''Blake'' is a 1969

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

short

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

produced by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

(NFB). The film was directed by

Bill Mason Bill Mason (1929–1988) was a Canadians, Canadian naturalist, author, artist, filmmaker, and conservation movement, conservationist, noted primarily for his popular canoeing books, films, and art as well as his Documentary film, documentaries on ...

, and his fellow filmmaker Blake James, who pilots his own aircraft and lives by a unique code. ''Blake'' is Mason's cinematic testimonial to his friend and his "hobo of the skies" lifestyle."Collection: 'Blake'.
''National Film Board of Canada''. Retrieved: January 10, 2016.

Synopsis

In autumn 1969, artist and filmmaker Blake James is getting restless, and seeks to escape from his boring job at an advertising agency in Montreal. In his never-ending quest for freedom, Blake sets out for his cabin in the woods near

Meech Lake Meech Lake () is located within Gatineau Park in the Municipality of Chelsea, Quebec, Canada. It is located about 20 km northwest of Gatineau. The lake was named after Reverend Asa Meech, an early settler in the area. Near the lake, on Meech C ...

, where he has parked his

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

. His friends have commented on his quirky behaviour, and yet describe him as sweet and intelligent, but almost naive. Feeling a restlessness, Blake begins to gather the materials for a long cross-country flight out of the jumble of items piled up in his cabin. Without a definite plan for where he is going, Blake flies during daylight hours, generally heading westward. He relies on the most rudimentary navigation, including maps and following train tracks and roads. His biplane does not even have a radio. When he wanders into the landing pattern of

Montreal International Airport Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest in Canada, and the ninth-largest in North America. It was founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", and is now named after Mount Royal, the triple-peak ...

, Blake causes delays for the airliners in both landing and takeoff positions. Instead of getting into trouble, his impromptu landing brings out all the pilots and air traffic control personnel to see the unique biplane. The journey takes many strange turns, with Blake joining a flock of geese at one point. When he loses his map, after a vain attempt to retrieve it, he follows train tracks to a farm, where he lands and beds down for the night under the wings of his aircraft. A young boy, curious at the sight of an biplane in his family's farmyard, wakes Blake up and gets a chance to sit in the cockpit and wear Blake's flying goggles. Finally, with a throw of the propeller, Blake flies away, continuing his vagabond wandering.

Cast

* Blake James as Himself * Bill Mason (uncredited as the narrator) * Douglas Jackson (uncredited as a friend talking to the narrator) * Paul Mason as the boy

Production

Mason and James first met at a commercial art studio in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. They later worked together at

Crawley Films Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...

, before both going to the NFB. James' film credits include an animated vignette on Canadian aviation pioneer Wilfrid R. "Wop" May.Blake, James
"Canada Vignettes: 'Wop May'."
''National Film Board of Canada'', 1972. Retrieved: January 10, 2016. He also starred in Mason's acclaimed short film ''

The Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes ''The Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes'' is a 1968 Canadian short film produced by the National Film Board of Canada and directed by Bill Mason. It won the 1971 BAFTA Award for Best Specialised Film. Summary The 17-minute colour film is a humoro ...

'' (1968). Aerial filming involved both Mason and James, with Blake's biplane equipped with film cameras on the wingtips and in front of the cockpit. Filming ''Blake'' was fraught with difficulty and was sometimes dangerous; on one occasion, Mason lost sight of James while filming from another aircraft. It was discovered that James had been forced to land on an island in the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

after forgetting to switch on his main fuel tank. Because there was no radio in the vintage biplane, Mason and James resorted to using hand signals. With James being able to trigger the cameras on his aircraft, he tended to fly in an unorthodox pattern, looking for suitable aerial views of clouds or landscape, but often left Mason, following in a "camera aircraft", far behind. If they were too far apart, Mason would have to land and wait for James to come down; he simply called his friend "lost" on those occasions.

Release

''Blake'' was shown theatrically in Canada and acquired by an American distributor. The NFB had an arrangement with

Famous Players theatres Famous Players Limited Partnership was a Canadian-based subsidiary of Cineplex Entertainment. As an independent company, it existed as a film exhibitor and cable television service provider. Famous Players operated numerous movie theatre locati ...

to ensure that Canadians from coast-to-coast could see NFB documentaries, with further distribution by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

.Ellis and McLane 2005, p. 122. The film received widespread notice, as it was shown as an introductory film with '' MASH'' (1970), which became one of the "biggest" hits of the early 1970s for

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

Awards

22nd Canadian Film Awards The 22nd Canadian Film Awards were held on October 3, 1970 to honour achievements in Canadian film.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. . pp. 89-91. The ceremon ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

: Genie Award for Best Film Under 30 Minutes, 1970 * Melbourne Film Festival,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

: Grand Prix - Golden Boomerang, 1971"NFB production wins Aussie award."
''

Saskatoon Star-Phoenix ''The StarPhoenix'' is a daily newspaper that serves Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is a part of Postmedia Network. It has been referred to as a "sister newspaper" to the ''Regina Leader-Post, Leader-Post''. The ''StarPhoenix'' puts out si ...

'' (

Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; , ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Press has been a private, not-for-profit c ...

), July 5, 1971, p. 5. Retrieved: January 10, 2016. *

Yorkton Film Festival Yorkton Film Festival (YFF) is an annual film festival held in late May in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. In 1947, the Yorkton Film Council (YFC) was founded and in 1950 the first international documentary film festival officially opened in we ...

Yorkton Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about north-west of Winnipeg and south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province. Yorkton was founded in 1882 and incorporated as a city in 1928. ...

: Golden Sheaf Award for Best of Festival, 1971 *

: Golden Sheaf Award for Best Social Film, 1971 *

: Golden Sheaf Award for Best Direction, to Bill Mason, 1971Shaw. Ruth
"Major film award to NFB."
''

Regina Leader-Post The ''Regina Leader-Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper published in Regina, Saskatchewan, owned by Postmedia Network. Founding The newspaper was first published as ''The Leader'' in 1883 by Nicholas Flood Davin, soon after Edgar Dewdney, Lieutenan ...

'', October 23, 1971, p. 4. Retrieved: January 10, 2016. *

42nd Academy Awards The 42nd Academy Awards were presented April 7, 1970, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. For the second year in a row, there was no official host. This was the first Academy Awards ceremony to be broadcast via satelli ...

, Los Angeles: Nominee:

Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film is an award presented at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. The award has existed, under numerous names, since 1957. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate awards, ''Best Short Subject, On ...

, 1969 *

24th British Academy Film Awards The 24th British Academy Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1971, honoured the best films of 1970. The awards were held at the Royal Albert Hall, London and held on 4 March 1971. For the first time, the Soc ...

, London: Nominee:

BAFTA Award for Best Short Film The BAFTA Award for Best British Short Film is a film award presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) at the annual British Academy Film Awards. BAFTA is a British organisation that hosts annual awards shows for film, ...

, 1971Ohayon, Albert
"Curator's comments: 'Blake'."
''National Film Board of Canada''. Retrieved: January 10, 2016.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Buck, Ken. ''Bill Mason: Wilderness Artist From Heart to Hand''. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: Rocky Mountain Books, 2005. . * Ellis, Jack C. and Betsy A. McLane. ''New History of Documentary Film''. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005. . * Lerner, Loren. ''Canadian Film and Video: A Bibliography and Guide to the Literature''. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1997. . *

External links

* * * * {{ACCT Short Films 1969 films 1969 short documentary films Canadian aviation films Documentary films about aviation Documentary films about film directors and producers Films directed by Bill Mason Best Theatrical Short Film Genie Award winners National Film Board of Canada documentaries Canadian short documentary films National Film Board of Canada short films Quebec films Films set in Quebec 1960s Canadian films