Northwest passage

Canada, 1970

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It took a supertanker like the U.S.S. Manhattan, assisted by a nimble icebreaker, the Canadian John A. Macdonald, to realize the dream of centuries: the navigation of a commercial sea lane through the Arctic channels. This is a record of that historic expedition, filmed in colour from both ships and from a reconnaissance helicopter. Commentary by ships’ navigators and observers, and shipside sounds of formidable sea ice groaning, straining and cracking make this an adventure rarely seen on film.

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Collection

In ACMI's collection

Credits

director

Bernard Gosselin

producer

Francois Seguillon

production company

ONF | NFB

Duration

00:27:00:00

Production places

Canada

Production dates

1970

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

013905

Language

English

Subject categories

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Arctic regions

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Arctic regions - Discovery and exploration

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Canada - Exploring expeditions

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Ice-breaking vessels

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Ocean travel

Climate, Environment, Natural Resources & Disasters → Geology

Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Ice-breaking vessels

Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Navigation - Equipment and supplies

Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Navigation - History

Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Shipping

Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Ships

Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Ships - Equipment and supplies

Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Transportation - History

Documentary

Documentary → Documentary films - Canada

History → History

History → Navigation - History

History → Trade routes - History

Mathematics, Science & Technology → Geology

Mathematics, Science & Technology → Ice-breaking vessels

Places → Arctic regions

Short films

Short films → Short films - Canada

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Holdings

16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/76126--northwest-passage/ |title=Northwest passage |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=18 July 2025 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}