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Hockey films
From The Rocket to the Quebec Nordiques to the "Original Six" – we’ve got films on all of them, and then some, for die-hard hockey fans in need of a time-out.
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The TournamentSam Vint 2020 22 minOver the course of a weekend tournament, youth sledge hockey teams from the U.S. and Canada battle for supremacy. Designed for players who have a physical challenge, the fundaments of the sport — passing, shooting, trash talking your opponents – remain the same. Director Sam Vint captures the end-to-end action as the Manitoba Sledgehammers do it all. -
Ice BreakersSandamini Rankaduwa 2019 15 minJosh Crooks is a promising teen hockey star in a sport where Black players like him are chronically underrepresented. Ice Breakers reveals the buried history of a pioneering Black hockey league in Atlantic Canada, as Crooks discovers that his unshakable passion is tied to a rich and remarkable heritage.
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Just Another JobPierre Letarte 1972 27 minThis short film takes you behind the scenes of the Quebec Nordiques. Coached by the legendary Maurice Richard, the team is playing its opening World Hockey Association game at the Quebec Coliseum. Experience the pre-game tension, the on-ice action and the dream-contract signing.
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Thunderbirds in ChinaLes Rose 1974 57 minIn this documentary, the members of the University of British Columbia's Thunderbirds hockey team travel to China to demonstrate their skills to the new teams in the East. While hockey there still has a long way to go, this film leaves no doubt that the Chinese players are up to the challenge. A film propelled by discoveries, it goes a long way to providing insight into the differences between East and West.
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Blades and BrassWilliam Canning 1967 9 minThis short documentary showcases the best of the 1967 National Hockey League season, set to music in the Tijuana Brass style. Filmed with an eye to grace and style of movement, the film suggests the bullring as much as the hockey arena.
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The SweaterSheldon Cohen 1980 10 minIn this animated short, Roch Carrier recounts the most mortifying moment of his childhood. At a time when all his friends worshipped Maurice "Rocket" Richard and wore his number 9 Canadiens hockey jersey, the boy was mistakenly sent a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey from Eaton's. Unable to convince his mother to send it back, he must face his friends wearing the colours of the opposing team. This short film, based on the book The Hockey Sweater, is an NFB classic that appeals to hockey lovers of all ages.
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When Hockey Came to BelfastLinda Conway 2004 50 minThis documentary tells the moving story of Northern Irish teenage hockey players Andrew and Paul, best friends in a city divided by religion. In Belfast, hockey is bringing Northern Irish youth together in a shared love of the game, providing a respite from the Protestant-Catholic turf warfare that pervades their lives. Set against the backdrop of a post-conflict society, the film provides an intimate glimpse into the realities of life in Belfast—the 12-metre-high walls that divide Catholic and Protestant, the precautions Andrew and Paul must take to be friends, and the safety they find on the rink at Dundonald.
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Here's Hockey!Leslie McFarlane 1953 10 minFeaturing Jean Beliveau, this short film focuses on hockey from the inside out. Known as Canada's national pastime, this film demonstrates why hockey is such an exciting spectator sport. From east to west, the connection between fans and players is evident in the excited cries of "we've won!" From Pee-Wee to Bantam, from the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association to the big league pros, Here's Hockey! shows what it takes to make a great hockey player.
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JuniorIsabelle Lavigne & Stéphane Thibault 2008 1 h 36 minThis full-length documentary offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at our national sport, hockey. Taking in an entire season of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, this film reveals the daily lives of players and managers on this Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team.
Admired and treated like professionals, junior hockey players are teenagers absorbed by their future. Trainers, shareholders, agents, scouts and parents: all eyes are fixed on these elite young players, even though only a tiny number of them will succeed in playing at the highest level. -
Twenty-four Hours in CzechoslovakiaDavid Bairstow 1968 57 minChicago Black Hawks hockey star Stan Mikita visits his native Czechoslovakia for a family reunion in this 1968 documentary. The cameras follow him over the course of a day and evening as he and his wife and daughter travel to Prague and the small village of Sokolce, where he was born. We get a good glimpse of Czech life, and the enthusiasm that exists for the sport of hockey.
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The RinkGilles Carle 1962 10 minThis short, silent film captures a Sunday afternoon at a community skating rink. Iconic Quebec director Gilles Carle has the camera follow toddlers learning to skate, young girls flashing their skates and boys decked out in the colours of their favourite hockey teams. A picture perfect moment on a bright winter's day.
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The RocketJacques Payette 1998 42 minMeet Maurice Richard on and off the ice, and follow his spectacular career with the Montreal Canadiens--from the early '40s, when only a few thousand people turned out for pro hockey games, to the 1950s, when the Montreal Forum was bursting with delirious fans. Clarence Campbell, former president of the NHL, describes him as "the most exciting player I have ever seen in my life." The Rocket features footage from games and revealing interviews with Richard himself, the first star of the golden age of hockey.
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Gaston's RecitalAndré Melançon 1981 21 minThis short fiction film about a young boy torn between conflicting loyalties is resolved with humour and wisdom. Sunday, 2 o'clock, is zero hour for Gaston. He must be in two places at once: performing at a music recital and playing hockey with his teammates. What is Gaston to do?
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Such a Simple GameGilles Groulx 1964 29 minThis short 1964 documentary depicts the national sport of French Canadians: hockey. Seen "from the inside" this seemingly simple game turns out to be not so simple. Hockey is dream of mythic proportions that mirrors the aspirations of an entire people. Its heroes are national figures. At the Montreal Forum, there is total symbiosis between the crowd and the Habs. In 1955, idol Maurice Richard is suspended for striking a referee. The people take to the streets in unison and the riots begin...
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Hot IceIrving Jacoby 1940 19 minThis short documentary offers a close-up view of a hectic hockey game in which the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Rangers fight to break a tied score. From the flash of blades, the spurting ice, and the echoing roar of avid fans, the film occasionally turns back to neighbourhood games where youngsters learn skating and stickhandling, the fundamentals of professional skill. Stars, such as Smyths, Davidson, Apps and others, are seen in action.
