Riel (TV 1979)

A film about the actions of the Metis rebel leader who opposed the Canadian government in two seperate rebellions.

Director:

George Bloomfield

Writer:

Roy Moore

Stars:

Raymond Cloutier, Roger Blay, Lloyd Bochner

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Raymond Cloutier	...	Louis Riel
Roger Blay	...	Dumont
Lloyd Bochner	...	Dr. Schultz
James Bradford	...	Captain Bradshaw
Lee Broker	...	Evans
Maury Chaykin	...	Howard
Normand Chouinard	...	Nolin
Captain Constantinidas	...	Trooper Captain
Pierre Curzi	...	Isidore
Neil Dainard	...	Armstrong
Brenda Donohue	...	Mrs. Schultz
Don Francks	...	Ouellette
Daniel Gadouas	...	Nault
Donald Harron	...	Donald Smith
Fern Henry	...	Marguerite Riel

Storyline

This film recounts the events involving the Metis rebel leader Louis Riel and his battles against the Canadian Federal Government when they threatened his people. The first was a successful rebellion in 1873 which created the Province of Manitoba and a later more violent and unsuccessful one in Saskatchewan in 1885 which led to his capture, trial and eventual execution.

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Plot Keywords:

rebellion | metis | louis riel | ottawa ontario canada | prairie | 

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Taglines:

For a short time in history one man stood alone."

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | War

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 April 1979 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Louis Riel

Filming Locations:

Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 2,700,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Green River Pictures Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

William Shatner filmed his cameo during a break in shooting Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

User Reviews

Lousy attempt at trying to portray Riel

After watching this film, I cannot say that it was very well made in terms of the characters who were portrayed in it. For example, Thomas Scott didn't look anywhere close to the actor who was given the role of playing his part. As for Riel himself, he had a beard and moustache for the most of his life but in the film he's clean shaven. But it is quite hard to depict every single detail in a film so as a result there will be some misconceptions (some more intentional than others). In addition to that, some of the battles that occurred during the conflict in 1885 were misconstrued. The visit to Ottawa that Riel and Dumont took together in the film probably never happened in real life.

Well....... anyways......... that's the reason why I gave this film a 6 out of 10.