The Champions, Part 1: Unlikely Warriors

The Champions, Part 1: Unlikely Warriors

1978 · 57 min · ★ 8.0 · Documentary

In Part 1 of this 3-part documentary series, director Donald Brittain chronicles the early years of Pierre Elliott Trudeau and René Lévesque. From their university days in the 1950s to 1967 when Lévesque left the Liberal Party and Trudeau became the federal Minister of Justice, Brittain attempts to get at the heart of what makes these men so fascinating.

Directed by Donald Brittain · Written by Donald Brittain

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The Champions, Part 1: Unlikely Warriors

Henry Ford's America

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The ChampionsSee all →

The Champions, Part 2: Trappings of Power

The Champions, Part 2: Trappings of Power · 1978

The Champions, Part 2: Trappings of Power

MovieDocumentary

Part 2 of this 3-part documentary series about Pierre Elliott Trudeau and René Lévesque covers the years between 1967 and 1977, a colourful decade that saw Trudeau win three federal elections, the 1970 October Crisis and the sweeping rise to power of the Parti Québécois.

The Champions, Part 3: The Final Battle

The Champions, Part 3: The Final Battle · 1986

The Champions, Part 3: The Final Battle

MovieDocumentary

The final instalment of this 3-part documentary series about Pierre Elliott Trudeau and René Lévesque spans the decade between 1976 and 1986. The film reveals the turbulent, behind-the-scenes drama during the Quebec referendum and the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution. In doing so, it also traces both Trudeau's and Lévesque's fall from power.

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Henry Ford's America

Henry Ford's America · 1977

Henry Ford's America

MovieDocumentary

A study of the automobile and its pervasive effect on the history of North America. Focusing on the Ford dynasty, from the original Henry car through to Henry II, the film demonstrates how society has adapted to fit the needs of the automobile.

Tommy Douglas: Keeper of the Flame

Tommy Douglas: Keeper of the Flame · 1986

Tommy Douglas: Keeper of the Flame

MovieDocumentary

This feature documentary traces the political career of T.C. (Tommy) Douglas, former premier of Saskatchewan and leader of the New Democratic Party, who was voted the Greatest Canadian in 2004 for his devotion to social causes, his charm and his powers of persuasion. Known as the "Father of Medicare," this one-time champion boxer and fiery preacher entered politics in the 1930s and never looked back.

His Worship, Mr. Montréal

His Worship, Mr. Montréal · 1976

His Worship, Mr. Montréal

MovieDocumentary

This feature documentary is a fascinating and spirited portrait of the life and times of the legendary Quebec politician and four-time mayor of Montreal Camillien Houde. Using rare archival footage and interviews with ex-colleagues, aides and friends, the film presents a comprehensive profile of this incredible, and, to some, infamous, man.

Never a Backward Step

Never a Backward Step · 1966

Never a Backward Step

MovieDocumentary

This feature documentary is a profile of Canadian press tycoon Roy Thomson, whose single-minded attention to business brought him riches, power, and even a baronetcy in England. A native of Timmins, Ontario, Thomson had a tremendous career as publisher, television magnate, financier, and owner of many newspapers, including leading London dailies. The film is a frank study of an equally frank man.

Family: A Loving Look at CBC Radio

Family: A Loving Look at CBC Radio · 1991

Family: A Loving Look at CBC Radio

MovieDocumentary

Family offers a candid look at CBC Radio in action and the unique cast of characters who make up Canada's coast-to-coast radio family. The film brings home the enormous complexity of producing across six time zones, with the mandate to deliver quality programs, often live, throughout the country. Accomplished filmmaker Donald Brittain was able to capture critical moments of live radio in progress and documents the history and development of CBC Radio.

Tiger Child

Tiger Child · 1970

It was the time when fire got stolen by tigers so uncle tiger gets his sisters son to get back the fire but when he gets to the village he forgets what his uncle wanted and he asks all the villagers to help him but he likes the village so much and...instead of being a tiger he turns into a cat.....

For the Record

For the Record · 1976

For the Record, an anthology of 60-to-90-minute dramas, started on the series, Performance, as a subseries called Camera ’76. A collection of docudrama-style short stories on diverse but socially relevant (and very Canadian) topics such as unemployment, euthanasia, spousal abuse, televangelists, aboriginal issues, and anglophone-francophone relations. This series attracted most of the 'big name' Canadian actors and directors of the time.

Tiki Tiki

Tiki Tiki · 1971

MovieComedyAnimation

In this hybrid of animation and live-action, a counterculture monkey blows the studio's budget directing a bizarre fantasy film, which is actually an overdubbed Russian children's movie.

King of the Hill

King of the Hill · 1974

King of the Hill

MovieDocumentary

This feature documentary follows one of the greatest Canadian baseball players of all time, Ferguson Jenkins, through the 1972-1973 season. From the hope and innocence of spring training to the dog days of an August slump, the camera gets up close and personal at the home plate and records the intimate chatter on the mound, in the dugout and in the locker room. It provides a glimpse into the rewards and pressures of sports stardom and the easy camaraderie of the quintessential summer sport.

Saul Alinsky Went to War

Saul Alinsky Went to War · 1968

Saul Alinsky Went to War

MovieDocumentary

In this feature documentary, American community organizer and writer Saul Alinsky goes to war against the conditions that keep the poor in poverty. The film shows how he helped Black ghettos in the United States find an effective, non-violent method of fighting for their rights.

The Champions, Part 2: Trappings of Power

The Champions, Part 2: Trappings of Power · 1978

The Champions, Part 2: Trappings of Power

MovieDocumentary

Part 2 of this 3-part documentary series about Pierre Elliott Trudeau and René Lévesque covers the years between 1967 and 1977, a colourful decade that saw Trudeau win three federal elections, the 1970 October Crisis and the sweeping rise to power of the Parti Québécois.

Grierson

Grierson · 1973

MovieDocumentary

A portrait of John Grierson, the first Canadian Government Film Commissioner and founder of the National Film Board in 1939. Interweaving archival footage, interviews with people who knew him and footage of Grierson himself, this film is a sensitive and informative portrait of a dynamic man of vision. Grierson believed that the filmmaker had a social responsibility, and that film could help a society realize democratic ideals. His absolute faith in the value of capturing the drama of everyday life was to influence generations of filmmakers all over the world. In fact, he coined the term 'documentary film'.

Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle

Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle · 1978

Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle

MovieDocumentaryMystery

Part documentary/part dramatization, this film details several of the highest-profile unsolved cases of disappearances, mysterious changes in personality and other strange occurrences related to the Bermuda Triangle.

Memorandum

Memorandum · 1967

MovieDocumentary

A Jewish Holocaust survivor travels through Germany recalling scenes from his memory. This documentary follows a Holocaust survivor in 1965 on an emotional pilgrimage to Bergen Belsen, the last of 11 concentration camps where he was held by the Nazis. He and 30 other former Jewish inmates travel through the new Germany. Scenes still vivid in his mind are recalled in flashback. The memorandum of the title refers to Hitler's memo offering a "final solution" to the "Jewish problem."

Buster Keaton Rides Again

Buster Keaton Rides Again · 1965

Buster Keaton Rides Again

MovieDocumentary

In the fall of 1964, just over a year before his death, Buster Keaton traveled to Canada to make The Railrodder, a short subject that now enjoys a small cult following. Documenting this mobile production in fascinating and unexpected detail, Buster Keaton Rides Again offers a rare glimpse of the comedy legend’s temperament, philosophies, hobbies, marriage (his third), and the occasionally combative creative process behind the scenes. An intimate look at one of cinema’s most enduring legends.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Leonard Cohen

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Leonard Cohen · 1966

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Leonard Cohen

MovieDocumentary

A 1964 documentary portrait of Cohen in his pre-musician days as a poet and stand-up comedian.

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