Alaska 1996 and Magic in the Water Wikipedia film pages

Alaska (1996 film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search


Alaska
Alaskaposter1996.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Fraser Clarke Heston
Produced by
Andy Burg
Written by
Andy Burg
Scott Myers
Starring
Thora Birch
Vincent Kartheiser
Dirk Benedict
Charlton Heston
Gordon Tootoosis
Music by
Reg Powell
Cinematography
Tony Westman
Editing by
Rob Kobrin
Studio
Castle Rock Entertainment
Distributed by
Columbia Pictures (theatrical)
Warner Bros. (DVD)
Release dates
August 14, 1996
Running time
109 min
Country
 United States
Language
English
Budget
$ 24,000,000
Box office
$ 11,829,959
Alaska is a 1996 action-adventure film that centers on two children who search through the Alaskan wilderness for their lost father. During their journey they find a polar bear that helps lead them to their father. However, a poacher with a desire to capture the bear follows close behind the kids and the polar bear. The movie was filmed primarily in the Purcell Mountains of British Columbia in Canada and the city of Vancouver.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Box Office Performance
4 Sources
5 External links

Plot[edit]
 This section is too long. Consider splitting it into new pages, adding subheadings, or condensing it. (January 2013)
The movie starts with Jake Barnes (Dirk Benedict) flying a plane over the Alaskan wilderness. While he is flying, he is communicating with a man named Charlie (Ben Cardinal), who works for Quincy Air Service. During his flight he passes by a polar bear that stands up on its hind legs as the plane flies overhead. The polar bear is then shown in the scope of a gun being held by a poacher, Colin Perry (Charlton Heston) who, with his comrade Koontz (Duncan Fraser), kills the bear.
The next scene opens with Jessie Barnes (Thora Birch) and her friend Chip (Ryan Kent) observing wildlife in their kayaks before her dinner. Jessie's father Jake begins telling her where he is flying from, at what time he left that location, and his air speed. Jessie calculates that her father is passing Devils Thumb. The scene shifts to a general store, where the store worker begins to tell Jessie's brother Sean about an experience he had during a fire on the Yukon River in which an eagle flew out of the smoke and showed him where to go. Meanwhile, the very same eagle is sitting in the store. The worker calls the eagle his Tornac, which means “Spirit Guide”. Sean then walks out of the store and kicks over a trashcan, spilling a carton of oil on the ground. A local police officer, Sergeant Sam Grazer (Don S. Davis), witnesses this and approaches Sean.
In the next scene, Jake Barnes lands his plane on a lake, where Charlie is waiting to tie the plane up to the dock. Jake receives a phone call telling him that his son has been caught engaging in delinquent activities. He picks Sean up from the police station and they talk about how Sean hates it in Alaska, and that he wants to go back to Chicago. We then see Jake, Sean, and Jessie eating dinner. Jake receives a call from Charlie, telling him that he must make a trip up to Douglas, Alaska. Jessie warns her father that it is almost dark, but Jake says there is plenty of daylight left. Sean then scolds his father for moving their family to Alaska. Jessie and Sean’s mother died, leaving Sean to wish that his dad was the one that died instead of their mother. Jake then departs on his trip, despite violent weather conditions. As Jessie begins to worry about her father, she attempts to communicate with him. She is able to speak to him for a small amount of time, but he then loses his connection. The poor flying conditions cause Jake to crash his plane in the remote wilderness. As Charlie and a police officer search for Jake and his plane via helicopter, we see Jake, alive, in his downed plane. Jake shoots a flare gun into the air, hoping that the helicopter will see the cry for help. Unfortunately the helicopter was flying in the exact opposite direction, away from the flare. Frustrated with the lack of search efforts, Sean and Jessie set out in search of their father, whom they assume is still alive.
As they kayak through the chilly waters of the Gulf of Alaska, they stop to rest on a beach. They soon realize that the shore is home to a poachers’ camp. They then discover a live polar bear that has been locked in a cage. They let the polar bear run free, hoping that it will save itself. Sean and Jessie leave the beach in their kayak, and the bear follows close behind. As they are eating their dinner, the bear interrupts Jessie and Sean, chewing a hole into their frying pan. After the bear leaves their camp Colin Perry appears, in hunt of the polar bear that he believes is rightfully his property. Koontz then arrives and notices teeth marks in the frying pan, alerting Perry that the bear was there. Colin’s beliefs that the children stole the bear from his camp are confirmed when he finds his missing lighter next to their camping gear. Perry orders the kids to tell the bear to “come home” (Perry is referring to the cage at his camp as the bear’s home). The next day, Jessie and Sean continue in their search to find their missing father. They leave their kayak and begin searching on foot. They soon discover that the polar bear has once again followed them in their journey. Perry and Koontz, too, have followed the youngsters and this time they destroy the oars in their kayak and hide the kayak in the woods just in case someone comes looking for them. Just then Charlie arrives in a helicopter in search of Jessie and Sean. Perry shows Charlie a piece of the oar and tells him that he found it 25 miles north of their current position. Charlie then departs in his helicopter in hopes of finding the children, who he believes to be in grave danger.
We find Jessie and Sean as they descend down a steep mountain side. Jessie safely reaches the bottom, but Sean slips and tumbles down the mountain, hitting his head on a rock. The two then continue their journey and find a log cabin in the woods. They take shelter and Sean lies down in the bed. While in the cabin, Sean notices a canoe hanging from the ceiling. Jessie and Sean take the canoe and continue on in their search for their father. While they are canoeing down a river, the two kids encounter vicious rapids that send them and their canoe down a waterfall. Jessie is able to escape the raging river but, once again, Sean’s lack of experience in the wilderness causes him to struggle. He is thrust down the river where he is helped out of the cold water by Jessie’s friend Chip and his grandfather (Byron Chief-Moon). With the kids barefoot by the riverside, Chip’s father wants to send Jessie and Sean home, but Chip and his grandfather wish to help the two on their journey. The two proceed on their quest with their befriended polar bear, whom they named Cubby, by their side.
Cubby leads them until he is shot with a tranquilizer dart by Colin. He then takes Cubby away in his helicopter, but Koontz didn’t load the darts with enough tranquilizer fluids, allowing Cubby to awaken in the helicopter and trying to fight his way free. As Koontz lowers the helicopter, Cubby escapes and bites Perry's right knee, causing Perry to shoot Koontz with a tranquilizer dart and damage the helicopter as well. Meanwhile, the children continue on in their search for their missing father. They stumble upon some wreckage from his plane crash and begin yelling for him to respond. Not able to yell, their father shoots another flare into the air. This time the children see it and run to his rescue. They find the plane hanging on the edge of a cliff, and Jessie lowers Sean down the side of the mountain to reach their father. Just as it looks like Jessie is going to lose control of the rope, Cubby appears and helps Jessie pull the rope. With Cubby's help, Jessie and Sean are able to raise their father up the side of the mountain. Just as the family is reunited, Charlie shows up in his helicopter to take them home and complete the rescue.
Cast[edit]
Thora Birch as Jessie Barnes
Vincent Kartheiser as Sean Barnes
Dirk Benedict as Jake Barnes
Charlton Heston as Colin Perry the Poacher
Duncan Fraser as Koontz, Perry’s Pilot
Gordon Tootoosis as Ben, Quincy General Store
Ben Cardinal as Charlie, Quincy Air Service
Ryan Kent as Chip
Don S. Davis as Sergeant Sam Grazer
Dolly Madsen as Mrs. Ben
Stephen E. Miller as Trooper Sam Harvey
Byron Chief-Moon as Chip’s Grandfather
Kristin Lehman as Florence
Box Office Performance[edit]
Despite an approximate budget of $20 million, the film managed to bring in domestic revenues of only $11,829,959. The film received unfavorable ratings from viewers and critics alike.
Sources[edit]
1.“Alaska”, http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=alaska.htm
2.“Alaska (1996)”, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115493/
External links[edit]
Alaska at the Internet Movie Database
 


Categories: Films directed by Fraser Clarke Heston
1996 films
1990s adventure films
American films
English-language films
Castle Rock Entertainment films
Columbia Pictures films
Films set in Alaska
Aviation films




Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk










Read

Edit

View history









 Search 






Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools










Print/export





Languages
Català
Deutsch
Français
Italiano
Nederlands
Português
Edit links
This page was last modified on 13 December 2013 at 19:06.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
 Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   






Magic in the Water
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search


Magic in the Water
Magicwater.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Rick Stevenson
Produced by
William Stevenson
 Matthew O'Connor
Screenplay by
Rick Stevenson
 Icel Dobell Massey
Story by
Ninian Dunnett
 Rick Stevenson
 Icel Dobell Massey
Starring
Mark Harmon
Joshua Jackson
Harley Jane Kozak
 Sarah Wayne
Music by
David Schwartz
Cinematography
Thomas Burstyn
Editing by
Allan Lee
Studio
Triumph Films
 Oxford Film Company
Distributed by
TriStar Pictures
Release dates
August 30, 1995

Running time
101 minutes
Country
United States
 Canada
Language
English
 Dutch
Box office
US$2.68 million[1]
Magic in the Water is a 1995 family film directed by Rick Stevenson and starring Mark Harmon, Joshua Jackson and Sarah Wayne. It is about a fictional lake monster in British Columbia. The film was distributed by TriStar Pictures and produced by Triumph Films.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Reception
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

Plot[edit]
Ashley Black (Sarah Wayne) is depressed because her father Jack (Mark Harmon) spends all his time focusing on his job instead of her and her older brother Joshua (Joshua Jackson). She constantly records his radio show and listens to it. One day, her father takes them to a remote Canadian lake that was popular with tourists due to a myth about an aquatic monster named Orky. They rented a cabin next to an elderly Native American man who was confined to a wheelchair. Jack meets a local psychiatrist named Wanda (Harley Jane Kozak) who is trying to aid some local men who claim that they have been possessed by Orky. When Ashley runs away, Jack also has the same experience whilst looking for her. As a result he becomes more devoted to his children.
Ashley and Joshua find out that the reason that Orky is possessing people is to try and tell them that he is dying because a businessman is dumping toxic waste into the lake. Ashley and Joshua help the old man in the cabin next to theirs to find a totem pole in the woods. With the help of Hiro (Willie Nark-Orn), the son of some Japanese monster seekers, they expose the businessman's illegal dumping. Orky, however, still dies from the poisonous waste. The old man summons a lighting bolt which enters a hole in the cave where Orky lives. Ashley and Hiro stay on the dock overnight and leave some cookies out. When she realizes that the cookies have been eaten Ashley screams with joy which suggests that Orky is still alive.
Cast[edit]
Mark Harmon as Jack Black
Joshua Jackson as Joshua Black
Harley Jane Kozak as Wanda
Sarah Wayne as Ashley Black
Willie Nark-Orn as Hiro
Adrien Dorval as Wright Hardy
Mark Acheson as Lefty Hardy
Anthony Towe as Taka
John Procaccino as Frank
Tom Cavanagh as Simon, Patient #1
Gareth Bennett as Christian, Patient #2
Brian T. Finney as Bug-Eyes, Patient #3
Reception[edit]
Critic Leonard Maltin wrote in his book that "All the magic must be in the water; there's certainly none on the screen. Routine family film feels like recycled Spielberg."[2] Roger Ebert criticized the film's special effects, describing the creature Orky as an "ashen Barney". He also notes that Orky barely appears in the film at all.[3]
At the 16th Genie Awards, the film won for cinematography and sound.
See also[edit]
Loch Ness (1996)
Mee-Shee: The Water Giant (2005)
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007)
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Magic in the Water at Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2013-03-03.
2.Jump up ^ Leonard Maltin, ed., Leonard Maltin's 2002 Movie & Video Guide. A Signet Book, 2001, page 845.
3.Jump up ^ rogerebert.com, "[1]"
External links[edit]
Magic in the Water at the Internet Movie Database
Magic in the Water at Box Office Mojo
Magic in the Water at Rotten Tomatoes
 


Categories: 1995 films
Canadian films
Loch Ness Monster in film
Genie Award winning films
TriStar Pictures films
Triumph Films films


Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk










Read

Edit

View history









 Search 






Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools










Print/export





Languages
Español
Italiano
Edit links
This page was last modified on 3 February 2014 at 00:07.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
 Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki