St. Lawrence: Stairway to the Sea

1982 1h 36m FR

🤯

10.0

MASTERPIECE

★10.0TMDB · 1

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In this spectacular feature-length documentary, oceanographer Jacques Cousteau and an NFB crew sail up the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes on board the specially equipped vessel, the Calypso. They explore the countryside from their helicopter and plumb the depths of the waters in their diving saucer. They encounter shipwrecks, the Manicouagan power dam, Niagara Falls, the locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway and an underwater chase with caribou.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Self (uncredited)
Georges Wilson
Narrator (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jacques Gagné
Writers: Theodore Strauss
Languages: English, French
Countries: Canada

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

44 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jacques Gagné, shot by Jean-Paul Cornu. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Hedwige Bienvenu shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Georges Wilson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0083856 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jacques Gagné directs. Jean-Paul Cornu behind the camera. Hedwige Bienvenu cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Canada. Dialogue in English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

144 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Jacques Gagné, shot by Jean-Paul Cornu. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Hedwige Bienvenu shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Georges Wilson carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0083856 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.