Grierson

A portrait of John Grierson, the first Canadian Government Film Commissioner and founder of the National Film Board in 1939. Interweaving archival footage, interviews with people who knew him and footage of Grierson himself, this film is a sensitive and informative portrait of a dynamic man of vision. Grierson believed that the filmmaker had a social responsibility, and that film could help a society realize democratic ideals. His absolute faith in the value of capturing the drama of everyday life was to influence generations of filmmakers all over the world. In fact, he coined the term 'documentary film'.

Cast

Michael Kane

Michael Kane

as Narrator (voice)

John Grierson

John Grierson

as Self (archive footage)

Norman McLaren

Norman McLaren

as Self (archive footage)

Sydney Newman

Sydney Newman

as Self

Basil Wright

Basil Wright

as Self

Lorne Greene

Lorne Greene

as Self

Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson

as Self (archive footage)

Roberto Rossellini

Roberto Rossellini

as Self

Joseph McCarthy

Joseph McCarthy

as Self (archive footage)

Joris Ivens

Joris Ivens

as Self

Reviews

CinemaSerf

Born in Edinburgh, Jack Grierson grew into an activist on a Clydeside soapbox in his teens advocating improvements in the lives of the poverty stricken shipbuilders struggling to make ends meet in early 20th century Scotland. The Great War took him into the Royal Navy and thence to university where ...

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