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The Red Violin (Full Screen)
Written by Don McKellar, [ds4]The
Red Violin is a lavish, decorative, and ambitious film about the
history of one very special instrument, the music it made, and the
people connected with it--from its dramatic 16th century creation in
Cremona, Italy, up to modern-day Montreal. Directed with vision...
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| 27. |
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Dead Ringers (Widescreen)
Jeremy Irons
- A landmark
psychological drama, Dead Ringers marked David Cronenberg's
departure from grotesque horror films as he moved toward more
dramatic, sophisticated movies. He continues to explore the dark side
of human nature, tapping into primal fears in this movie about twin
brothers, both Toronto-based... Read more
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Strangers in Good Company [IMPORT]
Alice
Diabo - A premise that
might not sound very promising--eight elderly women sitting around
talking in an abandoned house after their tour bus breaks down--turns
out, in the hands of director Cynthia Scott and her troupe of
nonprofessional actors, to be a one-of-a-kind pleasure. As the women
cope with their... Read more
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Last Night (Full Screen)
Don McKellar is
the triple threat of Canadian independent film: He wrote The Red
Violin, starred in Highway 61), and made his directorial
debut in Last Night, a wonderfully calm account of a coming
apocalypse. With the end of the world set to arrive in only six hours,
a small ensemble of Toronto... Read more
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Trudeau
This recent
miniseries is considered a Canadian essential for its exploration of
the life, times, and events that shaped Pierre Trudeau, Canada's most
popular prime minister, and of how he in turn shaped Canada. Worthy
viewing for anyone interested in the man or the issues involved in
Canadian... Read more
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Also: 50 Most Essential Canadian books
Also: 50 Most Essential Canadian CDs |
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The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
The
Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz was a classic Canadian novel by
Mordecai Richler before expatriate Ted Kotcheff filmed it just as the
English-Canadian film industry was starting out. It's a decent
adaptation of the book about a young hustler in an ethnic enclave of
Montreal. It's particularly... Read more
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| 32. |
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Maelström
Despite making a
good showing at the Toronto and Montreal film festivals,
Maelstrom is perhaps best known as "the movie narrated by a
talking fish." Directed by Canadian Denis Villeneuve with surreal
originality, it includes gorgeous cinematography of Montreal.
Villeneuve succeeds in creating a... Read more
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| 33. |
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Hard Core Logo
Well-known
Canadian director Bruce McDonald (Roadkill) made this
pseudo-rockumentary about a filmmaker following a Vancouver punk band
on a list-ditch tour of Western Canada. Often compared to This Is Spinal Tap, Logo, like Fubar, is a
concerted take on Canadian music and music culture. Filmed with...
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| 34. |
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Canada: A People's History, Series 1
Originally
broadcast over two years on CBC and Radio Canada, Canada: A
People's History was the most ambitious documentary production in
Canadian history. |
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| 35. |
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Norman McLaren [Collector's Edition] [IMPORT]
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| 36. |
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Made in Canada: Season 1 - DVD
This TV comedy
about the trials and inner workings of a Canadian media company was
broadcast on the CBC for five seasons, twice winning Genie awards for
Best Comedy Series. Like Seinfeld, it was very inventive and
funny for the way it dispensed with contrived sitcom plots in favor
of... Read more
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| 37. |
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Videodrome
David Cronenberg
directed Videodrome, a horror movie that invites extreme
reactions--good and bad--from viewers. It's a good example of
Cronenberg's style: Unsettling and freakish, but intelligent. In the
end Videodrome is a potent treatise on the effects of total
immersion into our mass-media... Read more
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| 38. |
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Deanna Durbin: Sweetheart Pack
The highest-paid
female star in the world at age 14 and retired from show business at
27, Deanna Durbin, "Winnipeg's Sweetheart," was a fresh and joyful
presence in some of the most charming musicals of the late Depression
years. This five-movie set, long-awaited by her still-enthusiastic
fans,... Read more
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| 39. |
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The Barbarian Invasions
Denys Arcand
returns to the characters of The Decline of the American Empire
with this graceful yet provocative movie of ideas. Typical of Arcand's
work, the plot is character-driven, but the director manages to make a
few social statements about the state of Quebec's medical bureaucracy.
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Roadkill
Kingston,
Ontario's, Bruce McDonald cut his indie teeth directing this rock &
roll road movie seven years before making Hard Core Logo.
Roadkill traverses the back roads and wilds of Canada following
the odyssey of Valerie, a concert promoter searching for a lost band
in hopes of staging a comeback... Read more
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| 41. |
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Naked Lunch [IMPORT]
David Cronenberg
takes on William Burroughs's oeuvre of depravity, hallucinations, and
talking insects in a film that should
have been a disaster. Naked Lunch is a book that most
directors would shun from filming. But if anyone can do it,
Cronenberg--with his fascination for the bizarre, grotesque,... Read more
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Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media
[IMPORT]
The Canadian
documentary Manufacturing Consent presents a lengthy, detailed
look at the political beliefs of celebrated intellectual Noam Chomsky.
In so doing, the directors also raise the meaty and contentious issue
of mass-media influence in a democratic society. The film is effective
at... Read more
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| 43. |
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Porky's / Porky's II: The Next Day (Widescreen) [IMPORT]
Dan Monahan - The
highest-grossing Canadian film ever made, this is the one that started
it all and spawned a multitude of lowbrow teen sex comedies like
American Pie. Love it or hate it, the effect
Porky's has had on modern cinema is undeniable. |
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Men With Brooms
What about this
movie isn't Canadian? Due South’s Paul Gross cowrote and
directed this comedy about a curling team reuniting after 10 years and
their attempt to win a championship in honor of their recently
deceased coach. While the plot focuses on the four team members and
the issues they're... Read more
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Kids in the Hall: Complete Season 1 1989-1990 [4 Discs]
Produced [ds5]by
Canadian and Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels, this DVD
gives a good look at the popular Canadian sketch comedy troupe Kids in
the Hall. Several of the writers and actors went on to work for SNL,
further influencing North American comedy and TV. |
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Also: 50 Most Essential Canadian books
Also: 50 Most Essential Canadian CDs |
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| 46. |
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Leonard Maltin's Animated Favorites From the National
Film Board Canada [IMPORT]
One of the more
unusual DVDs on our Canadian Essentials list, this survey of nine
animated short films is produced by the National Film Board and hosted
by Leonard Maltin. It gives viewers an opportunity to see some
creative and experimental short films that might not find an audience
elsewhere.... Read more
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| 47. |
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Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy (Widescreen)
Dave Foley - Canadian sketch
comics Kids in the Hall reformed after the demise of their TV show for
this satire, which is now attracting a strong cult following. |
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Hanging Garden [IMPORT]
Sporting the tag
line "It's hard to go home 10 years after your death," The Hanging
Garden’s plot is built around a gay man returning to his Nova
Scotia home--and his highly dysfunctional family--for his sister's
wedding. It shares one notable quality with many other films on this
list in that... Read more
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| 49. |
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Cirque du Soleil
Quebec's Cirque
du Soleil reinvented the circus as we know it in North America. This
DVD set, including Dralion, Quidam, and
Journey of Man, showcases the jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring
physicality, artistry, and sheer beauty of this esoteric troupe. Since
travelling beyond Canada's borders, Cirque du... Read more
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| 50. |
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Toronto Rocks [2 Disc Canadian Edition]
On July 30,
2003, close to half a million people gathered in Toronto for one of
the most spectacular concerts of all time. It was the largest ticketed
single-day event in history. While the Rolling Stones headlined the
show, Canadian music fans will enjoy the chance to see many of their
favourite... Read more
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