''The Champions'' is a three-part Canadian documentary mini-series on lives of Canadian political titans and adversaries

Pierre Elliott Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...

and

René Lévesque René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to attempt ...

. Directed by

Donald Brittain Donald Code Brittain, (June 10, 1928 – July 21, 1989) was a film director and producer with the National Film Board of Canada. Career ''Fields of Sacrifice'' (1964) is considered Brittain's first major film as director. His other notable ...

and co-produced by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

and the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, the series follows Trudeau and Lévesque from their early years until their fall from power in the late 1980s. The series itself took over a decade to complete. The first two-hour-long episodes ''Unlikely Warriors'' and ''Trappings of Power'' were released in 1978. The third installment, the 87-minute ''The Final Battle'', was not completed until 1986, after both men had retired from politics.

Episodes

''Unlikely Warriors'' explores Lévesque’s and Trudeau’s early years, from their university days through to 1967, when Lévesque left the Liberal party and Trudeau became the federal minister of justice. The episode documents the men’s similarities as well as differences. Though both were from wealthy families and were schooled by Jesuits, Trudeau had a detached intellectual perspective in sharp contrast with Lévesque’s more emotional journalistic approach. At their first meeting at a CBC cafeteria in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, after a series of Socratic questions, Lévesque told Trudeau, "If you’re a goddamned intellectual, I don’t want to talk to you," setting the tone for their relationship to come. ''Trappings of Power'' begins in 1967, when Trudeau, now Justice Minister, is being courted to run for the leadership of the Liberal party, and climaxes with Lévesque and his separatist

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

winning 1976 Quebec provincial election. ''The Final Battle'' over the years between 1977 and 1986, including Lévesque and Trudeau’s final showdown in the

1980 Quebec referendum The 1980 Quebec independence referendum was the first referendum in Quebec on the place of Quebec within Canada and whether Quebec should pursue a path toward sovereignty. The referendum was called by Quebec's Parti Québécois (PQ) government, whi ...

and the repatriation of the

Canadian Constitution The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents ar ...

. Part Three also follows each man’s fall from political grace.

Production

The first two episodes of the series had a budget of $175,433 () and ''The Final Battle'' had a budget of $350,659 ().

Release and honours

Originally broadcast on CBC Television, Parts one and two of ''The Champions'' were also released as a feature-length film in 1978, winning four

Canadian Film Awards The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

, including Best Feature Documentary and Best Non-Dramatic Script. ''The Final Battle'' won Genie Awards for Best Feature Documentary and Best Direction in a Documentary. In 2006, the series was designed as a Masterwork by the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada. The series had been unavailable for several years, due to the expiration of rights for stock footage used in the film. As of 2009, those issues have been resolved and the series has been added to the National Film Board's online Screening Room.

References

Works cited

External links

Watch ''The Champions'' at NFB.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Champions National Film Board of Canada documentaries Films directed by Donald Brittain Documentary films about Canadian politicians Pierre Trudeau Best Documentary Film Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners CBC Television original programming 1980s Canadian television miniseries 1978 films 1986 films Documentary films about Quebec politics René Lévesque Cultural depictions of Pierre Trudeau 1978 documentary films 1986 documentary films 1980s Canadian films 1970s Canadian films