ACTION: THE OCTOBER CRISIS OF 1970 (1974) - Robin Spry's Documentary New on Blu-ray

Action The October Crisis Of 1970 Documentary New On Bluray

Product Description: A gripping account of the crisis that shocked Canada. In October 1970, the long-brewing tension between French and English Canada explodes onto the world stage after a group of Québécois nationalists violently kidnap two prominent political figures, holding them ransom and issuing a now-famous manifesto. With a nation on the brink, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau responds by invoking the controversial War Measure Act, suspending civil liberties in Québec, jailing hundreds without trial, and unleashing the Canadian Armed Forces on the streets of Montréal. As tensions mount, local and federal leaders are forced to reckon in real time with shocking acts of political violence and unprecedented abuses of government power.

A masterclass in urgent historical filmmaking by National Film Board veteran Robin Spry (One Man), ACTION: THE OCTOBER CRISIS OF 1970 is a bracing portrait, expertly synthesizing a dizzying, watershed moment through archival material, news reports, and first-hand, on-the-ground footage. In league with the great political documentaries of the ‘60s and ‘70s – and complemented here by its companion film, REACTION: A PORTRAIT OF SOCIETY IN CRISIS – ACTION remains a riveting account of the upheaval that shook Canada to its very core.

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Movie Details

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Video

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Subtitles

Special Features & Extras

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MOVIE DETAILS

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Director: Robin Spry

Starring: Thor Bishopric, Pierre Bourgault, Real Caouette

Genre: Documentary, History

Runtime: 87 min

Rating: Not Rated

Language: English

Studio: Canadian International Pictures

Home Video Release Date: June 24, 2025

AVAILABLE FORMATS (Amazon):

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Blu-ray

VIDEO

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Blu-ray

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Region: Region A/1

AUDIO

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Dubbed:

Blu-ray: French

Audio Formats:

Blu-ray: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0

SUBTITLES

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Blu-ray: English SDH

SPECIAL FEATURES & EXTRAS

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Region A Blu-ray
Audio commentary featuring writer and film programmer Justine Smith
Audio commentary assembled from archival interviews with director Robin Spry
Tensions and Contradictions (2025, 16 min.) – New interview with professor Zoë Druick
Making Action (2025, 15 min.) – New interview with NFB curator Marc St-Pierre
Alternate French language audio track
Reaction: A Portrait of a Society in Crisis (1973, 58 min.) – Spry documentary exploring a sampling of English-speaking Québec’s perspective on the October Crisis
Booklet featuring a new essay by film critic/professor Tom McSorley and an essay by film journalist A. Ibrányi-Kiss
Reversible cover artwork
English SDH subtitles