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Kon-Tiki
1950 · Film · documentary · 58 min
Directed by Thor Heyerdahl
"Kon-Tiki" was the name of a wooden raft used by six Scandinavian scientists, led by Thor Heyerdahl, to make a 101-day journey from South America to the Polynesian Islands. The purpose of the expedition was to prove Heyerdal's theory that the Polynesian Islands were populated from the east- specifically Peru- rather than from the west (Asia) as had been the theory for hundreds of years. Heyerdahl made a study of the winds and tides in the Pacific, and by simulating conditions as closely as possible to those he theorized the Peruvians encountered, set out on the voyage.
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4 comments on Hacker News
~all is ambitious.
Dark Star is one film that directly addresses the long voyage insanity of deep space;
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Star_(film)
Similarly with sailing films, particularly documentaries, there are films that focus more on the journey than the endpoints. eg: (IIRC) the Kon-Tiki (1950) doco had a lot of mid ocean time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kon-Tiki_expedition
There's a very good movie documentary about it, which won an oscar.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kon-Tiki_(1950_film)
Also, the following regarding his later Papyrus boat expedition:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra_(1972_film)
I would like to mention Thor Heyerdahls expeditions
In 1947 he crossed the Pacific Ocean on the balsawood raft Kon-Tiki.
This was his first expedition to be captured on film, and was later awarded Academy Award for best documentary
In 1951. He later completed similar achievements with the reed boats Ra, Ra II and Tigris.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thor-Heyerdahl
https://www.kon-tiki.no/thor-heyerdahl/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor_Heyerdahl
There was a great movie shot by the sailors before and during their voyage, I think called Kon-Tiki, and released in 1950 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kon-Tiki_(1950_film) ). It used to be up on Youtube, but I can't seem to find it. If anyone can dig up a link, it's very worth a watch. IIRC, they're almost hilariously casual about the whole thing, and they just went and crossed the Pacific on a raft of logs, with little support.