The Merry World of Leopold Z (1965)
November 19, 1965Release Date
The Merry World of Leopold Z (1965)
November 19, 1965Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently The Merry World of Leopold Z is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Filmzie, Amazon Video
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Cast & Crew.
Guy L'Ecuyer
Léopold Z. Tremblay
Paul Hébert
Théophile Lemay
Jacques Poulin
Jacques Tremblay
Monique Joly
Catherine Tremblay
Suzanne Valéry
Josette
Gilles Latulippe
Finance Company Clerk
Bernard Assiniwi
Albert Millaire
Narrator (voice)
Raymond Lemay
Announcer (voice)
Léandre Brault
Self - Choir Director
André Gagnon
Josette's Pianist
Werner Nold
Editor
Jacques Bobet
Music / Producer
Gilles Carle
Writer / Director
Jean-Claude Labrecque
Director of Photography
Bernard Bordeleau
Sound Editor
Joseph Champagne
Sound
Ron Alexander
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Roger Lamoureux
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Paul de Margerie
Original Music Composer
Bernard Gosselin
Director of Photography
Media.
Details.
Release DateNovember 19, 1965
Original NameLa vie heureuse de Léopold Z
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 8m
Budget$70
Filming LocationsMontreal, Canada
Genres
Last updated:
This Movie Is About.
Wiki.
The Merry World of Léopold Z (French: La vie heureuse de Léopold Z) is a 1965 comedy-drama directed by Gilles Carle that played a key role in efforts to create a popular national cinema in Quebec.
The film follows the misadventures of its title character Léopold Z. (Guy L'Écuyer), a snow plow operator for the City of Montreal, on Christmas Eve. The filmincorporates documentary film footage of snow clearing in Montreal, and in fact, had been originally commissioned by the National Film Board of Canada as a documentary on snow clearing, only to be turned into a fictional film by the director. The film paints a portrait of a hapless Québécois little man, battling the winter elements as well as the demands of consumerism, sexual desire and the requirement at that time for French-speaking Quebecers to speak English to be successful.
As with other Quebec NFB films of the period, the film incorporates Direct Cinema techniques. It is also a film with a strong political point of view, with Carle intending his central character to be a "pre-revolutionary" figure, representing how the Québécois people were being exploited by a capitalist, English-speaking power structure.
Ironically, while the film portrays a plow operator battling a traditional Montreal snow storm, an almost snowless winter meant that Carle had to film sporadically over 18 months. The film would go on to win first prize in the feature films category at the Festival of Canadian Films, held as part of the 1965 Montreal International Film Festival.