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Urban Transit (16)
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AutomaniaRobert Awad 1994 5 minThis short animated film takes an amusing look at city dwellers' obsessive dependence on the automobile. Just as he does every morning, a man is preparing to jump into his car and head off to work when the remote control gizmo refuses to cooperate. The key won't unlock the door! Some helpful passersby suggest several solutions, but our stubborn hero turns a deaf ear. Will he get to work on time? -
A Bus - For UsRex Tasker 1972 14 minAfter repeated attempts to obtain service from the public transportation authorities, these suburban Ottawa residents finally decided to do it themselves. In this short film from the early 1970s, we watch as a group of Ottawa residents take action after getting the runaround from local transport authorities. The suburban residents had made numerous attempts to obtain bus service, but with much frustration and no success. Tired of waiting on the authorities, they decided to sort it out for themselves.
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Circulation à Montréal (Part 1)Bernard Devlin 1955 15 minIn a city the size of Montreal with thousands and thousands of motorized vehicles, traffic problems are difficult to solve. Here is a panorama of such problems. This film includes an interview with Mayor Jean Drapeau, when Montreal was still the metropolis of Canada.
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City LimitsLaurence Hyde 1971 28 minThis short documentary features acclaimed author and activist Jane Jacobs' forthright, critical analysis of the problems and virtues of North American cities. Jacobs orients her fascinating observations around Toronto, to which she moved after leaving New York City because Toronto "is a city that still has options ... it hasn't made so many mistakes that it's bound to go downhill.” Her remarks, made in 1971, are prescient yet earnest and will interest all urban stakeholders. This colourful city film, accompanied by an upbeat, jazzy soundtrack, is a must-see for all civic and community groups—indeed, for all urban dwellers worldwide.
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The CommuteTarun Padmakumar 2022 1 minThe distinctive three-note chime of the Toronto subway kicks off a zippy tale of bike theft and survival in an unfamiliar new town.
Produced as part of the 13th edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship. -
Eye Witness No. 291950 9 minThis installment of the Eye Witness series focuses on Indigenous children at Fort Simpson; a miniature naval battle between radio-operated vessels attended by the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets in Montreal; a drive-in theatre near Ottawa used to provide church services to passing motorists; and how Toronto's subway system is starting to take shape.
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The Girl With the Red BeretJanet Perlman 2023 5 minA girl takes a wild ride on the metro in Montreal. Travelling from station to station, she encounters an array of colourful characters in a bizarre musical journey that’s peppered with hilarious and unexpected incidents. This joyful, heartwarming animated film portrays Montreal in all its vitality, creativity and diversity, with plenty of humour and good cheer, to the tune of Kate and Anna McGarrigle’s timeless hit “Complainte pour Ste-Catherine.”
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Lewis Mumford on the City, Part 2: The City: Cars or People?Christopher Chapman , Jean-Claude Chiabaut , … 1963 27 minThis short documentary is part of a series hosted by American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic Lewis Mumford, who was particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture. This episode presents a study of an old but still-growing problem: how to ensure the city is accessible to all without allowing cars to make it congested and uninhabitable.
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MobilityRoger Hart 1986 36 minThis short documentary examines the complex range of issues affecting urban transport in developing countries. After examining cost and available technology, as well as the different needs of the industrialized middle class and the urban poor, the film proposes some surprising solutions.
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Paul Tomkowicz: Street-railway SwitchmanRoman Kroitor 1953 9 minIn this film, Paul Tomkowicz, Polish-born Canadian, talks about his job and his life in Canada. He compares his new life in the city of Winnipeg to the life he knew in Poland, marvelling at the freedom Canadians enjoy. In winter the rail-switches on streetcar tracks in Winnipeg froze and jammed with freezing mud and snow. Keeping them clean, whatever the weather, was the job of the switchman.
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Regina TelebusRex Tasker 1973 19 minThis short film from 1973 offers a report on Regina's successful experiment with dial-a-bus, a flexible service midway between a bus and a taxi. The idea is to provide passengers with door-to-destination transportation at an affordable cost.
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Songs and Dances of the Inanimate World: The SubwayPierre Hébert 1985 14 minIn this animated film without words, filmmaker Pierre Hébert and musicians Robert Lepage and René Lussier worked together, and separately, in their respective media. This cinema/music performance recreates, impressionistically, the dehumanizing environment of the urban subway. Drawings etch the outlines of people hurtling through space in underground tunnels. The soundtrack, elemental and atonal, gives compelling expression to their alienation.
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Taxi!Barry Greenwald 1982 57 minThis feature documentary studies one of the city’s most visible yet most anonymous character: the taxi driver. Filmed by day and night, the film offers an entertaining and sometimes comical look at the drivers, fleet operators and dispatchers who are expected to deliver passengers, parcels… and even babies.
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TrafficopterBarrie Howells 1972 10 minThis short film is a portrait of Montreal as seen from a local radio station's traffic helicopter. Freeways, interchanges, bridges and downtown arteries are laid out in miniature. A seething, teeming spectacle, this film presents a unique view of the city with comments by the traffic guide, Len Rowcliffe.
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The Taxi DriverLouis Portugais 1954 11 minThis short 1954 film from the Faces of Canada series follows Montreal taxi driver Gerry Lane as he takes various customers to their chosen destinations.
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Where Do We Go from Here?James Carney 1973 22 minToronto is the example used in this film, which deals not only with the mechanics of urban transportation, but also with many of the underlying political and economic tensions. Perhaps more important than any answers it offers, are the questions it raises.
