Kon-Tiki (Full Frame)

DVD, 73 minutes, IMAGE

"Kon-Tiki" is the Academy Award-winning film of an astonishing adventure, a journey spanning 4,300 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean by raft. Intrigued by Polynesian folklore, Norwegian biologist Thor Heyerdahl suspected that the South Sea Islands had been settled by an ancient race from thousands of miles to the east, led by the mythical hero Kon-Tiki. Heyerdahl knew that the trade winds and ocean currents off the South-American coastline bear in the direction of Polynesia. Ridiculed by the scientific establishment, who had concluded that a voyage by aboriginal balsa raft from Peru to Polynesia was impossible, he decided to prove the possibility of his theory by duplicating the legendary voyage. The ensuing expedition was hailed as one of the most fantastic feats of daring and courage of its time. On April 28, 1947, Norwegian biologist Thor Heyerdahl and his five crew members embarked from Peru on a daring voyage to prove Heyerdahl's theory that the South Sea Islands were settled by South Americans aboard balsa wood rafts. Building a similar raft according to the pre-Columbian Indians' traditions, Heyerdahl and crew spent 101 suspenseful days on the open sea, alone amid raging storms, whales, and countless sharks until finally landing on the Polynesian island of Raroia. The expedition attracted worldwide interest, with Heyerdahl's book "Kon-Tiki" selling over 20 million copies in 67 languages. Heyerdahl had been presented with a film camera before the journey began, and both the building of the raft and the voyage across the Pacific were filmed in detail. In 1952, his fascinating black and white film was awarded an Oscar for the most outstanding documentary. The raft is now exhibited at the Kon-Tiki Museum is Oslo, Norway, where it is seen by hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.