I'm reminded of all the times I was out in the wilderness with friends, family, and on my own when viewing this video. Like others, I first saw this (the first in a series) on Public Broadcasting, and it reminded me of all of the times I watched or encountered animals out in national and state parks.
Richard Proeneke's wood working and carpentry skills are superb, and his masonry skills and total outdoor knowledge allow him to create artifacts necessary for survival with support from the outside world.
It is a magnetic production in spite of its primitive quality. The relatively primitive 16mm footage gathered by Proeneke's Bolex camera acts as a window to look at how mankind in the 1950s looked at nature's expanse in the North American continent. It is in fact the view of the first European pioneers, Indians, and even Paleo- Native Americans. You are looking at Alaska's wilderness in the raw.
We see how Proeneke carves out his niche in Alaska after suffering an accident on the job that almost cost him his eyesight. But we are strictly focused on his experience. We don't get to see too many of his interpretations of wild life groups; i.e. flocks of birds or herds or packs of animals and so forth. He touches on certain animals, but his priority is survival, and even though he does keep track of animals for his own personal curiosity, we are not privy to those records.
I was drawn to this piece because it reminded me of all the times I was out under the stars and among the rocks, trees, grass and mountains, with a running source of fresh water splashing over rocks. It reminds one of a simpler time, and of a place where you don't have to worry about keeping up with the Joneses, nor satisfying the misses, nor impressing anyone else with anything.
What is more impressive is that Richard Proeneke, with his simple living, was not sick a single day. Fresh fish, biscuits, berries, and whatever else he could scrounge up (mostly; he did import some food supplies) served as his "fuel".
One is led to wonder what if he had been a more contemplative man. Would he had been as patient and productive, or would the tasks of survival, even with his knowledge, have overwhelmed him? One wonders.
Definitely a must watch for the outdoors man in all Americans.