Sam's Army

Mar 1, 1999

1h 30m

★ 10.0

Far from Home: Canada and the Great War - Part 1

Overview

Canada was led to war by a bigoted, ignorant, self-obsessed Minister of Militia, who may well have been clinically insane, but the importance of Canada's contribution in that war owes a great deal to him. The man of course, was Colonel - later made Lieutenant General by his own hand - Sam Hughes. Sam's Army is a compelling portrait of a complex man and the formidable military he built. Sam Hughes was not your standard-issue military leader. Canada's World War I Minister of Militia and Defence concentrated power in his own hands, insisted that the Canadian military use the ill-conceived Ross rifle and liberally promoted his cronies. But there was no denying Hughes was a visionary. He assembled the world's largest-ever volunteer army and bucked superiors to keep his ferocious fighting force together in one Canadian Corps.

Genres

Documentary

War

Production Companies

Chum Television

CBC

ONF | NFB

Norflicks Productions Ltd.

CTF | FCT

Sam's Army Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Narrator

Paul Gross

Bradford Jackson

Brad Austin

John Bayliss

David Calderisi

Benedict Campbell

William Colgate

William Dunlop

Adrian Egan

Patrick Garrow

Linda Goranson

Keith Hampshire

At the start of World War I, Paul Baumer is a young German patriot, eager to fight. Indoctrinated with propaganda at school, he and his friends eagerly sign up for the army soon after graduation. But when the horrors of war soon become too much to bear, and as his friends die or become gravely wounded, Paul questions the sanity of fighting over a few hundreds yards of war-torn countryside.

0.0

Wide Boyz II – Slender Gentlemen

Dec 31, 2014

After their success climbing the world’s hardest offwidth, the Wide Boyz, Pete Whittaker and Tom Randall, embark on their next crack climbing mission. This time their sights are set on the thinner end of the crack climbing spectrum. Their goal is the mighty Cobra Crack in Squamish BC, considered to be the hardest finger crack in the world. First climbed by Canadian ‘rock star’ Sonnie Trotter after battling it out with Didier Berthod, the route hit the media spotlight in the film First Ascent. With no local hard cracks to train on, the Wide Boyz refit their underground training dungeon and commit to a year of torturous finger training. With only a short trip to Canada planned, the Boyz face their biggest challenge yet against the sharp granite bite of the mighty Cobra Crack!

No Image Available

0.0

Golden Globe - Kanada - Der Osten

Oct 31, 2013

No overview available.

0.0

The Spirit of the Tsilqot'in People is Hovering over the Supreme Court

Dec 1, 2023

The Tŝilhqot’in Nation is represented by six communities in the stunningly beautiful interior of British Columbia. Surrounded by mountains and rivers, the Tŝilhqot’in People have cared for this territory for millennia. With increasing external pressures from natural-resource extraction companies, the communities mobilized in the early 21st century to assert their rightful title to their lands. Following a decision by the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 2007 that only partially acknowledged their claim, the Tŝilhqot’in Nation’s plight was heard in the Supreme Court of Canada. In a historic decision in 2014, the country’s highest court ruled what the Tŝilhqot’in have long asserted: that they alone have full title to their homelands.

6.2

Sarajevo

Apr 23, 2014

The events in Sarajevo in June 1914 are the backdrop for a thriller directed by Andreas Prochaska and written by Martin Ambrosch, focusing on the examining magistrate Dr. Leo Pfeffer (Florian Teichtmeister) investigating the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Trying to do his job in a time of lawlessness and violence, intrigues and betrayal, Leo struggles to maintain his integrity and save his love, Marija, and her father, prominent Serbian merchant. But the events of Sarajevo have set into motion an inescapable course of events that will escalate to become … the Great War.

7.0

Grindcore Vacation

Dec 23, 2022

Grindcore Vacation melds the expository documentary, diary film, and live performance footage to produce a portrait of the musicians who play grindcore, an extreme sub-genre of punk/metal characterized by high speed and full volume. Shot during a weekend trip from Victoria BC to Dallas TX for a single DIY concert, it interviews members of Deterioration, Cognizant, and Imperial Slaughter. Live concert footage combines with interviews and Super 8mm film to create an impression of the people who play grindcore, why they love the genre, and their experiences as practitioners of the niche style.

0.5

The Standard

Nov 25, 1977

During the final days of the First World War, Officer Menis does his duty in defending the battle flag of the defeated Austro-Hungarian empire, while his fellow troops, a motley gang recruited from several different countries not loyal to the royal family, simply try to survive by any means possible.

0.0

Home Front

Jan 1, 1940

This short documentary is part of the Canada Carries On series of morale-boosting wartime propaganda films. In Home Front, the various WWII-era social contributions of women are highlighted. From medicine to industrial labour to hospitality, education and domesticity, the service these women provided to their country is lauded.

0.0

Arctic Summer

Feb 19, 2021

ARCTIC SUMMER is a poetic meditation on Tuktoyaktuk, an Indigenous community in the Arctic. The film captures Tuk during one of the last summers before climate change forced Tuk's coastal population to relocate to more habitable land.

7.8

See You Up There

Oct 25, 2017

In November 1918, a few days before the Armistice, when Lieutenant Pradelle orders a senseless attack, he causes a useless disaster; but his outrageous act also binds the lives of two soldiers who have nothing more in common than the battlefield: Édouard saves Albert, although at a high cost. They become companions in misfortune who will attempt to survive in a changing world. Pradelle, in his own way, does the same.

5.0

The Man Who Came Back

Jan 1, 1914

The son of a wealthy merchant fakes his own death to join up, but his heroic act at the Front is wrongly attributed to his cowardly cousin.

6.0

Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make Believe

Sep 8, 2023

Kindness, creativity, inclusivity, and a touch of magic makes the world a brighter place. Explore the story and impact of Canadian entertainer Ernie Coombs and his iconic series, Mr. Dressup, which enriched the lives of five generations.

7.4

Legends of the Fall

Dec 23, 1994

In early 20th-century Montana, Col. William Ludlow lives on a ranch in the wilderness with his sons, Alfred, Tristan, and Samuel. Eventually, the unconventional but close-knit family are bound by loyalty, tested by war, and torn apart by love, as told over the course of several decades in this epic saga.

5.5

The Silent Mountain

Mar 14, 2014

A young Austrian soldier in World War I fights his way through the Alps to rescue his Italian girlfriend and escape the impending explosion that will rock the mountain.

6.0

Fort Saganne

May 11, 1984

In 1911, a willful and determined man from peasant stock named Charles Saganne enlists in the military and is assigned to the Sahara Desert under the aristocratic Colonel Dubreuilh.

6.7

Picture of Light

Jun 10, 1994

A documentary of an expedition to Churchill, Manitoba to film the Northern Lights.

6.1

The Ottoman Lieutenant

Mar 28, 2017

Lillie, a determined American woman, ventures overseas to join Dr. Jude at a remote medical mission in the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey). However, Lillie soon finds herself at odds with Jude and the mission’s founder, Woodruff, when she falls for the titular military man, Ismail, just as the war is about to erupt.

6.5

The Cardinal

Dec 12, 1963

A young Catholic priest from Boston confronts bigotry, Nazism, and his own personal conflicts as he rises to the office of cardinal.

7.6

The Big Parade

Nov 5, 1925

The story of an idle rich boy who joins the US Army's Rainbow Division and is sent to France to fight in World War I, becomes friends with two working class men, experiences the horrors of trench warfare, and finds love with a French girl.