User Reviews

I was hired to play a Metis warrior. I already had longish hair, and, at the costume fitting, I was asked not to shave. A lot of First Nations people were hired; the first day (and the first ten minutes!) on the set, I struck up a conversation with a young Native man, and he made an anti-Semitic remark about "the Jews" he believed were the bosses of the production. A more pleasant observation: I overheard a young Native man, in an attempt to get acquainted with one of the buckskin-clad young women, ask, "You Ojibway?" It was very sweet; they were teenagers. Production had to be halted when one of the lead actors, it was rumored, took LSD and disappeared into the nearby woods . . . I spent some of the shoot in a trench with a rifle, positioned next Cloutier (Riel) and the real great-grandson of Louis Riel, who came in from Saskatchewan and was also hired on as an actor. After some time cheek by jowl, he said: "You don't talk much for a white man." In the same trench with us was legendary performer Don Francks, with his genuine braids and affable hipster warmth and sense of humor. I still run into him occasionally when I'm in Toronto. He is often barefoot. There were some mishaps with actors who claimed they could ride but, in reality did not have the skills or experience to handle a charging horse. There was an accident where some outdoor lighting equipment fell on a young Native woman. At lunch, we were all given a bottle of beer. Not being much of a beer-drinker, I was able to trade those beers for other treats. It was interesting to observe the Native guys ragging on each other. They would "dis" one another over their perceived (real or not) "whiteness." Once, on the bus back to Toronto after a day on the set, one of the guys called me "White Man," with some hostility. He was not perceptively any more dark- skinned than myself, so I shot back: "Who you calling "white?" His own insecurities regarding his own bloodlines must have kicked in because he backed off rather sheepishly. My first name and prominent cheekbones must have helped. The Native guys had names like Peter and Robert; some had reddish hair. Go figure. Good times. Peace and Love, Wolf Krakowski, Kame'a Media: www.kamea.com

OK this might be entertaining but it is not a very accurate portrayal of the life of Riel at all There is no evidence that Riel went to Ottawa, let alone signed in at the parliament buildings. Riel hardly knew Gabriel Dumont during the time of the first Rebellion, they are only known to have met once before the second rebellion. The film omits any mention of Riel's treachery such as when he convinced a number of illiterate settlers to follow him by "predicting" a solar eclipse. The reason that he knew there would be an eclipse is he read it in the paper! As has been mentioned before Riel's appearance is not very accurate. This was an ambitious effort by the CBC to create an epic Canadian mini series similar to the US series "Centennial". It succeeds in my opinion in being entertaining with pretty good production values and aside from Riel's life itself is quite good at portraying the history and the characters in it. However as Riel is the main character and is portrayed so inaccurately I can't give it more than a 5.

Edit to add new information:

Well you live and learn. I have since discovered that Riel did sign into parliament after all. I still cannot upgrade my rating for this series because the overall portrayal of Riel is still very inaccurate.

After watching this film, I cannot say that it was very well made in terms of the characters who were portrayed in it. For example, Thomas Scott didn't look anywhere close to the actor who was given the role of playing his part. As for Riel himself, he had a beard and moustache for the most of his life but in the film he's clean shaven. But it is quite hard to depict every single detail in a film so as a result there will be some misconceptions (some more intentional than others). In addition to that, some of the battles that occurred during the conflict in 1885 were misconstrued. The visit to Ottawa that Riel and Dumont took together in the film probably never happened in real life.

Well....... anyways......... that's the reason why I gave this film a 6 out of 10.

As Canadian fare goes, this is very good. The original historical story is already very dramatic, so little was added for the screenplay. Also, the fictional parts were usually plausible enough. The film's strongest feature was Plummer's performance as John A.

My biggest complaint was the makeup on Raymond Cloutier (Riel). He should have had a moustache, and perhaps a beard at some times. The physical appearance of the historical Riel is very familiar, and I found it annoying that the film did not respect it.

It is unfortunate that there isn't the money to make a really top-notch production based on the Riel story. I found myself thinking of the excellent visual images in films like Dances with Wolves and Last of the Mohicans. Perhaps this story will find its way into the cinema again in the future.

One thing that is impressive about the movie "RIEL" is its all-star, all Canadian cast, many of whom will be familiar to all movie goers. There's Christopher Plummer, Lloyd Bochner, Maury Chaykin, Don Francks, Arthur Hill, Leslie Nielsen, William Shatner, August Schellenberg,Dave Thomas and Kenneth Welsh, all well known actors outside of Canada. However, this is more than a spot-the-cameo epic wanna-be. Devoid of its stellar cast, the film would still be a classic docu-drama about a true Canadian cultural hero. The acting, action and production are all excellent and will keep you entertained and educated for over two hours.

Some good cinematographic sequences, but the numerous historical inaccuracies and weak character representation greatly mar this film/miniseries. Not only that, but the drama is compromised as well. The role of Riel is sadly miscast and (not to fuss about it) the actor does not resemble him at all, which makes for a bad premise from the start. The roles and portrayals of Gabriel Dumont and John A. MacDonald (Christopher Plummer), have a bit more credibility to them. Sadly, it's a deformed look to what could have been a more serious or thoughtful outlook and consideration of Riel, his life, his struggle (and that of the Metis), as well as his unjustified end.

When I saw this adaptation, I thought it had too many flaws for it come across as anything serious. Christopher Plummer was good as John A. MacDonald, but the corny concepts and atrocious historical inaccuracies make for hard viewing.

Poorly written by the same hack who wrote the deeply misogynistic slasher film, Black Christmas. The characters are shallow, the dialogue is artificial, and the acting is campy. Historical inaccuracies abound. The fact that the producers were able to draw some of the biggest Canadian-born talent in the industry to perform in this miniseries makes it all the more ridiculous. The mentality that everyone working on the production must be essentially Canadian is precisely the opposite of the multicultural ethos that permeates this pretentious nonsense. Thankfully, this trifle has been lost in the sands of time.

I enjoyed this movie when it first came out in 1979. Currently, I am waiting to rent it from the library. I am in the process of researching and writing about Louis Riel as a personal writing project. The life story of this man has always interested me. I grew up in St. Boniface, Manitoba, where Riel was born and raised. I remember visiting his grave in the grounds of St. Boniface Basilica as a small girl.

The makers of this movie take certain poetic license in the making of the movie. However, this does not in any way detract from the overall sweep of events in examining and analyzing the life of Louis Riel. It is a good two hours of engrossing entertainment in depicting an important period of Canadian history.

Like one of the other posters, I feel they could have found an actor who looked more like the real Louis Riel. At the very least, Raymond Cloutier should have had a moustache and beard like the real Louis had.

Apart from that, though, I really enjoyed this movie and am looking forward to seeing it again.