Who is making a film of Ernest Shackleton's epic trip

A.� Hollywood stars Russell Crowe and Kenneth Branagh are both to play the part of Sir Ernest Shackleton in two screen treatment of the explorer's heroic but doomed adventure to the South Pole in 1915.

Gladiator star Crowe will star in the �40 million version, called Endurance, which will be directed by Wolfgang Petersen, the director of Perfect Storm. Petersen is said to have argued no British actor could play the part.

Kenneth Branagh will portray the arctic explorer in a much-heralded Channel 4 production, called South, which has been directed by Charles Sturridge. The production was filmed in large part earlier this summer.

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A.� Why is the world so fascinated by the Shackleton story

A.� There is a growing appetite for Antarctic adventure. An unprecedented number of private expeditions have been launched over the past 18 months, while a series of exhibition in London, New York and Washington are drawing record crowds.

Shackleton's extraordinary survival story is at the centre of the current vogue for Antarctic things. It is his example rather than Captain Scott, the British explorer who actually reached the Pole, that has captivated film-makers,

Shackleton's story has lived on, not because he managed to realise his dream, but because all his men survived. When his ship the Endurance was finally crushed by pack ice after drifting for 10 months, Shackleton and his team of 26 were left stranded on the ice floes for more than a year. Then the explorer and five companions sailed the James Caird in desperation from Elephant Island to South Georgia to raise the alarm. Shackleton's decision to use the dinghy, the James Caird, completed the most daring rescue voyage in maritime history.

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Q.� What happened to the Endurance

A.� Next year, the underwater explorer who found the Bismarck and the Titanic will attempt to top all other Shackleton fans by locating the Endurance beneath the Antarctic ice pack. Dr Robert Ballard, the National Geographic Society's explorer-in-residence, plans to use remote-controlled submarines to find and photograph the Endurance and his �1.4 million mission will have to contend with life-threatening conditions in much the same way as Shackleton.

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In 1912 the specially built wooden ship Discovery took an expedition led by British Captain Robert Scott (1868-1912) to within 1,450km (900 miles) of the South Pole. When Scott's party reached the Pole, they discovered they were not the first. A Norwegian team led by Roald Amundsen (1872-1928) had arrived at the South Pole on December 14 1911, well ahead of their British rivals. Scott's group died before they could complete their return journey.

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By Katharine MacColl