The Last Voyage of Henry Hudson

Filmed on the great Mackenzie River, this picture recreates the amazing voyage of the man who gave his name to it. His arduous journey by canoe all the way to the salt water of the Arctic Ocean is one of the great epics of northern exploration. This film follows the path outlined in Mackenzie's journal.

To the 15th-century European the dream of a westward route across the sea to the Orient was as challenging as today's probes of outer space. John Cabot was a man eager to make the venture. Here is a vital story, exploring not only the geography of the Renaissance world, but also its social and intellectual character.

Based on the journals of Samuel de Champlain, film animator Robert Doucet used coloured-pencil drawings to create this tribute to the explorer's vision. The narrative flashbacks focus on Champlain's dream of finding a western route to China. He abandoned this dream in 1615 when, upon reaching Lake Huron, he discovered not the fabled western sea, but fresh water beyond which lay yet more wilderness. But his dreams of a land continued, as he dedicated his life to developing a prosperous colony.