Waterwalker
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- This feature-length documentary follows naturalist Bill Mason on his journey by canoe into the Ontario wilderness. The filmmaker and artist begins on Lake Superior, then explores winding and sometimes tortuous river waters to the meadowlands of the river's source. Along the way, Mason paints scenes that capture his attention and muses about his love of the canoe, his artwork and his own sense of the land.
Mason also uses the film as a commentary on the link between God and nature and the vast array of beautiful canvases God created for him to paint. Features breathtaking visuals and exciting whitewater footage, with a musical score by Bruce Cockburn.
For more background information on this film, visit the NFB.ca blog: bit.ly/uhXVNQ
Directed by Bill Mason - 1984 | 87 min
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The quality of this film is amazing for being 38 years old
Film is a better quality medium than digital believe it or not.
Every time I watch this film, I cannot imagine anyone leading a better life.
I've probably watched this about 50 times and it's the most beautiful thing I've ever watched, what a great man I can't wait to visit canada
I feel the same way!
Alot of this was filmed on the American side of Quetico National Park
i live in canada and hope to someday paddle this, after the yukon ofc
Just dont think the entire country is like this. Southern Ontario is a dirty, Industry-infested urban jungle where things are loud, fast and busy.
British Columbia is beautiful.
This should be mandatory viewing not only for Canadians but for Minnesotans. I saw this movie maybe 20 years ago and watched it with almost everyone who came to visit my home on Lake Superior. Thanks for uploading it so I can view it again. RIP Bill Mason.
I bought a canoe just so I could paint out in nature like Bill did. He was right, there's no greater feeling in the world than being alone in the Canadian wilderness with paddle and a paint brush. Hope I am still going out there well into my golden years!
Good for you! 😊 I like to get out in the Canadian Shield's lakes and rivers when I can... I have no artistic talent and appreciate those that do. All the best and happy paddling to you!
Me too :)
20 years ago i saw this on tv, remembered the name, repeated it to myself a few times every year, and just now looked it up and it was the first hit on youtube.
I have always loved canoeing. It took my five seconds to get the hang of it. Then I realized my grandma was French Canadian. Then I learned about my family tree. My 12th grand grandfather was Maurice Ménard dit LaFontaine a Voyageur, it's in the blood! I am canoeing the waters of me heritage, the upper great lakes!
An extraordinary film about an extraordinary man. If watching this film does not get you out of your chair and into the wilderness on your own adventure, perhaps knowing that just four years after filming this, Bill Mason died of cancer before he reached his 60th birthday. Find challenging purpose. And live it.
Bill Mason a man that knew what he wanted to do and did it. He is a ballerina no water walker in whitewater. His art is full of haunting faces. Bills painting is like I see into his subconscious mind. Beautiful film, only the Canadian Film Board could do it. Thanks CFB!
No, this should be mandatory viewing for all the world. RIP Bill Mason
I remember watching this film for the first time in mid to late 80's. I was a teenager back then and the first time I watched it I was hooked, it captured my imagination. I too wanted to live the life that Bill Mason had shown. This film and Bill Mason's narration of it is what got me interested in canoeing and exploring being part of Nature. Bill Mason is a true legend and true Canadian. I would love if someone started a go fund me campaign to develop a new WaterWalker sequel a sort of return to Bill Mason re-tracing the canoe routes he took. Looking at his life and the people that he touched through his films and paintings. I wish NFB would put their money towards something like this. It is long overdue and I think we need it more than ever. Perhaps it will even touch a whole new generation of people.
What a wonderful idea! Not sure but I think Imago is still around🤔
Ha.. go fund me?
Thankfully, Bill filmed many of his favorite places in order to share them with us. For that we are most grateful. Most if not all of these places are still there, mostly untouched, waiting to be visited with grace and respect, once again. These places are still waiting to be paddled, by you.
What different ways does Bill use the paddle in the movie?
We surely hope that you will take the time to watch the film yourself, rather than getting others to do your homework for you.
Regardless; Bill spends most of the film using his paddle to propel the canoe forward along the Northern shore of Lake Superior.
In the opening scene he is using the paddle to propel the canoe forward using a modified J-stroke at The Natch on the Petawawa River.
From 2:03 he is using the paddle to propel the canoe forward at Old Woman Bay.
At 8:00 Bill uses the paddle as an arm rest in his Sport Utility Vehicle.
Bill uses the paddle to propel the canoe forward past Agawa Rock at 23:13.
There is a good close-up of the Canadian Stroke being used in effluent from a pulp and paper mill at 24:09.
From 26:41 the paddles are screaming encouragement into Bill's ears.
From 34:46 the paddles are ballast while Bill is poling upstream.
At 46:55 Bill is all high brace, and at 47:38 Bill uses an aluminium paddle mostly for bracing to maintain stability while negotiating a Class III rapid.
For quite a while beginning at 55:53 the paddles are used both as a keel and rudder to sail.
At 1:05:01 the paddles are used as yokes to portage.
Briefly at 1:07:41 he uses the paddle as a shovel.
The iconic scene of Bill descending Rollway Rapids on the Petawawa River begins at 1:11:20. There is a lot of prying and drawing in here.
At 1:17:25 that is Niagara Falls, one of the world's largest volume rivers. In October 1987 Nolan Whitesell and a group successfully ran the Gorge in canoes. Bill wasn't there.
Finally, at 1:24:18 Bill uses his paddle to break ice.
This is, by far, the BEST Documentary of its kind EVER to exist.......I watch it over and over.....and my Blood Pressure Drops to much Safer levels with Each Watching.
Rich Briere I see u stayed onG+; I saw on ur post to ***** that u were taking your profile down which would have been sad! Glad u r here and having fun! Best wishes ! ;))))!!
ty Rich Briere hang around for a while longer..............:))) I have met some amazing folks over time. you have yourself a great nite and I will cu soon- come and join me for coffee in the am- ok?ok! :))) best wishes!
Zgghhbbbb...mn mmmmmmm
Halleluyah ,amein.
I will pay to watch this again in IMAX.
This by far is the best documentary film I'd ever seen.
Thank you so much for sharing.
----RIP Mr. Bill Mason.
peter yeung CHASING BUBBLES is another excellent documentary
I love the sequence where Bill dumps on a rough Lake Superior, frigging intense!!!
This is the fourth time I've watched this now. It's pure magic music. It's really a shame there wasn't more humans like Bill. Instead we have a race of destructive ignorant fools. This video will forever remind me of my days along Superior and all of Northern Michigan's woods and waterways. Just a memory before I fell from grace into a world where I can't find the magic anymore. Bill you led a righteous life and a good one. You've become one of my last few heroes along with some of the ones who knew these lands before us white men took a huge shit on it.
Les Stroud told me to watch this. Dolly Parton and Les are a few of the only celebrities I'd trust with my life.
My favourite documentary of all time. Such a pleasure to watch over and over again. Thank you Bill Mason for the gift you have left us.
The scenery was beautiful, his paintings are wonderful and best of all he gives credit to the One who created our beautiful world.
This might just be the most endearingly Canadian film ever made. Bill Mason is a national treasure.
This film is deeply inspirational on so many levels. Bill must have been an amazing man. I really don't get how people can 'dislike' it. Certain films sow strong seeds. This is one of them.
Beautiful, inspiring. My own childhood, floating without a care in the world, in a canoe. The greatest joy and peace...aaaahhhh.
One of the most beautiful movies I have ever encountered! Stunning wild places and waters and Bill's awesome skill with the paddle creates a sense of complete competence that makes every stroke a pleasurable experience. There is nothing that I enjoy more than watching someone skilled at the act they are performing that the very "doing" of the tasks creates a sense of peace and joy.I will probably watch this movie over and over and over, it's that good!
A most beautiful, and sometimes haunting, film. Although I don't have Bill Mason's sky-god view of our mother earth, my personal philosophy still connects me to our "mother". The sun and the soil give us life. These I feel a close connection with when I garden; when I hike in the woods, when I canoe a lake or stream.
Decades ago, it was Bill Mason's films I watched by the hour to help me read white water when I was passionate about running rivers, never greater than grade 3, being the more conservative type. It's wonderful when a man like this can remain in one's memory, feeling a kinship even though you've never met him in person.
I did not know Bill was an artist. This was a huge, unexpected surprise. It took me a good while to get through the film, having to pause to study his landscapes. What a great honor it would be to have one of his paintings hanging on a feature wall in my little home.
How could anyone downvote this? Even if you're not a canoeist, this is such a harmless, peaceful documentary.
For your health!
Because people are so sadly and utterly disconnected from nature they don't know true peace and beauty and joy when they see it.
~ Thank you for taking Bruce Cockburn with you on your awesome journey ~ Thank You for sharing ~
Thank you Bill, Bruce, Hugh, Wally, the Mason family, Bruce Cockburn and the NFB. Always love watching this ever since it came out on the big screen at Cin. de Parc in Montreal. Calms my soul. Love that quote from The Book of Job.
Job 12:7-9 King James Version (KJV)
7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
9 Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?
Brilliant! Takes me back to canoeing in Michigan rivers back in the early 70s. Best times.
Watching Bill do his thing for the first time in 2021 in Ireland! Inspiring
Loved being in the north woods like this, we even put a sail on our canoe to help get across the big lakes.. Listening to the Loons call nothing like it.
RIP BILL MASON.THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS VERY PERSONAL PART OF YOURSELF.THIS WOULD BE GREAT AT IMAX.
first viewing. rediscovering my son's (now 27) childhood book Hatchet bought me looking. im a lifelong Cockburn fan, never been in Canada, but i know the Giver and love his metaphor for love (Nature). Bill seems a great guy to campfire with. Thanks.
I love this documentary so much, and what an incredible soundtrack. It made such an impact on me and my wife, whenever one of us says "water" the other one sings "walkerrrrrr".
I watch this every summer if not more often. It’s an instant shift to my happy place.
God bless Bill and this gorgeous planet ❣️
Outstanding masterpiece.
My first time seeing this. Just loved it. Dude got mad skills...
This has got to be one of the best documentaries ever made!
So much Life he poured into his paintings! So much Life he gleaned from the lands and waters that he travelled!
I met Bill and Paul once. They had a voyageur canoe atop their van. We were bicycling from Banff to Jasper, and I was sanding on some paddles I'd cobbled up. We had been reading Bill's book. I didn't know who I was talking with. It was a good day, and it remains a treasure for me. After a week of cycling we hiked the skyline trail for a week, then paddled from Nordegg to Rocky Mountain House. That was a god summer.
This is true gem! As all movies with Bill Mason.
There can be no other craft more suited for such bodies of water next to a smaller version of the canoe than the canoe itself. A perfect craft. I tip my hat to Mr. Mason and his crew for making a canoe of a film and a film of a canoe with an artist or an artist who likes to canoe. A great, great movie.
Oh my, what an amazing and beautiful film. Should be shown to all schools throughout the world whilst we still have schools and a planet to live on.
Loved the quote at the end, I also love to use it. Why do we doubt that we have been called to walk on the water. Oh ye have little faith, why did ye doubt? Indeed Christ is calling, indeed all creation testifies that God is. I pray all come to know the Truth, God bless and blessed be the Name of the Lord Amen and Amen.
I grew up in the bush of Alaska. 3 to 6 weeks at a time just me and my wolf-dog. Maybe a canoe or just a pack. Really miss the feeling connected you get.
Get your ass on back out there. I'm sick and tired of people dam excuses.
Hahahahahaha
ah...I am sure no one ever gets sick and tired of inane commentary.
One of my heroes as a teenager. He really inspired me to the great outdoors!
A great little bit of Canadian history told in a lovely way.
Beautiful. Everything i love about Canada and maritimes. I spent a lot of happy days in a wood and canvas chestnut canoe in 70s and 80s, so Mason's brill doc brings it all back. Cumberland county. wonderful time. love the music.
Bill's rivers and waterfalls are the best.
I was checking the Nahanni River, Cryptids, stuff and clicked on this video.
Fantastic film! From the main theme song at the start to the very end I was hooked! It’s really great to find an adventure film that is so artistic, pensive, action packed and, most notably, spiritual. Makes me sad that any mention of God nowadays is so unwelcome… He’s the reason we have all this space to explore in the first place!!!
First time I've watched this and this has to be recommended viewing for any and all outdoor people
First watched it as a film in Lake Superior Provincial Park the better part of 30 years ago. Learned to canoe watching Path of the Pedal Quiet Water.
Bill Mason, Bruce Cockburn, Hugh Marsh. Beautifully combined.
A MILLION thumbs up!!! Just delightful!! Thank you very much. And his paintings ... wowwwwwwwwwwwww
Un capolavoro questo film…relax puro
Bill is dead which means that he is alive through me, I carry his spirit of being a canoeist and a poet and a painter. In this magnificent film I see myself as I was 25 years ago and living on one of the 40.000 isles in Lake Ontario and exploring the Huron waters. I vividly recall returning to my cabin at the end of the day, carrying self caught fish, and having to step across the zillions of rattlesnakes that were blocking my path. Sun, clear blue water and pure air. Best time of my life, it was.
TRVTH
Wow. This guy is now my idol.
This guy is living my dream life!!! This is so me when I get older. He rocks! Thanks NFB for another great video!
Bill Mason has certainly been amongst Angels on his journeys and with them now.
This answers many questions that I have never been able to put to words. Since buying this video I have now watched all of his films. I would like to say to Mr. mason, Thank You. Many of you reading this comment will understand.
Matt Turner
Bill actually used outtakes from his other paddling films to make 'Waterwalker". If you watch closely you can see him change shirts in mid stream.
But Oh... what a beautiful and inspiring film. After seeing this many years back I dedicated several years to paddling wild wilderness rivers in Canada, culminating in the Pukaskwa Coast of Lake Superior where much of this was filmed.
Fantastic, a truly unique, landmark film. Mason's "Paddle to the Sea" was always one of my favorites since childhood. I can't believe it took me until middle age to find this masterpiece!
RIP Bill Mason,a Canadian legend.
I'm sorry he's no longer with us... My great uncle Floyd Van Wagner was a lifelong outdoorsman. (I wonder if they crossed paths ... It seems they must have at some point) He started Camp Nominingue in Quebec in 1925 ....It's a boys camp and still in the family. (Or perhaps he knew my cousin Peter, now in his 90's) This presentation is so beautiful and so sincere. It really reminds me of them. They were of one heart and mind, and that's for sure
When you sit around the fire at night, on an island, if you listen well, you can still hear the sound of his paddle in the water.
I don't think you can get much more Canadian then this :). My first introduction to Bill was in 1990 and I have watched and read about him since then absolutely fantastic work and life!!!
This man had a wonderful life that we should all be envious of....I know I am, even though I aspire to live the same lifestyle. Bless this man :)
Awesome filmmaking and fantastic canoe padler! Love this
Great film. This was the first time I've had a chance to watch Bill Mason on film, but his book, Song of the Paddle, kept me day dreaming about wilderness living since I was a kid. I still read through those pages in his book and it gets me stirring. Heck, I think its about time to start reading it again. Thanks Bill, your still giving after all these years.
HE ALSO HAS A FILM CALLED SONG OF THE PADDLE WITH HIS FAMILY
My question is how did the cameraman get downstream of all these great shots? Back in the 80s, while tagging peregrine falcons, I saw Bill and a small group canoeing a river that ended up in Bathurst Inlet, in the Canadian arctic. A few days later I met him in Bathurst Inlet Lodge and while the others waited for their Twin Otter, he flew with me to Yellowknife in the helicopter. He was telling me about the last rapids they encountered. No one wanted to run it except Bill. He didn't get far before upsetting and they all thought he drowned in the white water, but instead he scaled the 300' cliffs to make it to the top of the canyon and walk out.
Thanks for sharing.
Very cool, your lucky to have gotten a conversation with the man. I bet he had plenty of stories to tell.
Thanks for sharing.
Best song to introduce a magnificent tale of water, scenic places and peace.
This is byFAR the best movie ever created! I love it so much, thanks Bill
No wonder the hills and groves were God's first temples,
and the more they are cut down and hewn into cathedrals and churches,
the farther off and dimmer seems the Lord himself.
Rest in Peace Bill.
SwampDonkey530 hills and valleys. as above so below
beautifully said
You can't rest - you have an infinity of praising to do yet.
Ruby James , I'll 2nd it.
SwampDonkey530 seems when you cut down nature and put your own input of what religion should be that’s when people fight over their own beliefs. If it’s not what you choose to believe they become insulted. Keep nature and everyone agrees it’s beautiful and there’s something special here. Now that’s spiritual 😎
I watched this when it was first uploaded and many times after, it is to this day, Inspirational, than you.
as an artist and educator who loves nature, this inspires me deeply to return to nature and seek solitude in my landscape art making. BWCA here I come :)
Thanks for sharing.. this is the stuff dreams are made of... just wonderful.
If you want to feed your soul this is for you I would say. The photography and the music is great, not to mention the trip!!!!! Thank you.
Thanks 4 showing us rocks after rocks after rocks
Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit and intelligence.
The most dangerous part about the wilderness is getting there once away from people the world has a different meaning very fortunate to experience this throughout my life.
That was a very interesting and valuable documentation. NFB made some great films. Finishing up on my very first Birch Bark Canoe which made this film even more exciting !
MASON IS A PADDLE GOD ,LOOK AT HIS PADLE AND HIS CONTROL OF THE BOAT AMAZING
We all have many lives during our time here ,what a man was isn't what he is today. Keep moving, keep learning , enjoying the time you are in right now, nothing will go unchanged . Even I do not see as I once did the places of my past.
My first time watching this movie, and I’m speechless🥹
rip B.Mason , your love for the natural world and art is very inspiring. Not many people get it , the garden we've been given to play in , but you understood the beauty. btw those paintings were sick ! way better than turner.
love this movie
beauty is everywhere, be cause your mind has become what it always has been, naturally beautiful without the noise of complaint thinking. 🙏👌👊
A fantastic video.This man loved the Lord God each and everyday.
amazing....what more is there to say....thank you for the upload.
Love the sounds of the introduction. beautiful
very cool now I want to get a canoe and paddle around Alaska for a summer!
One of my canoeing heroes besides my Father.
Speechless.
***** 5 stars! What a nice break from it all.
This is the second time that i've watched this in the past 2 years and it just doesn't get old. So inspirational!
very beautifullllllll excellent music to backup the extraordinary reality of nature
I guess some of you will never know the serenity that comes with paddling the Nipigon River....
+Ron Firth I come from half a world away from the Nipigon river but I know the feeling ;-)
🏔️🗻....he painted the way his eyes truly saw things without the tool of glasses 😌....WOW !!!
the world eeds more people like this.
We boaters are luckier than most to be able to view the wilderness like this, few do or ever will! Being so close to nature is such a privilege and really drives deep into the soul who we are! Still not really sure how we fit in, but I'm enjoying trying!
Thanks for posting this film!
NFB is what true Canada was, yet no more.
This is by far the best Wilderness video I have ever watch thank you for sharing
Absolutely a fantastic documentary the canoeing the art work the place everyone could learn somthing about live getting back to nature.
I loved this film as I did the films of his parents and he and sister Becky. My wife is from Mn and that is where I met her. you just can't beat the land of 10,000 lakes for a paddleing state in the U.S.
Darrin Martin alaska would like to argue with that
This is awesome.