The Ernie Game
| The Ernie Game | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Don Owen |
| Produced by |
Robert Allen Gordon Burwash |
| Written by | Don Owen |
| Starring | Alexis Kanner |
| Music by | Kensington Market |
| Cinematography | Jean-Claude Labrecque |
| Edited by | Roy Ayton |
Production company | |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
The Ernie Game is a 1967 Canadian drama film directed by Don Owen.
Called "One of the most innovative examples of personal cinema to come from English Canada in the Sixties" by the Cinematheque Ontario, The Ernie Game was part of a proposed trio of works intended to celebrate the Canadian Centennial. The film centres on Ernie Turner and his attempts to survive in the world after he's released from an asylum. He grows increasingly alienated and his fragile mental state declines, moving between two women, ex-girlfriend and current lover. "The Ernie Game provides a resonant portrait of mental illness," writes Steve Gravestock of the Cinematheque, "its pathologically narcissistic protagonist representing Owen’s most nightmarish vision of the artist as fraud and pariah."[1]
Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, The Ernie Game received the Etrog Awards, now known as Genie Awards, for Best Direction and Best Feature Film in 1968.[2] It was also entered into the 18th Berlin International Film Festival.[3][4]
Cast
- Alexis Kanner as Ernie Turner
- Jackie Burroughs as Gail
- Anna Cameron as Social worker
- Leonard Cohen as Singer
- Corinne Copnick as Landlady
- Rolland D'Amour as Neighbour
- Judith Gault as Donna
- Derek May as Ernie's accomplice
- Louis Negin as Ernie's friend
References
- ↑ Gravestock, Steve (Fall 2008). "A FORTNIGHT AT CANNES: FORTY YEARS OF THE QUINZAINE". Cinematheque Ontario. Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
- ↑ "The Ernie Game". Collection. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
- ↑ "IMDB.com: Awards for The Ernie Game". imdb.com. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
- ↑ Wise, Wyndham (Sep 8, 2001). "Ernie Game, The". Take One's Essential Guide to Canadian Film. University of Toronto Press. p. 71. ISBN 0-8020-8398-6.