Films

Music has been an essential part of cinema almost from its inception. Films made during the silent era (1895-1927) may have lacked a soundtrack, but movie audiences in Canada, as elsewhere, most often experienced them with musical accompaniment. Almost from the time the country's first permanent movie theatre opened in Toronto in March 1906, piano players sat in the pit beneath the screen and performed standard tunes and familiar classical pieces, underscoring the action on the screen and enhancing its emotional power.

The instrument initially employed for the musical accompaniment of silent film was the piano, but soon it was replaced by theatre organs, which were equipped with devices to imitate sounds as diverse as the snare drum and the harp. Studios often provided cue sheets for accompanists, which included musical leitmotifs for characters, in the manner of Wagner, a technique basic to film scoring even today. By the 1920s many major Hollywood films, following the lead of D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation (1915), were distributed with accompanying scores composed specifically for them. After World War I, it was not uncommon to find a full orchestra replacing the theatre organist in first-run houses in the country's larger urban centres.

National Film Board
National Film Board Composers and Subjects

Until the 1960s, feature film production in Canada was negligible. The emphasis was on documentary and animated shorts, most produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), established in 1939. Staff composers at the NFB included, most notably, Maurice Blackburn, Eldon Rathburn, and Robert Fleming. Louis Applebaum, also a composer, was music director at the NFB 1942-6. These men wrote scores for hundreds of NFB productions, including many of its best-known documentaries, animated films and features, while Applebaum also composed the music for a number of Hollywood movies, including The Story of G.I. Joe (1945), for which he was nominated for an Oscar.

With the NFB's mandate to present Canadian culture to audiences at home and abroad, music figured prominently in its productions. Music and musicians were a frequent subject of NFB documentaries, and films were made on such diverse performers as Gilles Vigneault, Stompin' Tom Connors, Paul Anka, Don Messer, the Leslie Bell Singers, Glenn Gould, and Sir Ernest MacMillan. MusiCanada (1975), a broad tapestry of Canadian musical talent from Glenn Gould to the Canadian Brass, itself expresses the eclectic approach to musical subjects by the NFB more generally.

French-Canadian Music in Film
However, nowhere in Canadian cinema was music more important than in the cinéma-direct documentaries made by Quebec filmmakers as part of the Quiet Revolution in the 1950s and 60s, where it helped define Quebec as a distinct society. In Les Raquetteurs (1958), the traditional reel played spontaneously by the partygoers after the annual Sherbrooke snowshoe race unites the revellers as surely as the iconographic presence of Maurice Richard. Gilles Groulx's Où êtes-vous donc? (1968) uses three Quebec singers - Georges Dor, Christian, and Mouffe (Claudine Monfette) - to represent different paths for Quebecois pop music and cultural identity. Other NFB films focusing on regional and local expressions of Canadian music include Bernard Gosselin's Jean Carignan, Violoneux (1975) and La veillée des veillées (1976), about traditional fiddling, and Le frolic cé pour ayder (1979), about the annual Acadian music festival at Cap Pelé, NB, that focuses on the tradition of the "frolic," or barn-raising.

NFB Animated Shorts
The NFB also produced animated shorts, many of which employed music as an important element. Carolyn Leaf combined animation and live-action cinematography for her film Kate and Anna McGarrigle (1981). Among the numerous Canadian animators who worked for the NFB in the postwar era, George Dunning went on to head the animation team that created Yellow Submarine (1968), which featured the music of the Beatles. Norman McLaren, the most important NFB animator, developed his own methods of hand-drawing optical soundtracks for such films as Dots (1949), Loops (1952), and Neighbours (1952). McLaren's musical sensitivity is clear in Begone Dull Care (1949), for which he provided abstract kinetic imagery that responds to and amplifies the cascading notes of Oscar Peterson's jazz piano.

Independent Documentary
Canadian Documentaries about Music and Musicians

The first Canadian documentary to focus on a pop star was the NFB film Lonely Boy (1961), about teen idol Paul Anka. The film provided a behind-the-scenes look at Anka and also examined the phenomenon of pop stardom generally. Working independently of the National Film Board, several other filmmakers subsequently produced documentaries about musicians, all of them American. Canadian producer Budge Crawley spent four years tracking down all available footage of psychedelic blues singer Janis Joplin for Janis (1974). Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz (1978), perhaps the best rockumentary of all time, chronicled the farewell performance of The Band. Neil Young, who appears in The Last Waltz (1978), directed his own concert film, Rust Never Sleeps, in 1979. Jeremy Podeswa's Standards (1992) is a documentary about great American songwriters.

In the 1980s Brigitte Berman produced two critically acclaimed documentaries on American jazz musicians: Bix, 'Ain't None of Them Play Like Him Yet' (1982), about legendary jazz trumpeter Bix Beiderbecke, and Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got (1984). Ron Mann made the well-received Imagine the Sound (1981), featuring the music of four American progressive jazz musicians, and Twist (1992), a social history of the twist dance fad. Focusing the camera lens back home, Alan Zweig's offbeat Vinyl (2000) examines the obsessions of Canadian record collectors. Michael Snow, whose films fall somewhere between documentary and experimental cinema, is also an accomplished jazz musician.

Feature Films
Feature Films about Music and Musicians

As in documentary filmmaking, Canadian feature films have often focused on musical subjects. Prominent examples include Thirty-Two Short Films about Glenn Gould (1994), The Red Violin (1998), and Anne Wheeler's Bye Bye Blues (1989), a World War II melodrama about a woman, left alone and pregnant on the prairies, who joins a swing band. Paul Lynch's The Hard Part Begins (1973) is about a small-time country singer from Ontario who dreams of making it to Nashville; Whale Music (1994) stars Maury Chaykin as a reclusive, washed-up rock star. Slipstream (1973) and Rude (1995) use DJs at pirate radio stations in rural Alberta and Toronto respectively to provide moral perspectives on their stories.

The Canadian director most associated with music is Bruce MacDonald. His Roadkill (1989) and Highway 61 (1992) are rock 'n' roll road movies with a Canadian slant. Hard-Core Logo (1996) is a mock-rockumentary in the manner of This is Spinal Tap (1984), about the farewell tour of a 1980s punk group across the Canadian west, starring Hugh Dillon, lead singer of the Headstones, as leader of the fictional punk group. Interestingly, actual musicals are rare in Canadian cinema, perhaps the only one being John Greyson's "AIDS musical" Zero Patience (1994), with music by Glenn Schellenberg.

Film Music Written by Canadians
Canadian composers and musicians have provided the music for many Canadian films as well as for movies made in Hollywood. Composer Mychael Danna has had a continuing working relationship with director Atom Egoyan, Kurt Swinghammer with Kevin McMahon, Robbie Robertson with Martin Scorsese, and Howard Shore, who has also composed for many Hollywood films including the Lord of the Rings trilogy (2002-4), with David Cronenberg. In popular music, Zalman Yanovksy, member of the Lovin' Spoonful, did the music along with Douglas Bush for Allan King's pioneering documentary A Married Couple (1969); Kensington Market and Leonard Cohen provided the music for Don Owen's The Ernie Game (1968); Bruce Cockburn the music for Goin' down the Road (1970); Murray McLauchlan the music for Rip-Off (1971); and Philippe Gagnon the music for Les Ordres (1974). For Hollywood, Cohen's songs were woven hypnotically throughout Robert Altman's McCabe and Mrs Miller (1971), and Neil Young provided the powerful guitar soundtrack for Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man (1995).

Young's songs were featured in such movies as Jerry Maguire (1996), American Beauty (1999), and Shallow Hal (2001); Leonard Cohen's in such films as Dynamite Chicken (1972), Bird on a Wire (1990), Natural Born Killers (1994), Breaking the Waves (1996), and Shrek (2001); Gordon Lightfoot's in Paperback Hero (1973), The Brown Bunny (2003), and Wonderland (2003); Joni Mitchell's in Bob Dylan's Renaldo and Clara (1978), Life as a House (2001), and Two Weeks Notice (2001); and Céline Dion's singing in Bicentennial Man (1999), Stuart Little 2 (2002), and Far from Heaven (2002). Robbie Robertson's "The Weight" has been featured in no less than four movies - Easy Rider (1969), Patch Adams (1998), Girl, Interrupted (1999), and Igby Goes Down (2002).

Canadian Musicians on Film
Canadian musicians also have appeared in front of the movie camera, in both musical and dramatic roles. Kathleen Howard, opera singer with the Metropolitan Opera 1916-28, became a character actress in Hollywood, starring in two W.C. Fields comedies and the classic film noir Laura (1944), among others. Robbie Robertson had a rare dramatic role in Carny (1980), which he also co-wrote. Carole Laure, a musician as well as an actress, appeared in several films directed by Gilles Carle, including the enigmatic L'Ange et la femme (1977) with violinist Lewis Furey, who provided the music for a number of Carle's films. Diana Krall, whose music is included in the soundtracks of a number of Hollywood films such as The Cooler (2003), has appeared as a performer in De-Lovely (2004) and as herself in Woody Allen's Anything Else (2004). Other Canadian musicians from the Parachute Club to Barenaked Ladies have appeared in movies as themselves playing their music. Canadian comedian Dan Ackroyd, with John Belushi, ushered in a brief revival of '60s soul music as The Blues Brothers on Saturday Night Live and in the big-budget Hollywood comedy The Blues Brothers (1980).

Filmography

This filmography represents some 65 years of film-making. The first section contains information on films about Canadian music or musicians; the second section is devoted to films made for television; the third section gives a selection of videos (see also Music videos). The first section of the filmography is devoted to films intended for viewing in movie theatres. Of the over 230 films in this section, 110 are by the National Film Board (NFB). Prior to 1980 more than two-thirds of the films listed were by the NFB. At the end of the 1980s, the proportion was less than half. A number are feature-length films or documentaries, and there are a significant number of films of approximately one-hour's duration. Films featuring Paul Anka, John Kim Bell, Glenn Gould, Maureen Forrester, Marek Jablonski, the Lenny Breau Trio, the McGarrigle sisters, Don Messer, R. Murray Schafer, and John Weinzweig will be found in the list. In the 1980s, with the advent of Rhombus Media and other specialized companies, and due to the growth of the film industry in general, Canada's music and musicians began to receive more film coverage.

Films that treat Music and/or Musicians in Canada
1939-49

CFMDC designates films at the Canadian Filmmakers' Distribution Centre

1939

Music from the Stars. 12 min. Associated Screen News. Horace Lapp's orchestra at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto

1944-5

Let's All Sing Together. 8-10 min each. NFB. 6-part series (1 and 2, 1944; 3-6, 1945) The Four Gentlemen sing the old favourites illustrated by animated silhouettes.

1945

A City Sings. 11 min. NFB. The annual Manitoba (Winnipeg) Music Competition Festival. Shortened version of the film Listen to the Prairies (21 min). Mary Morrison appears in the festival.

Meet the Navy on Tour. NFB. Tour documentary of, and scenes from, the RCN revue Meet the Navy

Music in the Wind/Le Vent qui chante. 9 min. NFB. A visit to the Casavant organ factory, with Piché and Willan providing background music. Shortened version of the film Singing Pipes (21 min)

The Navy Show. England. Feature film of the RCN show, made in England at the end of World War II

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra I. 12 min. NFB. Sir Ernest MacMillan conducting the TSO in Jamaican Rhumba, À St-Malo, and Overture to Colas Breugnon

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra II. 9 min. NFB. Sir Ernest MacMillan conducting the third movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6

1947

Christmas Carols. 11 min. NFB. Cartoon presentation of carols sung by the Leslie Bell Singers

Story of a Violin. 22 min. NFB. George Heinl builds a violin for a young boy. (Eugene Kash performs on the sound-track.)

1948

It's Fun to Sing. 11 min. NFB. The Leslie Bell Singers in performance

1949

Children's Concert. 42 min. NFB. Eugene Kash introduces the four sections of an orchestra (Ottawa Philharmonic) and explains some of the elements of music to a young audience.

Choral Concert. 10 min. NFB. By the Leslie Bell Singers

1950-60
1951

Dances of the Kwakiutl. 10 min. Orbit Films (USA). The dances of the ancient winter ceremonial rites of the Kwakiutl families, with music recorded on location

Longhouse people. 23 min. NFB. Rain-dance, healing ceremony and celebration of the Iroquois

The Man in the Peace Tower. NFB. The music of the Dominion carillonneur Robert Donnell

Meet Gisèle. 10 min. NFB. The popular singer performing three songs

The Opera Class. 36 min. NFB. The training of a young opera singer (Marguerite Gignac) at the Royal Cons Opera School and her performance as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro

1952

Singing Champions. 10 min. NFB. The Chorale de l'Université St-Joseph, New Brunswick, in rehearsal and concert

Legende des Caribous. 20 min. J.P. Michéa & Poulenc frères. Songs and singing as a part of Inuit life are treated in this film.

Music Master. 10 min. NFB. Neil Chotem performs Chopin, and he and his trio perform instrumental versions of popular songs.

1953

Musician in the Family. 17 min. NFB. The story of a prairie farmer's son who achieves a musical education despite family opposition. Score by Robert Fleming

Music Professor. 6 min. NFB. One of the Faces of Canada series documenting the work of a piano teacher with his young pupils

The Newcomers. NFB. Includes rehearsal, in Halifax, of Nova Scotia Opera Assn 's The Marriage of Figaro with Latvian musicians Alfred Strombergs and Mariss Vetra

Rehearsal. 12 min. NFB. Paul Scherman conducts a movement of Somers' Suite for Harp with Marie Iösch-Lorcini as soloist.

1955

The Musical Ride. 19 min. NFB. The famous RCMP Musical Ride, performed to the accompaniment of band music

1956

Youth and Music/Jeunesses Musicales du Canada. 27 min. in English, 44 min. in French. NFB. Activities at the annual JMC (YMC) summer camp

1958

The Country Fiddle. 18 min. Marlin Motion Pictures. Includes violoneux demonstrating the different techniques of tuning and fiddling

Henri Gagnon. 29 min. NFB. Profile of the organist, performing and teaching

Music for Children. 13 min. NFB. Demonstration by Doreen Hall of the Orff method of teaching music to children

Songs of Nova Scotia. 11 min. NFB. Helen Creighton collecting folk songs in her native Nova Scotia

1959

Glenn Gould - Off the Record. 30 min. NFB. Glenn Gould at his cottage and talking to Franz Kraemer

Glenn Gould - On the Record. 30 min. NFB. Glenn Gould recording Bach's Italian Concerto at the Columbia studios, New York

Man of Music. 17 min. NFB. A portrait of Healey Willan, composer, organist-choirmaster, teacher

1961-70
1961

Boy Meets Band. 12 min. NFB. Cliff Bryson directs the young members of the community-sponsored West Vancouver Boys' Band.

Circle of the Sun. 29 min. NFB. A gathering of the Blood Indians of Alberta that includes authentic songs

Festival in Puerto Rico. NFB. Maureen Forrester rehearsing and performing at the Casals Festival

Lonely Boy. 26 min. NFB. An account of the rise of pop singer Paul Anka

Wilfrid Pelletier, chef d'orchestre et éducateur. 30 min. NFB. The career of conductor Wilfrid Pelletier

1962

Music from Montreal. 29 min. NFB. The role of Georges Little as conductor of the Montreal Bach Choir

1963

Attiuk. 29 min. NFB. The drum dance of the nomadic Montagnais Indians who live near the Strait of Belle Isle

Pipers and A'. 9 min. NFB. A mass march-past of pipes and drums in Maxville, Ont, site of the annual Glengarry Highland Games

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. 6 min. NFB. Animated film of Alan Mills' song

Selections from the Christmas Oratorio. 14 min. NFB. The Montreal Bach Choir and soloists, conducted by Georges Little, perform Bach.

Toronto Jazz. 27 min. NFB. A look at three Toronto jazz groups: the Lenny Breau Trio, the Don Thompson Quintet, and the Alf Jones Quartet

1964

Bonsoir, Monsieur Champagne. 27 min. NFB. The life and work of Claude Champagne

1965

Stravinsky. 49 min. NFB. An informal study of Igor Stravinsky conducting the CBC Symphony Orchestra in his Symphony of Psalms

Images d'un concours. 57 min. NFB. Scenes from the Montreal International Competition

1966

Campus in the Clouds. 30 min. NFB. A visit to the Banff School of Fine Arts

Precision. 10 min. NFB. The RCMP Musical Ride, a blend of music, colour, and precise movement

1967

Tattoo 67. 19 min. NFB. Highlights of the 1967 Canadian Armed Forces Tattoo, including parade, tableaux, and massed bands

Twenty Million People. 25 min. NFB. A musical illustration of the diverse cultures comprising the Canadian mosaic

1968

Ce Soir-là. Arthur Lamothe. Arthur Lamothe's film about the chansonnier Gilles Vigneault

Marius Barbeau et le Folklore canadien-francais. 30 min. NFB. French-language film about the folklorist Marius Barbeau

The Songs of Chris Cobb. 8 min. NFB. The Newfoundland singer-songwriter performs his songs and poems.

1969

Bing, Bang, Boom. 25 min. NFB. R. Murray Schafer opens the ears and eyes of Grade 7 Scarborough students to their environment.

Contemporary Songs of French Canada/Chansons contemporains. NFB. Series of six short animated films based on songs sung by popular composer-performers: Cerveau gelé/ Love, Claude Dubois; Les fleurs de macadam/ The Asphalt Flowers, Jean-Pierre Ferland; Notre jeunesse en auto-sport/ Our Sports Car Days, Christian Larsen and Claude Gauthier; Taxi, Claude Léveillée; Tête en fleurs/ Marie, Claude Gauthier; and La Ville/ Big City, Jean-Pierre Ferland and Franck Dervieux (1970)

A Rosewood Daydream. 14 min. NFB. A Newfoundland rock group sings in a home for the elderly in St John's.

1971-75
1971

Country Music, Montreal. 38 min. Frank Vitale. A look at the country music scene in Montreal

Jablonski. 50 min. NFB. The Edmonton concert pianist reminiscing and playing Chopin

Pierre Mercure. 34 min. Charles Gagnon. A film dedicated to the Quebec composer

Don Messer: His Land and His Music. 69 min. NFB. Feature film of Messer and the entire 'Jubilee' cast

The Music Machine. 11 min. National Research Council, Canada. New music created with computer, cathode ray oscilloscope, and piano keyboard at Ottawa's National Research Council

Les Philharmonistes. 59 min. NFB. An encounter with the members of the band, the Société philharmonique of St-Hyacinthe, Que

Vaghy. Quarry Film Production. The contribution of the Vághy String Quartet to life in Kingston, Ont, and Queen's University

1972

The Big Key. 8 min. Jim Anderson. A slapstick comedy that centres on the antics of a stumbling and frustrated pianist

Bo Diddley's Back in Town. 20 min. CFMDC. Visiting pop star's Massey Hall concert.

Je Chante à Cheval... avec Willie Lamothe. 58 min. NFB. A portrait of the Quebec country singer-songwriter Willie Lamothe

A Little Summermusik. 8 min. NFB. Two sisters play the piano and flute for their friends.

Lookback: a Musical Fantasy. 54 min. Jack Mlynek. Five friends agree that their music made their high school days bearable.

The Oboe Reed. 21 min. University of Toronto Media Centre. Melvin Berman illustrates the art of reed-making.

Playing the Viol. York University Production. Peggie Sampson gives a class in the viola da gamba.

Reel du Pendu. 57 min. NFB. Versions of the traditional reel, played by groups of musicians from Quebec, Acadia, and Louisiana, reflect the varying attitudes of the musicians and their ways of life.

A Child like Any Other. Bellevue Pathé Ltée. Feature film on the career of the young Quebec singer René Simard

Street Musique. 9 min. NFB. Animated interpretation of the music of Ryan Larkin

This is Stompin' Tom. 22 min. Marlin Motion Pictures. Visual record of the easygoing style of the popular country singer Tom Connors

Tout écartillé. 6 min. NFB. Animated film illustrating a song composed and sung by Robert Charlebois

Why I sing... The Words and Music of Gilles Vigneault. 57 min. NFB. The ideas, attitudes, and performance of the renowned chansonnier

1973

Across This Land with Stompin' Tom Connors. John Saxton. Feature film on the personality and music of the popular country singer

Alegria. 28 min. NFB. A study of a craftsman fashioning a guitar

Cavendish Country. 27 min. NFB. The daily life and the songs of Calgary's country singer-songwriter Cal Cavendish

Every Saturday Night. 27 min. NFB. The story of the music and members of the Badlanders - a country band of the Drumheller area in Alberta

Goodbye Sousa. 17 min. NFB. A look at the community contribution of the century-old Newmarket Citizen's Band

The Hard Part Begins. Cinepix. Feature film. A profile of an aging country singer, played by Donnelly Rhodes. Music by Cliff Carroll

L'Infonie inachevée. Roger Frappier. Feature film on the Quebec ensemble Infonie

Not Just Any Song. 15 min. York University. Study of singer Debby Dunleavy

Original Sin. 4 min. NFB. Audience reaction to the song 'Original Sin'

Rock-a-Bye. 49 min. NFB. A behind-the-scenes look at the business of pop music, including interviews with some of the stars

To Syngen and to Playe. 25 min. University of Toronto Media Centre. The Toronto Consort performs the music of Chaucer's time on period instruments.

Touch a Legend 50 min. Chetwynd Films. Ian and Sylvia Tyson recreate the songs of the gold rush trail of '98.

The Violin. 30 min. Marlin Motion Pictures. An elderly man (Maurice Solway) opens the ears of two small boys to the joyous world of music.

1974

Alberta Girls. NFB. Precision marching and music by the Alberta Girls' Band from Edmonton, performing in Munich, Germany

Annie North of 60. 51 min. MPI Productions. Anne Murray on tour in the Northwest Territories

Don Breaks Out. 10 min. NFB. Profile of Don Fletcher, Maritime violin maker and fiddler

Entropiscape. 11 min. York University Television Productions. An artist, dancers, and musicians present a synthesis of art forms.

'Envoyez de l'avant nos gens'. See 1976: Le Son des Francais d'Amérique.

Jug Band Music: A Film about the Original Sloth Band. 22 min. Patrick Lee. The Toronto group The Original Sloth Band, rehearsing and performing

Poltava: A Heritage of Dance. 27 min. West Wind Film Group. The music and dance of a Ukrainian folk group

The Stampeders: Short Visit to Planet Earth. 24 min. Mel Shaw Productions. The Calgary rock group The Stampeders in concert

A Star Is Lost. 75 min. NFB. Musical comedy feature focuses on the trials of making a movie musical

Terry's Lute. Douglas Canton. Terry Philpot, a young craftsman, makes reproductions of medieval instruments.

Le Violon de Gaston./ Gaston's Recital. 22 min. NFB. To play his violin in recital or to play hockey in an important game? How a young boy deals with a conflict in his interests and activities.

1975

Halifax Music I and II. 19 min; 18 min. NFB. A two-part documentary on the teaching methods of the Music Dept of the Halifax School Board

Harpsichord Builder. Bernard Sauerman. Wolfgang Kater, harpsichord builder of Quebec, is the subject.

Jean Carignan violoneux. 87 min. NFB. Feature film of the life of Quebec's best-known fiddler

Monsieur Pointu. 13 min. NFB. A combination animated-film and photographic treatment of the famed violoneux Paul Cormier, Monsieur Pointu

Musicanada. 58 min. NFB. Cross-section of music-making in Canada, with appearances by Edith Butler, Maureen Forrester, the NYO, and Cape Dorset mouth musicians, and many others

Pitou Boudreault, violoneux. See 1976: Le Son des Français d'Amérique.

Les Ruine-Babines. See 1976: Le Son des Français d'Amérique.

We Sing More Than We Cry. 16 min. NFB. Acadians use word, song and music to preserve their heritage

1976-80
1976

Le Son des Français d'Amérique. Faroun Films (Canada) Ltée. Series of 13 documentary films (1974-6, 27 min each) on the traditional music of francophones in North America. Films with Canadian subjects include:

- ' La Révolution du Dansage'. Arthur Rouleau, violoneux, and Mme Audet of Ile d'Orléans collaborate to preserve the traditional music and dance of their region.

- ' Envoyez de l'avant nos gens'. Antonio Bazinet, farmer of Lanthier, Que, interprets the old songs.

- L'en premier. Traditional music of Acadia as it reflects the effects of the historic deportation

- Il'allont-y-disparaître. Members of an Acadian community in northwest Cape Breton sing 'complaintes'.

- Johnny à Dennis à Alfred. A look at three generations of Acadian fiddlers in Baie Ste-Marie, NS

- ' Faut pas l'dire!' How Acadian traditional song and dance have been preserved. Narrated by Charlotte Cormier

- Pitou Boudreault, violoneux. Saguenay fiddler Louis Pitou Boudreault plays music for dancing.

- Les Ruine-Babines. Six young Montreal musicians rehearse the music of the Gaspé.

La Veillée des veillées. 96 min. NFB. Final night of the 1975 festival of traditional music in Montreal. Extraits, released 1980. 28 min. NFB. Features Carignan and Gilles Lozier

Wingy Manone and the Climax Jazz Band - 1976. 17 min. Joe Showler. Toronto's Climax Jazz Band performs with US trumpeter Wingy Manone.

1977

Crash 'n' Burn. 27 min. CFMDC. A look at punk rock in Toronto, featuring the Diodes, the Deadboys, and Teenage Head

Désirs Mouvements. 5 min. Barry Goodwin. Percussion, dance, and abstract art in a collage of sound and movement

Festival of Friends - Live. 45 min. James Aquila. A documentary of the three-day folk art and music festival in Hamilton, Ont

George Oliver: Superbad. 20 min. York University. Interview with a Toronto soul band singer

Good Luck Boy. 24 min. CFMDC. The Canadian folk music scene, featuring Toronto singer-songwriter Raffi

Harmonie. 19 min. NFB. Summer music at CAMMAC

1978

Bells and Brass. NFB. Canadian Brass and the carillonneur Gordon Slater recording 'O Canada'

Celtic Spirits. 57 min. NFB. John Allan Cameron and Winston 'Scotty' Fitzgerald trace the Celtic roots of the Canadian folk music of piper, fiddler, and folk singer at the Mariposa Folk Festival, and on Prince Edward Island.

The Last Waltz. 117 min. A Martin Scorsese film of The Band's farewell to life on the road filmed in San Francisco in 1976. Live concert and interviews. Guests include Ronnie Hawkins, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and many others. Also available on video tape and laser disc

Le Luxe de son. 34 min. Animage Inc. Examines the tradition of organ in Quebec

Opus I, Number 1. 21 min. Fichman-Sweete Productions. Rehearsal and performance by a trio of young musicians

1979

Al Neil - A Portrait. 40 min. Dave Rimmer. A look at the Vancouver jazz pianist

Cano: Notes on a Collective Experience/notes sur une experience collective 90 min. NFB. Feature film portrait of the Franco-Ontarian rock group

Gino Vanelli Superspecial. 54 min. Henry Less and Associates. An intimate look at the singer's life and music

Harmonium in California. NFB. 1979 tour of the Quebec group as it breaks into the US market

Last Pogo Film. 26 min. CFMDC. Punk rock bands at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern

The Show: A Night of Starlight. 27 min. CFMDC. Jim Betts directs an original musical show at the University of Toronto.

1980

Big and the Blues. 25 min. NFB An anecdotal view of Clarence 'Big' Miller's life

Blazing Frontiers. 61 min. DEC Films. A brief history of ethnic musics in Canada

Different Timbres. 14 min. CFMDC. Steelband music in Canada

Extremely Close Up. 22 min. CFMDC. A music program changes the lives of handicapped residents of Montreal's Penfield house

Fantastica. 110 min. New World Mutual Pictures of Canada. Carole Laure and Lewis Furey star in this feature as members of a travelling musical comedy show

The Fiddlers of James Bay. 29 min. NFB. Cree fiddlers Bob McCleod and Ray Spencers trace the musical link between their ancestors and Scots from the Orkney Islands who came to Canada two centuries ago.

Les Jeunesses musicales au Canada 1950-1980. 30 min. Ciné-Mundo Inc. 30 years of the JMC

Le Milieu. 16 min. University of Montreal. Documentary on the the Faculty of Music at the university

Music for Wilderness Lake. 30 min. Fichman-Sweete Productions. Performance of R. Murray Schafer's composition for 12 trombones at O'Grady Lake

Rucibel. 15 min. Canadian Film-Makers' Distribution West. West-coast street musicians at work

Ryan's Fancy: Home, Boys, Home. 59 min. Direct Film Toronto. The Irish-Canadian group's concert tour in Ireland

Soul Survivor. 52 min. CFMDC. Portrait of Diane Heatherington, a singer in the male-dominated rock world

1981-85
1981

From the Strings of My Guitar. 29 min. DEC Films. The life and music of Greek and Latin American musicians in Toronto

Hank Williams 'The Show He Never Gave'. 86 min. Simcon Ltd. Feature film with Sneezy Waters as the legendary country and western singer

Imagine the Sound: A Jazz Film. 91 min. Ron Mann. A Canadian looks at the words and music of jazz artists Paul Bley, Bill Dixon, Archie Shepp and Cecil Taylor.

Kate and Anna McGarrigle. 28 min. NFB. An informal portrait of the singers that combines animated and documentary techniques

The Oboe. 18 min. University of Toronto Media Centre. Melvin Berman explores the history of the instrument

On Campus with Marshall McLuhan. 34 min. University of Toronto Media Centre. Geoffrey Payzant and McLuhan discuss a Glenn Gould recording as a medium of communication

1982

Au pays de Zom. 77 min. NFB. Joseph Rouleau performs music composed and conducted by Jacques Hétu in this surrealistic feature film.

The Concert Man. 28 min. NFB. Violinist Maurice Zbriger and his passion for music

Folk on the Rocks: A Festival of Music. 28 min. Films North Inc. An ethno-cultural celebration in Yellowknife NWT

Kubota. 20 min. NFB. Architect-sculptor-musician Nobuo Kubota performs on a sound sculpture

Rumours of Glory. 80 min. Simcom Ltd. A documentary on Bruce Cockburn and his band in concert

Zivjeli To Life. 59 min. Fichman-Sweete Productions. A group of Canadian musicians and dancers participate as Soundstage Canada '81 in the 1981 Zagreb biennale for new music

1983

Amateur Night: A True Story. 22 min. Zero Degree Productions. Weekly country and western amateur night at an Ontario tavern

The Ballad of Hard Times/La Turlute des années. 90 min. Films du crépuscule, DEC Films. Documentary features music of the 1930s Depression in Canada

An Empty Case of Blues. 26 min. Michael Pacek. Young would-be musician struggles to balance work and music

John Kim Bell. 37 min. Marlin Motion Pictures. Documentary of a varied conducting career

Opus Two. 59 min. Rhombus Media. Young trio prepares for the Canadian Music Competitions

Singing: A Joy in Any Language. 57 min. NFB. Claude Corbeil, Maureen Forrester, and Claude Savard visit China to perform and give master classes

1984

Artie Shaw: Time is All You've Got. 110 min. Bridge Film Productions Inc. Feature film tribute to the big band leader by Canadian Bridget Berman

Forever Young. 36 min. Concert Productions International. Documentary of Neil Young's early career

From Bears to Bartok. 49 min. NFB. Film follows several artists at the six-week summer school of the Banff CA

The Leahys: Music Most of All. 51 min. Close-Up Films. Irish-Canadian 13-member family who sing, play fiddle, and dance

Making Overtures: The Story of a Community Orchestra. 28 min. Rhombus Media. Affectionate portrait of the Northumberland Symphony Orchestra from Cobourg, Ont

A Matter of Form. 3 min. NFB. Animated illustration set to Schubert's Marche militaire

Musical Magic: Gilbert & Sullivan in Stratford. 60 min. NFB. A backstage look at the preparations for three Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, narrated by Brian Macdonald

A Sense of Music. 28 min. Rhombus Media. New philosophies and directions in music education

Unfinished Business. 99 min. Don Owen's sequel to his pioneering Nobody Waved Goodbye features the music of Toronto band The Parachute Club.

Zarico. 58 min. NFB. Folk music of black Creoles in Louisiana

1985

All That Bach. 50 min. Rhombus Media. Some of the events of Toronto's Bach 300 performances; includes Canadian Brass, Maureen Forrester

Canadian Heritage Festival Show: One Week in Summer. 51 min. Points East Productions. Tapestry of performances from Canada's multicultural heritage at the 1985 festival in Prince Edward Island

Closing Time. 24 min. Concordia University. Jazz composer's view of reality and who is responsible for it

Colin McPhee: The Lure of Asian Music. 58 min. Michael Blackwood Productions, New York. An examination of McPhee's discovery of Asian music and his role in bringing the music to the attention of the western world

Concerto Grosso Modo. 6 min. NFB. Animated film that wordlessly describes how music is made

A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Symphony. 48 min. Ironstar Communications. Harry Pinchin conducts the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and comedy guests Don Harron, Kaye Ballard, and Tim Conway

Magnificat. 50 min. Rhombus Media. Traditional and jazz performances of the Bach composition are contrasted

Murray McLaughlan's Floating Over Canada. 58 min. Isme Bennie International. The singer flies his Cessna 185 from Canada's three coasts

La Musique avant tout. 6 min. Collège de Joliette. Describes the college's department of music

Ofra Harnoy: The Music Inside. 26 min. Kinetic Film Enterprises. The life and career of a young cellist

Ô rage électrique. 80 min. Carl Brubacher. Documentary on rocker Plume Latraverse

Québec soft./ La musique adoucit les moeurs. 26 min. NFB. Influence of US culture on Quebec chanson and musicians

The Reed Men. 18 min. O'B and D Films. New wave jazz scene features the Shuffle Demons

1986-89
1986

Arm of Gold. 48 min. Robert Doan, Peter Petch. Portrait of Cape Breton fiddler Lee Cremo and his community, Eskasoni

Concrete Angels. 98 min. Cineplex Odeon Films. Feature film about four young boys' ambition to play as the warm up band for the Beatles

Inner Rhythm. 29 min. NFB. Documents the creative relationship between choreographer Robert Desrosiers and composers Ahmed Hassan and John Lang

Innu Nikamu. 43 min. Quebec government. Covers the second native music festival

Jimmy's Game. 30 min. Saskatchewan Filmpool Cooperative. Crime drama built around three songs by two Regina musicians

La Symphonie fantastique. 6 min. NFB. Charles Dutoit conducts the MSO in the March to the Scaffold from the Berlioz symphony

Whalesong. 60 min. Rhombus Media. Vancouver Bach Choir, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in concert with three resident whales at the Vancouver Aquarium, during Expo 86

1987

Candy Mountain. 91 min. Cinema Plus Inc. Young musician's search for a legendary guitar maker

Claude Léveillée, un homme, un piano. 51 min. Cimadis International. Intimate portrait of the chansonnier

Eternal Earth. 29 min. NFB. Alexina Louie's TS commission in rehearsal and its premier

Glenn Gould. 58 min. NFB. Rerelease of the two 1959 NFB films featuring Gould

Jane Siberry, I Muse Aloud. 53 min. Cambium Film and Video Productions. Profile of the pop singer songwriter

Lee Konitz: Portrait of an Artist as Saxophonist. Les Films du crépuscule. Life and career of a jazz musician; includes pianist Harold Danko accompanying Konitz

Oscar Thiffault, Ah! Ouigne In Hin In! 60 min. Les Films du crépuscule. Portrait of the Quebec country music star and songwriter

Our Last Days... In Moscow/Nos derniers jours à Moscou. 56 min. NFB. Romantic story of two music students (one a Canadian) at the 8th Tchaikovsky competition

World Drums. 59 min. NFB/Rhombus Media. Creation of a new work by John Wyre at the Expo 86 gathering of the world's greatest percussionists

1988

Bardston, The Bard's Son. 56 min. Claude Lavoie. A cellist who teaches in Medecine Hat, Alta, and performs in Montreal and Quebec City

Crossroads: Three Jazz Pianists. 30 min. NFB. Oliver Jones, Jean Beaudet, and Leonid Chizhik at the 1987 FIJM

The Eric Nagler Generic Holiday Family Music Special. 53 min. Astral Films. Filmed at a live performance given by the children's entertainer

Guitar. 54 min. Rhombus Media. A tribute to the instrument and the performers filmed at the Guitar Society of Toronto's Guitar '87 festival

Liberty Street Blues. 80 min. NFB. Feature film about New Orleans jazz

Lonely Child. 76 min. Films du crépuscules. Hommage to composer Claude Vivier in a combined documentary and drama feature film

Luba: Between the Earth & Sky. 49 min. Cambium Film and Video productions. The Montreal vocalist interviewed and in concert

Masterclass with Menuhin. 56 min. Rhombus Media. Corey Cerovsek, Menuhin and the Camerata Lysy Gstaad at the 1987 Guelph Spring Festival

Music In the Midnight Sun. 52 min. Rhombus Media. The TS on tour in the Canadian Arctic

Music Lives Forever. 60 min. ZAP Productions. Documentary on the 100th anniversary concert in Massey Hall of the Toronto Board of Education's annual public school spring performance

Musique, musique, musique. 7 min. Collège de Trois-Riviéres, Cinematheque. Music courses and activities at this college

Nocturnes. 9 min. ONF. Animated film uses different techniques to explore musical creativity

Ravel. 105 min. Rhombus Media. Feature documentary honouring the French composer on the 50th anniversary of his death

A Song for Quebec/Québec...un peu...beaucoup...passioonnement. 55 min. NFB. Pauline Julien and Gerald Godin provide their personal views, through song and poetry, of 40 years of Quebec's evolution

Summer Song. Prometheus Productions. Feature film on the British Columbia Boys' Choir tour of the Netherlands

Tunes a Plenty. 102 min. Winnipeg Film Group. Feature film that deals with an idealistic band leader's struggle with commercialism

Wilf Carter in Calgary. 50 min. Primedia Productions. The country music legendary performer returns to the Calgary Stampede

1989

Bye Bye Blues. 117 min. Allarcom-True Blue Films. Anne Wheeler's feature film of a woman, whose husband is a prisoner of war in Singapore, who finds relief from the boredom and loneliness of wartime Alberta by singing in a swing band.

Carnival of Shadows. 60 min. Rhombus Media. Over 100 performers bring R. Murray Schafer's multimedia spectacle to life.

I Am Monty Cantsin. 5 min. Productions réalisations indépendants de Montréal. The complex work of musician Monty Cantsin

The Joy of Singing. 85 min. Gloucester Films. Highlights of the 1989 International Choral Festival's participants, in rehearsal and performance

The Radical Romantic. 60 min. Rhombus Media. Portrait of John Weinzweig both as composer and as demystifier of new music

Satellite Symphony. 52 min. NFB. 1988 World Philharmonic Orchestra concert, conducted by Françoise Legrand in the PDA

The Vacant Lot. 100 min. Picture Plant. Feature film. William D. MacGillvray's film about a young woman who joins the female punk band of the title. Also stars musician Grant Fullerton.

1990

Roadkill. 80 min. Bruce McDonald's debut feature, a comic rock 'n' roll road movie about a fictional band called Children of Paradise who have gone missing in Northern Ontario.

1994

Thirty-Two Short Films about Glenn Gould. 93 min. More than a conventional biography, François Girard's film is a series of short fragments about Gould's life and work, featuring a remarkable performance by Colm Feore.

Zero Patience. 110 min. A provocative musical about AIDS, complete with choreography reminiscent of Busby Berkeley.

1996

Hard Core Logo. 96 min. A pseudo-rockumentary following a fictional punk group on their farewell tour across western Canada; featuring Hugh Dillon of Headstones as leader of the group.

Several of the NFB and Rhombus Media films listed above are now available on video tape for home viewing.

Selected Television Productions
For the CBC 1959-70

1959'Cantate Domino'. 30 min. A boy's enrolment and training at St Michael's Cathedral Choir School

1962

13 by Saltzman series. Program interview of 84-year-old music teacher William Miles

'Songs of Miramichi'. A visit to the New Brunswick folk festival and an interview with Louise Manny

'Electronic Music'. Arnold Walter, Myron Schaeffer, Harvey Olnick, and Helmut Blume discuss the nature and potential of this form of making music.

'Improvisational Classical Music'. Harry Somers, Lukas Foss, and six musicians improvise in a 'classical jam session'.

'The Physics of Music'. Lister Sinclair and Harvey Olnick explore the science of musical sound.

1963

'And Places Where They Sing'. Leonard Wilson's role as organist-choirmaster at St James Anglican Church in Vancouver

'This Time, This Place'. Quebec's self-discovery through its chansonniers - Lucille Dumont, Félix Leclerc, Gilles Vigneault, Claude Léveillée, and Claude Gauthier

1964

'Short Sweet Summer'. Norman Campbell's coverage of the 1963 NYO session and tour

'Concerti for Four Wednesdays'. Glenn Gould with the CBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Heinz Unger

'This Side of Heaven'. The London, Ont, Lombardo family

1965

'Diary of a Jewish Cantor'. Cantor Rev Nathan Mendelson of Montreal

'Diary of a Musical Child'. Orff teacher Gabor Bartha's Montreal children's orchestra

Heritage series. Composers of early Canadian church music and performances of works by W.H. Anderson and Willan

'The Blood is Strong, The Heart is Highland'. A visit with Wishart Campbell, Canada's 'golden voice of the air'

1966

'The Ecstasy Is Sometimes Fantastic'. The Toronto rock group Jon and Lee and the Checkmates

'Alanis'. Profile of Indian folksinger Alanis Obomsawin

1967

'Teresa Stratas'. Special film documentary includes interviews with the Canadian soprano who sings opera excerpts, some with Quilico and Rideout.

1969

'The Troubadour'. Jean-Pierre Ferland in Paris

1970

'Music by McPeek'. The composer of incidental music demonstrates his work.

'Charlebois'. Interview with the Quebec pop singer '

For the CBC 1971-89
1971

'Annie on the Move'. Career of Anne Murray

'The Brott Baton'. Conductor Boris Brott

'The Perth County Conspiracy'

'The Huggett Family Players'

'Songs for a Vanishing Friend'. Folksinger Bob Ruzicka on tour in the Arctic

'The Sound of August'. Glenn Sarty's documentary on the 1971 NYO summer

1972

'The Jazz Film Collector'. Toronto collector Joe Showler

'His Name is Paul Anka'. A visit to the Canadian-born singer

1973

'Sights and Sounds at the Conservatory'. The RCMT

'A Song at Twilight'. Members of a senior citizens' choir discuss the role of music in their lives.

'Sarah Davidson'. Profile of a young Toronto harpist and her musical family

1975

'Sounds of the Rock'. Newfoundland's musical life. Performers include folksingers, fiddlers, choirs, and the pianist Karen Quinton.

1976

'Jon Vickers - A Man and His Music'. Canadian tenor performing and discussing his philosophy of music and of life in a film special

1977-8

'Initiation à la musique avec Mario Duschenes'. Series of 28 min. episodes in which Duschenes discusses the basics of form and rhythm. A second series in 1978-9 focuses on the composer and orchestration

1978

'Music East/Music West'. Norman Campbell's film of the TS tour to the People's Republic of China

1979

'Chip and His Dog: How to Make an Opera'. The Canadian Children's Opera Chorus performance of Menotti work

'The Music of Man'. Series of 8 one-hour programs hosted by Yehudi Menuhin

1980

'Quand 1200 enfants s'accordent'. Young string players celebrate the 15th anniversary of Claude Létourneau's Le Mouvement Vivaldi

1982

'John Newmark, profils d'un musicien'. CBC tribute to the acclaimed accompanist

1983

Heart of Gold. A history of Canadian popular and rock music

'Scheherazade'. Rimsky-Korsakov's suite interpreted by the MSO and dancer Margie Gillis

'Vies à vies'. Included interview with Marie-Thérèse Paquin

'Bolero de Ravel'. 18 min. Charles Dutoit conducts the MSO

'Michel Lemieux: Solid Salad'. Multimedia spectacle in Montreal

1986

'Island Love Song'. 120 min. Musical set in Cape Breton that uses the local musicians, the Barra MacNeils

1987

It's Only Rock 'n' Roll. Series of 13 26 min episodes, including interviews and performances

'The Firebird/L'Oiseau de feu'. 48 min. Modern ballet accompanied by the MSO, conducted by Charles Dutoit

Luba. 80 min. Spectel Video. Filmed at a live performance in Montreal's Spectrum

1989

On the Rideau. Folk group Tamarack cruise the Rideau Canal performing songs reflecting the history of the region

Many CBC/SRC-TV series have featured special programmes on music. These include The Lively Arts, Telescope, Les Beaux Dimanches, Spectrum, Festival, and Adrienne Clarkson Presents. Musical features are also included on the news proammes The Journal and Le Point. CBC has also produced series hosted by Denny Doherty, Tommy Hunter, and Don Messer. See also Broadcasting

Other TV Productions
1966

Conversations with Glenn Gould. BBC-TV. The Canadian pianist discusses four composers in four 40-minute films: 1/Bach; 2/Beethoven; 3/Schoenberg; 4/Richard Strauss

1970

'The Eye Hears The Ear Sees'. 58 min. BBC-TV. Tribute to Norman McLaren's unique contribution to film

1975

'A Man and His Music'. CFQC-TV. Portrait of Saskatoon musician Lyell Gustin, made for CFQC-TV in Saskatoon

'Jacques Hétu, musique contemporaine'. 28 min. Tele-Montage. The creative development and musical language of this Quebec composer

1976

'A Sound Story: Views on Tracker Organ Building'. 46 min. University of Alberta Dept of Radio and Televesion, produced in connection with instalation of the Casavant organ at the university

1980

'For the Love of Music'. 29 min. University of Alberta Dept of Radio and TV. Suzuki method in Edmonton

1983

'André Gagnon, comme au premier jour'. 57 min. Société de radio-television du Québec. The process of creating, then recording a work

1984

'On Cue: The Northern Pikes'. 24 min. CFQC-TV

1986

'Glass Tiger in Concert'. 48 min. CITY-TV. The band's performance at the Ontario Place Forum

1987

'Bruce Cockburn: Concert for L.A.W.G'. 90 min. CITY-TV. Benefit concert at Toronto's Diamond Club for the Latin American Working Group

Private television has also orginated many series focusing on music, including CTV's Let's Sing Out and The Ian Tyson Show (originally Nashville North), CITY-TV's The New Music, BCTV's The Performers, CHCH-TV' s In Session, The George Hamilton IV Show, and The Don Messer Show. CHCH-TV also televises Opera Hamilton productions. Other shows, produced mostly for syndication, have been hosted by Robbie Laine, Ronnie Prophet, the Family Brown, Ian Tyson, Ronnie Hawkins, Sharon, Lois & Bram, and Ray St Germain. Musical segments also appear on such shows as CTV's W5. See also MuchMusic/Musique Plus.

Selected Videos 1976-86
1976

Women Composers. 30 min. Women in Focus. Includes Canadians Jean Coulthard, S.C. Eckhardt-Grammaté, Barbara Pentland, and Anita Sleeman

1979

Rust Never Sleeps. 111 min. Vestron Video. Neil Young in concert

1980

Bad Girls. 60 min. V/Tape. Tale of the rise and fall of careers in the world of rock music

Shadows and Light. 60 min. Warner Home Video. Joni Mitchell in concert in September 1979

1981

Live in London. 60 min. HBO Video. April Wine in concert

1982

Exit...Stage Left. 60 min. RCA/ColumbiaPictures Home Video. Rush in concert

1983

Sharon, Lois and Bram at the Young People's Theatre. 29 min. Cambium Film & Video productions. Musical workshop and concert in Toronto

In Berlin. 60 min. Broadway Video. Neil Young and the Trans Band recorded live in West Berlin. Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg

1984

April Wine. 15 min. Sony Video 45. Song videos

The Band Reunion. 87 min. Music Media. Live at Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Helix. 14 min. Sony Video 45. Four song videos

In Touch. 60 min. University of Saskatchewan. Effect of the university's music dept and its pupils on the local community

Reckless. 30 min. A & M. Compilation of six song videos by Bryan Adams

A Young Children's Concert. 45 min. 1984. Troubador. Live concert

We're All in Show-Business/On fait toutes du Show Buziness. 58 min. Video Femmes. Documentary on women singers, songwriters in Quebec

1985

Corey Hart Rocks the Spectrum. 58 min. Filmoption International. Live performance 28 Dec 1984

Grace Under Pressure Tour. 69 min. RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video. Rush live at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1984

Jazz Greats. 87 min. Filmoption International. The best of the FIJM 1980-5

Loverboy. 60 min. Vestron Video. Loverboy live in Vancouver

The King of Friday Night. 88 min. Canamedia Productions. John Gray's rock 'n roll musical

Magical Musical Days. 55 min. Filmoption International. The JM World Orchestra at Mount Orford in rehearsal and performance

Men Without Hats. 59 min. Filmoption International. Live performance

Strange Advance. 59 min. Filmoption International. Live performance

Video, Vinyl and Culture. 29 min. Magic Lantern Film Distributors. Documentary on rock videos - their development and audience

1986

Any Way You Look at It. 37 min. CBS Fox Home Video. Nine songs by Loverboy

Lee Aaron Live. 60 min. Embassy Entertainment

Music Video: Beyond the Four-Minute Commercial/Musique video: au-dela de la pub. 111 min. NFB. Panel on the future of music video

Sirens of Aquarius. 22 min. V/Tape. Outdoor performance of music and movement whose creation was determined by planetary motions.

Treasure Island. 30 min. Cambium Film & Video Productions. Sharon, Lois and Bram's Elephant Show with special guests the Nylons

Triumph: Live at the US Festival. 67 min. MCA Home Video. Live concert with two extra song videos

Selected Videos 1987-91
1987

Back By Popular Demand - Live. 30 min. Cambium Film & Video Productions. Sharon Lois and Bram's Elephant Show

Elements. V/Tape. A 4-part series of musical and metaphysical interpretations of the elements by Elyakim Taussig: 'Air' 22 min; 'Earth' 24 min; 'Fire' 28 min; 'Water' 27 min

Gordon Pinsent Sings... Those Hollywood Songs. 53 min. Isme Bennie International. Variety show in the style of the 1930s and 1940s

The Symphony Sessions. 36 min. Atlantic Video. David Foster with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Victoria Symphony Orchestra

1988

Ain't It Dead Yet? 70 min. Nettwerk. Skinny Puppy live in Toronto 1 Jun 1987

The Eleventh Annual Vancouver Folk Music Festival. 72 min. Filmoption International. Highlights

Raffi In Concert. 52 min. Troubador. A concert with the Rise and Shine Band

1989

The Best of Lindsay's Grand Ole Nite of Country Music 1988-1989. Stockford Productions. Live at the Academy Theatre in Lindsay, Ont.

Freedom. 30 min. Warner Reprise Video. Neil Young in a live acoustic concert

The Graham and Eleanor Townsend Show. 97 min. Stockford Productions. Live at the Ontario Open Fiddle and Stepdance Contests, Bobcaygeon, Ont.

Refuge of the Road. 70 min. Emperor Entertainment. Joni Mitchell in concert.

See the Light. 89 min. 6 West Home Video. Jeff Healy Band live in London April 1989 plus three song videos

A Show of Hands. 90 min. Anthem. Rush in concert

1990

Anne Murray. 30 min. Capitol Video. Songs and interviews

Catatonics. 30 min. V/Tape. Satirical video opera by Elyakim Taussig

Chronicles. 63 min Anthem. Rush's greatest hits

Live in Lindsay. 50 min. Stockford Productions. Canadian stepdance and fiddle champion Cindy Thompson

Renegade Romantic. A & M Video. Three song videos by Paul Janz

1991

Circle of Songs. 40 min. Oak Street. Fred Penner in concert

Come in From the Cold. 40 min. Geffen. Home movies, interviews, and song videos compiled by Join Mitchell

Harvest of Seven Years. 60 min. Warner Reprise Video. 17 songs from k.d. lang

Luba: The Video Collection. 47 min. Capitol Video. Nine song videos

Mitsou: The Videos/Les vidéos. Isba Music Video. 5 songs

Ragged Glory. 25 min. Warner Reprise Video. Neil Young

Simple Vision. 60 min. Capitol Video. Glass Tiger video compilation

Unison. 45 min. Sony Music Video. Céline Dion. 4 songs (English and French versions)

No date: An Evening with Paul Anka (87 min, USA Video); Coney Hatch (17 min, Sony Music Video); Meet the Bandleaders: GuyLombardo (54 min, Swing); Imagine the Sound with Paul Bley and others (Facets Video)

See also Films and/or Videos for Canadian Brass, Glenn Gould, MSO, Louis Quilico, Gino Quilico, Joseph Rouleau, Teresa Stratas, Jon Vickers.

Author Patricia Wardrop, Richard Green, Gerald Pratley, Barry Keith Grant

Bibliography

Appelbaum, Louis. "Film Music." In Music in Canada, ed. Ernest C. MacMillan (Toronto 1955)

Collins, Maynard. Norman McLaren (Ottawa 1976)

Elly, Derek. "Rhythm 'n Truths: Norman McLaren." Films and Filming 20, no. 8 (June 1974): 30-36. Reprinted in Canadian Film Reader, eds. Seth Feldman and Joyce Nelson (Toronto 1997)

Gaines, Jane M. "Lonely Boy and the Verité of Sex." Canadian Journal of Film Studies 8, no. 1 (Spring 1999)

Grant, Barry Keith. "From Obscurity in Ottawa to Fame in Freedomland: Lonely Boy and the Cultural Meaning of Paul Anka." In Candid Eyes: Essays on Canadian Documentaries, eds. Jim Leach and Jeannette Sloniowski (Toronto 2003)

Gravestock, Steve. "Outlaw Insider: The Films of Bruce McDonald." In North of Everything: English-Canadian Cinema Since 1980, eds. William Beard and Jerry White (Edmonton 2002)

Hallas, Roger. "The Genealogical Pedagogy of John Greyson's Zero Patience." Canadian Journal of Film Studies 12: 1 (Spring 2003)

Musique et cinéma (Montreal 1965)

Telotte, J.P. "Scorsese's The Last Waltz and the Concert Genre." Film Criticism 4, no. 2 (1976)

Film/video Canadiana/Film/vidéo Canadiana. National Film Board of Canada for the National Library of Canada, Moving Image and Sound Archives, and la Cinémathèque québécoise. Montréal. Annual 1985/86-. Supersedes Film Canadiana

(See also Music videos)

Links to Other Sites
National Film Board of Canada
Watch full-length films, clips, and trailers - all free for home viewing. Scroll down the page to see links to online animated shorts and films in other categories. From the National Film Board of Canada.

NFB.ca Blog
A blog powered by the diverse and immensely creative filmmakers who have worked with the National Film Board on films old and new that explore the full range of human experience.

Toronto International Film Festival
The website for the Toronto International Film Festival. Check out the latest film news and links to the Bell Lightbox, the Film Reference Library, Cinematheque Ontario, Sprockets, Reel Learning, Film Circuit, Canada's Top Ten, and related features.

Glenn Gould Archive
An online collection of archival material about celebrated musician Glenn Gould. Includes audio clips of interviews, discussions, photos, writings, and more. From Library and Archives Canada.

Canadian Film and Television Production Association
The Canadian Film and Television Production Association is a non-profit trade association representing numerous Canadian production companies involved in television, film, and interactive media.

Patricia Rozema
This website offers a profile of talented Canadian writer, director and producer Patricia Rozema. Also features synopses of her internationally acclaimed feature films.

Oscar Winners - It's Oscar Time
Watch all of the remarkable Oscar-winning films produced by the National Film Board.

Canadian Film Institute
The CFI website profiles notable Canadian filmmakers and showcases various film genres. Also provides information about Canadian film festivals.

Telefilm Canada
Check out the latest news about funding programs in support of quality Canadian productions - e.g. feature films, drama series, documentaries, children's shows, variety/performing arts programs, and new media products - that reflect Canadian society, including its linguistic duality and cultural diversity.

NFB Images
View images and other multimedia from the NFB's extensive film collection.

Screen Composers Guild of Canada
Search this site for contact information and website links for Canadian and international film composers. Also, check out the “Spotting Notes” newsletter for current industry information.

Yorkton Film Festival
The website for the Yorkton Film Festival, the longest-running festival of its kind in Canada. Features a festival history, an extensive catalogue of previous film entries, and more. Check out the trailer for the Best of Festival Golden Sheaf Award winner.

Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television
Check out the "Press Room" for announcements about the latest winners of the Canadian Screen Awards at the website for the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.

Ari Wise
The IMDb biography of Ari Wise, founder of the Canadian Composers Agency Ltd.

Writers Guild of Canada
The Writers Guild of Canada represents about 2,000 professional screenwriters working in film, television, radio, and digital production.

Howell: Mixed-up land reflected in Canadian films at TIFF
The Star's movie critic comments on some of the recurring themes in Canadian feature films.

Trevor Morris
The website for award-winning Canadian composer Trevor Morris. Features his biography and audio clips of his music.