White Water Summer is a 1987 American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 drama

Drama

Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...

 film directed by Jeff Bleckner.

Plot

School is out for the summer, and a group of young teenagers go on a hike with Vic, an experienced guide. One teen, Alan, butts head with Vic during the film as Vic's attempts to teach life lessons annoy Alan. The more defiant Alan gets, the more extreme the lessons come from Vic. Alan's defiance and Vic's aggressive lessons culminate in disaster and Vic winds up breaking his leg. Alan then has to use his skills and some of Vic's to get down from the mountain.

Production and release

White Water Summer was originally produced as Rites of Summer in 1985, and given its current name upon release in 1987. The film's action is framed by commentary from the now-older character of Alan (Sean Astin

Sean Astin

Sean Astin is an American film actor, director, voice artist, and producer better known for his film roles as Mikey Walsh in The Goonies, the title character of Rudy, and Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In television, he appeared as Lynn McGill in the fifth season of 24...

), as he remembers a camping trip led by Vic (Kevin Bacon

Kevin Bacon

Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....

). The narration was filmed two years after the movie itself; Astin is noticeably older.

The film was photographed by John Alcott

John Alcott

John Alcott, B.S.C. was an English cinematographer best known for his four collaborations with director Stanley Kubrick; these are 2001: A Space Odyssey , for which he took over as lighting cameraman from Geoffrey Unsworth in mid-shoot, A Clockwork Orange , Barry Lyndon , the film for which he won...

, a frequent collaborator of Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...

. (Alcott died shortly after the release of the movie, which is dedicated to his memory.) Scenes were shot in California's Sierra Nevada mountains, as well as in Canadian and New Zealand locales.

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...

 released the film in the Pacific Northwest

Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...

 region of the U.S.; a wider release was planned, but never carried out.

Music

• The film's credits are accompanied by the song Be Good To Yourself by Journey
  Journey (band)
  Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
  
  .

Nine songs are included in the film:

• "Wild Frontier"

Written by Bruce Hornsby and John Hornsby
Performed by Bruce Hornsby and The Range
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label of BMG Music

• "On The Western Skyline"

Written by Bruce Hornsby and John Hornsby
Performed by Bruce Hornsby and The Range
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label of BMG Music

• "Be Good To Yourself"

Written by Steve Perry, Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon
Performed by Journey
Courtesy of CBS Records

• "Aphrodisiac Jacket"

Written by Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy
Produced by Rick Rubin
Performed by The Cult
Courtesy of Sire Records
by arrangement with Warner Special Products and Beggars Banquet Records Limited

• "Life in a Dangerous Time"

Written by Nick Van Eede (as Nicholas Eede)
Produced by Terry Brown & Cutting Crew
Performed by Cutting Crew
Courtesy of Siren Records Ltd.

• "Streetwalker"

Composed, Produced and Performed by Michael Boddicker

• "Paradise"

Written by Kaylee Adams and Charlie Mitchell
Produced by Charlie Mitchell
Performed by Kaylee Adams
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records

• "Hot Shot"

Written by Mike Slamer

Mike Slamer

Mike Slamer is a British guitarist who started his career playing in the UK prog-rock band City Boy. Since then, he has worked as a staff composer for various movies and TV series, has been a session guitarist for numerous recording artists, and played in several bands:He at different times...

, Roy Ward and John Luttrelle
Produced by Mike Slamer
Performed by Roy Ward

• "Restless Heart"

Written by Mike Slamer and Mark Boals

Mark Boals

Mark Boals is an American rock singer, noted most for his work with Yngwie J. Malmsteen. He was born on December 5, 1958 , in Youngstown, Ohio, United States...

Produced by Mike Slamer
Performed by Mark Boals