The Red Tent

+ intro by BFI curator Simon McCallum

Krasnaya palatka

A strange and compelling Arctic epic based on the 1928 Italia airship disaster.

  • Director

    Mikhail Kalatozov

  • With

    Peter Finch, Sean Connery, Claudia Cardinale

  • USSR-Italy 1969. 121min

  • Digital (international version)

  • Certificate

    U

A rare treat from the heyday of big-budget Soviet cinema, this recreation of the disastrous 1928 Italia airship expedition to the North Pole boasts an all-star cast and a beautiful score by Ennio Morricone. Sean Connery plays famed Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, who disappeared while attempting to rescue the Italia’s stricken crew. Amundsen is just one of the ghosts haunting Finch’s hubristic Commander Nobile, whose dream of Arctic glory turned horribly sour.

See another screening of this film.