Yes, we drag out a movie from my past, from the NFB, Impressions of Expo 67.
I am astounded at the clarity of this film, and thank heavens for the NFB, as I view Expo 67 as a “mile marker” in my life even though I was only six years old at the time.
I love the description from the NFB:
This short film served as an invitation to the World’s Fair held in Montreal in 1967. It was primarily considered to be the most successful World’s Fair of the 20th century, with over 50 million visitors. The film presents impressions of the event and Montreal at its liveliest and most exciting moment in history.
After Expo 67, the exhibition continued for a few more years as Man and His World. My family went every year. La Ronde, the amusement park, is still in operation. Undoubtedly a mile marker for Canada as well.
Impressions of Expo 67, William Brind, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
NFB Videos
- How do you make money? The NFB shows you how the mint does it.
- Do you remember the crash of '82? The NFB does. Here is a short, talking about the banking problems then.
- The October Crisis is one of Canadian history's most critical moments, leading to the 1976 Quebec Election.
- Before the October Crisis you had Expo 67 which was a magical time in Montreal.
- How do you stop things that should happen from happening? NFB has some ideas.
- What happens when cars take over? Now that is a possibility.
- A special Mother's Day message from the National Film Board.
- Do you understand the Vastness that is Canada? This NFB short will give you a glimpse.
- After the Axe is about someone getting laid off, which is close to my heart.
- Vimy Ridge some argue is when Canada became a nation, the NFB has a perspective on it.
- Who hasn't felt apprehensive at the thought of starting high school?
- NFB does a Fire Prevention short? Why yes, they did.
- Christmas is a subject the NFB has a lot of shorts about. This one looks at both sides of the holiday.
- Do you want an old box for Christmas? An NFB animation might make you want this
- Toronto Boom Town, which grew even larger with the help of the 1976 Quebec election.
- The Faces montage is another amazing bit of animation.
- Here is hockey, or at least how Hockey was back in the 60's!
- Paddle to the Sea is one of my favourite shorts from the NFB
- The NFB does create some of the most beautiful Christmas Cards.
- The Sweater is another of my favourite NFB shorts, a story that tugs at my heartstrings.
- Banks and Humor It is rare that you see banks and humor in the same sentence, but in this Stephen Leacock story, the humor is quite obvious in the story.
What people don’t remember is that Montreal was the largest city in Canada at the time. Toronto was a backwater and barely even an after thought. Montreal was the financial and cultural center of Canada and then along came the Péquistes and Canada changed. NHL head was in the SunLife Building. The Montreal Stock Exchange was the stock exchange in Canada. When deprtment store headoffices moved from Montreal to Toronto, people lamented that Canadian women were now going to be dressing like Torontonians. The joke was that the Canadian Armed Forces dropped 10,000 paratroopers over Toronto on a Sunday. They all died. Everyone knows that nothing opens in Toronto on a Sunday. Toronto the good ie Toronto the dull. For that summer Montreal was the place to be. The Big Owe, notwithstanding, that continued until 1976 and beyond and then the Péquistes and the party stopped, not just for anglophone but for economic development in Quebec. Infrastructure in Montreal was all built in the mid-60’s. A half century later, it’s being updated, replaced and repaired. Iwas only 12 during Expo, but 1976, the year the PQ was elected, was my second provincial election. How things changed.