Donald Brittain

Biography

Donald Code Brittain, OC (June 10, 1928 – July 21, 1989), was a renown award winning Canadian film maker, especially with the National Film Board. He directed, wrote, narrated and produced over 100 films and documentaries. His breakthrough came with "Fields of Sacrifice" in 1963. Brittain's legacy isn't just his films; his camaraderie and perfectionism left a lasting impact and set the standard for professionalism at the National Film Board.

Directed

1. Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Leonard Cohen (1966) — Director
2. Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry (1976) — Director
3. Memorandum (1967) — Director
4. Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle (1978) — Director
5. Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. Banks (1985) — Director
6. The Champions, Part 1: Unlikely Warriors (1978) — Director
7. The Champions, Part 2: Trappings of Power (1978) — Director
8. The Champions, Part 3: The Final Battle (1986) — Director
9. Fields of Sacrifice (1963) — Director
10. The Accident (1983) — Director
11. His Worship, Mr. Montréal (1976) — Director
12. Bethune (1964) — Director
13. Saul Alinsky Went to War (1968) — Director
14. The Running Man (1981) — Director
15. The Dionne Quintuplets (1978) — Director
16. Everybody's Prejudiced (1961) — Director
17. Small Is Beautiful: Impressions of Fritz Schumacher (1978) — Director
18. Tiger Child (1970) — Director
19. Never a Backward Step (1966) — Director
20. Family: A Loving Look at CBC Radio (1991) — Director
21. Dreamland: A History of Early Canadian Movies 1895-1939 (1974) — Director
22. Setting Fires for Science (1958) — Director
23. King of the Hill (1974) — Director
24. Starblanket (1973) — Director
25. Henry Ford's America (1977) — Director
26. Blitzkrieg (1962) — Director
27. For the Record (1976) — Director
28. Paperland: The Bureaucrat Observed (1979) — Director
29. Creative Person: Leonard Cohen (1967) — Director
30. On Guard For Thee (1981) — Director

Also appeared in

1. What on Earth! (1967) — Narrator
2. Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Leonard Cohen (1966) — Narrator
3. Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry (1976) — Narrator (voice)
4. Whistling Smith (1975) — Narrator
5. Stravinsky (1966) — Narrator
6. Canada Vignettes: Wop May (1979) — Narrator
7. Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. Banks (1985) — Narrator
8. The Champions, Part 3: The Final Battle (1986) — Narrator
9. The Champions, Part 1: Unlikely Warriors (1978) — Narrator
10. The Champions, Part 2: Trappings of Power (1978) — Narrator
11. Tommy Douglas: Keeper of the Flame (1986) — Narrator
12. King of the Hill (1974) — Self - Narrator
13. The Lost Pharaoh: The Search for Akhenaten (1980) — Self - Narrator (voice)
14. Mobility (1986) — Narrator
15. First Stop, China (1985)
16. Juggernaut (1968) — Narrator (voice)
17. The Magical Eye (1989) — Self
18. Henry Ford's America (1977) — Self - Narrator (voice)
19. Donald Brittain: Filmmaker (1992) — Self (archive footage)
20. Paperland: The Bureaucrat Observed (1979) — Narrator (voice)
21. On Guard For Thee (1981) — Narrator (voice)