SIPHON 1122
Georges Marry / France / 1966 / 17 min / Black and white
The rudimentary tools, if compared to modern speleological equipment, are motive for greater admiration for the courageous pioneers who explored the Gouffre Berger after the Second World War, pushing themselves into the innermost depths of the earth for weeks without the certainty of ever again seeing the light of day. The emotion and sense of risk of these early explorations of one of the deepest caves in the world come through in the historical footage, accompanied by solemn organ music that is a counterpart to the first images of sumptuous sculptures of stalactites and stalagmites and of underground lakes. The cave, which reaches a depth of 1122 meters, was discovered in 1953 and for decades held the record of the world's deepest cave.
Georges Marry
A great speleological pioneer and specialist, Georges Marry made the film Siphon -1122 in 1962, overcoming enormous technical difficulties and achieving a work of extraordinary quality, one of the first film documentaries of cave exploration.
Credits
Editing Jacques Gimel, Georges MarryProducer Cinépress