The viewed print was a television version of the original film, produced in 1995 by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corp., in conjuction with The Kon-Tiki Museum. The above credits were taken from a cutting continuity deposited with the Copyright Office in 1951. The following written statement is included in the continuity credits: "This is the actual film record of the Kon-Tiki expedition photographed by these men who lived its great adventure." Each of the expedition's six-member crew, except Bengt Danielsson, then appears onscreen in both a still photograph and live-action footage. Danielsson is seen only in a still shot. According to the continuity, radio commentator Ben Grauer appears onscreen, addressing the audience in an office setting. Grauer introduces Thor Heyerdahl (1914--2002) and the other crew members. Heyerdahl then addresses the audience and narrates the action offscreen. The viewed print did not include Grauer's introduction, and many of the onscreen credits were different than the cutting continuity credits. Heyerdahl's commentary was delivered by an offscreen English narrator in the 1995 version. The content of the commentary was not altered for the television version, however. The viewed print featured a new soundtrack and musical score, composed by Ragnar Bjerkreim and performed by the Film Symphony Orchestra of Prague.
       Although not mentioned in the onscreen credits, copyright records indicate that the film was based on F. H. Lyons' translation of Heyerdahl's best-selling book Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific by Raft, which was titled Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen in Norway. Artfilm, A.B. was a Swedish film company, and according to an Oct 1950 HR news item, a Swedish-language version of the film was also made. No information about the Swedish-language version has been found, however. American producer Sol Lesser purchased the picture's worldwide distribution rights in Oct 1950, according to HR. Credits in the 1995 version note that the "original" film was produced by Syncron-Film in cooperation with Artfilm, but no contemporary information about Syncron's involvement has been located. The film was awarded a prize at the Edinburgh Film Festival and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1951. The picture was a financial success and a hit on the "art house circuit," according to a Dec 1951 Var item.
       According to various contemporary sources, in Jul 1951, Mrs. Arlette Purea Reasin, a native Tahitian, sued Sol Lesser Productions, Heyerdahl and RKO for $150,000, claiming that footage of her performing hula dances was included in the film without her permission. Reasin, who operated a plantation with her husband, John Russell Reasin, argued that she performed the dances during a party held in the sailors' honor and never authorized its screening for commercial purposes. Reasin asked for an injunction against the picture and complained that advertising artists injected sex into drawings of her dance, causing her embarrassment and mental anguish. Heyerdahl testified that Reasin was aware that the film was being taken and would be shown commercially. Noting that a version of the picture had been shown in Tahiti three years before its U.S. release, defense lawyers contended that Reasin waited too long to file her suit. In Oct 1951, Judge Robert H. Scott ruled against Reasin, stating that when she danced for Heyerdahl's camera, she was in effect making a gift to him. In Jul 1952, HR announced that Kon-Tiki Enterprises had been formed by Lesser, Heyerdahl and Rand-McNally Publishing to capitalize on Heyerdahl's celebrity and merchandise a full line of articles, such as lamps and bookends, bearing the "Kon-Tiki" motif.
       Heyerdahl's theory regarding the migration of South Americans to Polynesia is still being questioned today. Most scholars believe that Polynesia was settled by Asians, who were much closer to the islands than Incans. Recent genetic research indicates that at least some prehistoric Polynesians had roots in Asia. In a 1999 interview, however, Heyerdahl cited the 1992 discovery of thousand-year-old Peruvian carvings depicting large, ocean-going vessels as further evidence of his thesis. Heyerdahl also pointed out that South American plants such as sweet potatoes, which grow naturally in Polynesia, could only have been brought there by humans.