is not a children's film; as an adventure, it is suitable for the whole family. The great tragedy is that films like this are simply not being made any more, at least not in the English-speaking market and especially not by Hollywood. Where are the pure adventure stories aimed at boys? This market is simply not being tapped by modern film-makers.To end, here, refreshingly, is a film aimed the young that predates the cynical era of exploitation via merchandising, product placement and tie-ins. Much, much better still, there is virtually no violence on display until a very brief fist-fight towards the end and, thankfully, there is not a single gun to be seen.

MartinHafer This is one of the more interesting DVDs I've seen in some time--both "S.O.S. Iceberg" and "S.O.S. Eisberg" were included on the same disk from Kino. While the two films are close to being the same film (the first in English and the other in German), they are NOT exact copied of the other film. Instead, the films were made as a joint project with Universal and their German counterpart. Many of the scenes were identical and much of the cast were in both films, however, many plot points and the ending were quite different. Seeing both films, one after the other, was an unusual experience and I am thrilled that both were packaged together.Here are some ways that both films differ: 1. The German version has Dr. Lorenz alone in Greenland. Apparently he was separated from the rest of his party because he's stupid, though the film never exactly said this. Then, a meeting is held some time later to discuss the recent failed rescue attempt as well as to plan the next. In the American version, all the characters in the film meet at a meeting about Arctic exploration at a club. The entire group goes, but Dr. Lawrence wanders off and much of the film is spend looking for him. Both Lorenz and Lawrence are played by a German and an American actor (respectively).2. The film involving the initial trek across Greenland is quite different as well as the scene where Lawrence/Lorenz is discovered.3. Gibson Gowland dies slightly differently and at different times in the two films.4. Gowland shows his unstable and evil side far earlier in the American version. There's less suspense this way, but his actions later make a bit more sense this way.5. The American film (at least in its current version) is about 10 minutes shorter.6. The breakup of the iceberg occurred at a different time and was more dramatically placed in the American version.Regardless which version you see, the main plot is still basically the same and the cinematography is, likewise, wonderful in both films. It really appears that some of the differences are simply due to the film being assembled slightly differently--like they shot a lot of film at one time and divvied up some of the scenes to each film--then included a few identical scenes with mostly the same actors.So which is better? Well, neither is that much better or worse. But, if I only were to see one I might suggest the American one---especially if English is your first language. Not only that, but it being shorter is NOT a bad thing--the German version drags a bit more because more scenes of the men crossing the barren ice are included. You really get bored by this after a bit--even if the scenes were incredibly difficult to make and looked amazing.By the way, take note of the actors Ernst Udet and Leni Reifenstahl in the film. Udet was a top WWI fighter ace with 62 victories. He also was Hitler's choice for head of the Luftwaffe during WWII. However, after he and Goering blew the Battle of Britain, Udet killed himself in 1941. As for Reifenstahl, she was one of Hitler's BFFs and directed some of the most technically astute and impressive pro-Nazi propaganda films, such as "Olympia" and "Triumph of the Will". Following the war, Reifenstahl apparently told reporters and war crimes tribunals that she'd been away from Germany on vacation from 1933 to 1945 and was angry someone had been impersonating her all those years and saying all these nasty things about her--an 'innocent' lady!

drednm Amazing adventure film made in Greenland as a co-production of the USA and Germany. The film has a documentary feel to it and although filmed in both English and German versions, much of the film is silent.Rod La Rocque stars as an explorer who gathers an expedition team to find the files and whereabouts of an explorer who died in the Arctic. Once there, they realize they are too late because the ice is melting and the explorer is likely on the other side on a vast fjord. So La Rocque sets out by himself and becomes lost as well.The rest of the team then sets out after La Rocque. German actor Sepp Rist becomes the new leader of the team, which include famed silent actor, Gibson Gowland who starred in GREED.After the team loses a sled carrying their food and most of the sled dogs (they fall in an ice cave) the men now face starvation as well as exposure to the elements. n an attempts to cross the fjord they end up on a giant iceberg that breaks away from the mainland. They a adrift.They make radio contact just before their batteries die, and La Rocque's wife (Leni Riefenstahl--infamous German filmmaker and actress) sets out to rescue them. But as she approacher the ice berg, her plane crashes and she is stranded with them.The story is quite good, but it's the real footage of Greenland that is amazing. The shots of the frozen north, the icebergs, and the freezing Atlantic serve as a spectacular backdrop for the story. The aerial shots of rescue planes are also stunning.The filming of the iceberg as it breaks apart and rolls in the ocean as it seeks a new balancing point is a one-of-a-kind scene.Despite the star status of La Rocque and Riefenstahl, Rist and Gowland steal the film, which is beautifully directed by Tay Garnett with lots of closeups. This is a must-see film!