Take Me To Pitcairn

Take Me To Pitcairn

2012, Society  -   28 Comments
Ratings: 7.59/10 from 109 users.

This documentary is about a man who wants to go to one of the most inaccessible islands on the planet. But since no one seems to know this island, he wants to make a film about it, even though he's just an ordinary kite salesman with no filming experience.

But getting to Pitcairn Island isn't straightforward and he probably won't be the only one who wants to go there. Pitcairn Island doesn't have an airfield and the only way to get there is by ship.

The other difficulty is that Julian McDonnell is going to have to do this alone using only a couple of cameras. One of the most astonishing things about Pitcairn is that just 50 people reside there and they're all descendants of just a few British sailors (and their Tahitian wives) who were running away after hijacking a ship called "The Bounty", in 1789, and they used this desolated island as their hiding ground.

"The Bounty" became so famous that people made a lot of movies about it... with Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins, and Marlon Brando. The mutiny on the Bounty was gigantic media happening of that time and those sailors became the most notorious deserters in British naval history.

Like all awesome adventures it started in a tavern, called "The Town of Ramsgate", in Wapping, in London, and legend says that this was probably the last location that Captain Bligh, the captain of the Bounty, was seen with his crew before they sailed to the southern Pacific.

Of course, after their open rebellion and escape they knew they'd be executed if they were ever arrested so they had to find a location where they would remain unseen which is why they ended up in Pitcairn Island. They torched their ship and stayed there for the rest of their lives... never to be seen again.

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28 Comments / User Reviews

  1. Bill Farley

    As one who lived in Canada's high Arctic for a number of years, I've seen many tourists who were way out of their element. This documentary was one such adventure. They had money to spend and not a clue what they were doing. All of them expected the same comforts that they had at home. The whole film was nothing but a lot of whining and expectations way beyond what was available. It is probably a good example of (a) Do your homework and (b) Take one day at a time and enjoy the moment, no matter what. They were lucky to get back from whence they came.

  2. Jo

    Absolutely wonderful. I have wanted to venture to Pitcairn for many years. Hopefully one day I will.

  3. saleem mohamad

    This is a place of interest for me since I am honey eater and lover,world's most purest honey and expensive ,produced in Pitcairn according to their Government website.
    My second interest is that mysterious Malaysia lost aeroplane MH 370 is hijacked by London and Paris secret service agencies ,and they hide this aeroplane there(I don't know why they ......Their real operators).What happened to more than 200 passengers,mostly Chinese,plus pilots and crews,I don't know.

  4. magda

    did he really throw that bottle into the ocean at 31:25????

    1. Mike

      At least it was glass and not plastic

  5. Morthund

    John Smith was living proof that murder is somewhat like laughter.
    He who murders last, kills best.

    1. a_no_n

      you can't spell slaughter without laughter

  6. Norm_de_Plume

    Never seemed to get off the ground and presenter is a little annoying, but it's worth watching for camera work and the a smattering of history. 6/10.

  7. Andrea

    Interesting that he found it to be so remote, it Pitcairn is considered remote then I guess you could say the Chatham Islands are also (South of NZ). He should travel their, quite a strong history and very interesting. Nice looking people too.

  8. Kyle

    Incredible documentary. But I must say that I've been pretty interested in Pitcairn for about the past decade. So others may not find this as interesting. I'll have to watch Mutiny on the Bounty again. I never knew the mutineers found this little paradise in the deep blue.

  9. bringmeredwine

    I'd love to go on an adventure with a travelling partner like Tony. What an interesting guy. But not on The Southern Cross!

  10. Norm_de_Plume

    Bunch of paedophilatelists.

    1. lambdoid

      Child stamp collectors?

    2. Norm_de_Plume

      Stamp collecting nonces. Their main industry is producing limited edition stamps; and, a bunch of men (including the mayor of the island) got taken to court on child abuse charges.

  11. Lysergide Jasper Freq

    Rape capital of the world

    1. Andrea

      Yes, in a way, they claim to know no different.. feral and not enough people. They need monitoring.

  12. lisa renee

    Very nice film. I enjoyed it beginning to end.

  13. bionara

    Utterly charming documentary! Enjoyed this one.

  14. Andrew

    Picairn the penultimate postage stamp economy! :)

    1. Norm_de_Plume

      ...and where is the ULTIMATE?? :-)

    2. Andrew

      Heard & McDonald Islands, both Australian external territories......stamp out philately! :)

    3. Norm_de_Plume

      Have you been watching much sci...Fi LATELY?

  15. AW

    dreams can lead you on some strange adventures, gotta admit i didn't even think they would all fit on that boat...

  16. ~Oliver B Koslik Esq



  17. Fabien L

    Funny doc, not really a lot to learn from it but cheerful.

  18. oQ

    Not on my bucket list either although i did enjoy the doc. Left me with a smile.

  19. pwndecaf

    This is fairly amusing, in a "I've had bad trips before, too" kind of way.

    This is not on my bucket list for places to go.

    1. Ken

      Love this