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Subjects (65)
History - Canada - 1867-1919 (23)

Gold Rushes (3)

  • City of Gold
    City of Gold
    Colin Low  &  Wolf Koenig 1957 21 min
    This classic short film from Pierre Berton depicts the Klondike gold rush at its peak, when would-be prospectors struggled through harsh conditions to reach the fabled gold fields over 3000 km north of civilization. Using a collection of still photographs, the film juxtaposes the Dawson City at the height of the gold rush with its bustling taverns and dance halls with the more tranquil Dawson City of the present.
  • Gold Rush Land
    Gold Rush Land
    Allen Stark 1955 30 min
    An excursion up the Yukon River along the trail of '98 to Dawson City, part of the Klondike gold rush. We visit a prospector who has never left the Yukon and see some of the city's famous sights.
  • The Spell of the Yukon
    The Spell of the Yukon
    Rita Roy 1996 43 min
    This documentary tells the haunting story of the Klondike Gold Rush in legendary Dawson City. Peppered with Robert Service poems read by New Zealand-born Hollywood actor Russell Crowe, the film recounts how stampedes of fortune seekers came to the Yukon from far and wide in 1897. Less than half of the 100,000 adventurers ever finished the treacherous journey. Archival photographs re-create the saga of the Klondike, including stories from the deadly Chilkoot Pass and Dawson City itself, where fortunes were made and lost overnight. With a personal stake and a sense of wonder, filmmaker Rita Roy discovers a territory still vibrant with legends, and miners still panning for gold under the spell of the harsh yet stunning wilderness.

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