Black Robe (1991)

Director:

Bruce Beresford

Writers (WGA):

Brian Moore (novel)
Brian Moore (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 October 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History

Plot:

In the 17th century a Jesuit priest and a young companion are escorted through the wilderness of Quebec...

Plot Keywords:

Jesuit | Quebec | Journey | Algonquin Indian | Wilderness

Awards:

10 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Lothaire Bluteau	...	Father Laforgue
Aden Young	...	Daniel
Sandrine Holt	...	Annuka
August Schellenberg	...	Chomina
Tantoo Cardinal	...	Chomina's Wife
Billy Two Rivers	...	Ougebmat
Lawrence Bayne	...	Neehatin
Harrison Liu	...	Awondoie
Wesley Cote	...	Oujita
Frank Wilson	...	Father Jerome
François Tassé	...	Father Bourque
Jean Brousseau	...	Champlain
Yvan Labelle	...	Mestigoit
Raoul Trujillo	...	Kiotseaton
James Bobbish	...	Ondesson
Denis Lacroix	...	Taratande
Gilles Plante	...	Older Workman
Gordon Tootoosis	...	Old Aenons
Marthe Turgeon	...	Laforgue's Mother
Claude Préfontaine	...	Old Priest
Deano Clavet	...	Mercier
Paul Stewart	...	Workman
Jean-Raymond Châles	...	Workman
Jean-Jacques Blanchet	...	Workman
Marco Bacon	...	Montagnais
Patrick Tenasco	...	Montagnais
George Pachanos	...	Iroquois Leader
Minor Mustain	...	First Iroquois
Don Brisebois	...	Iroquois Guard
Jean-Baptiste Raphael	...	Iroquois Elder
Guy Provencher	...	Old Iroquois Member
Joe De Laronde	...	Tall Painted Iroquois
Linlyn Lue	...	She Manitou
Bonfield Marcoux	...	Domergue
Wanda Obomsawin	...	Pregnant Woman
Jean-Pierre Perusse	...	Tallevant
Gérard Soler	...	Masse
Alison Reid	...	Iroquois Torture Woman
Brenda Adams	...	Iroquois Torture Woman
Denis Plante	...	Musician
Daniel Thonon	...	Musician
Cordelia Beresford	...	Mademoiselle Le Fontaine
Annie Bearskin	...	Member of the Algonquin Tribe
Doreen Stevens	...	Member of the Algonquin Tribe
Joseph Campeau	...	Member of the Algonquin Tribe
Eric Johnston	...	Member of the Algonquin Tribe
Mirya Obomsawin	...	Member of the Algonquin Tribe
Zoe Leigh Hopkins	...	Member of the Algonquin Tribe (as Zoe Hopkins)
Rodrigue Boivin	...	Member of the Algonquin Tribe
Irvin Hill	...	Member of the Algonquin Tribe
Valerie Deconte	...	Member of the Algonquin Tribe
Waylon Hare	...	Member of the Algonquin Tribe
Roger Wylde	...	Member of the Algonquin Tribe
Walter Jacobs	...	Member of the Algonquin Tribe
Helen Bobish Atkinson	...	Member of the Algonquin Tribe (as Helen Atkinson)
John Tenasco	...	Member of the Algonquin Tribe
Jonathan Blacksmith	...	Member of the Algonquin Tribe
Earl Danyluk	...	Member of the Algonquin Tribe
Arnold Eyah-Saulteux	...	Member of the Algonquin Tribe

Directed by
Bruce Beresford

Writing credits (WGA)
Brian Moore		(novel)
Brian Moore		(screenplay)

Produced by
Jake Eberts	....	executive producer
Denis Héroux	....	executive producer
Robert Lantos	....	producer
Sue Milliken	....	producer
Brian Moore	....	executive producer
Eric Norlen	....	associate producer
Stéphane Reichel	....	producer

Original Music by
Georges Delerue

Cinematography by
Peter James

Film Editing by
Tim Wellburn

Casting by
Clare Walker

Production Design by
Herbert Pinter

Art Direction by
Gavin Mitchell

Set Decoration by
Réal Proulx

Costume Design by
Renée April
John Hay

Makeup Department
Christiane Berroyer	....	hair stylist: France
Marie-Hélène Duguet	....	makeup artist: French unit
Réjean Forget	....	key hairdresser
Linda Gill	....	head makeup artist
Julie Houle	....	assistant makeup artist
Penny Lee	....	set makeup artist
Richard Marsan	....	trailer attendant: hair and makeup
Benoit Martel	....	assistant hair stylist
Darren Perks	....	prosthetics builder
Mykill Skorr	....	hair stylist
Martin Sutton	....	hair stylist
Ron Turgeon	....	assistant hairdresser

Production Management
Michel Chauvin	....	unit manager
Yanis Combe-Ferrier	....	production manager: France
Jean-Yves Dolbec	....	assistant unit manager
Juny Monoz	....	unit manager: France (as Jany Munoz)
Susan Murdoch	....	production manager
Sylvia Walker-Wilson	....	post-production supervisor (as Sylvia Walker Wilson)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
René Carré	....	third assistant director (as René Carré Jr.)
Buck Deachman	....	third assistant director
Carole Dubuc	....	second assistant director
Pedro Gandol	....	assistant director
Christophe Vallée	....	second assistant director: France

Art Department
Jean-Yves Ahern	....	draftsperson
Andre Brochu	....	head carpenter (as André Brochu)
Rejean Brochu	....	construction coordinator
Serge Bureau	....	property master
Jean Chassé	....	set dresser
Richard Eyre	....	scenic painter
John Fredericks	....	art department swing gang
Serge Gagne	....	carpenter (as Serge Gangné)
Suzanne Gagnier	....	scenic painter
Bernard Gagnon	....	carpenter
Normand Gagnon	....	carpenter
Alain Giguère	....	scenic painter
Atelier Jean Marie Guay	....	propmaker
Denis Hamel	....	set props
Hélène Lafrance	....	art department coordinator
Étienne Lapointe-Proulx	....	assistant set props (as Etienne Lapointe-Proulx)
Christian Lescop	....	carpenter
Pierre L'Heureux	....	construction buyer
Doreen Libman	....	assistant art department coordinator
Paul Menier	....	carpenter
Jean Morin	....	assistant set dresser
Donna Noonan	....	art coordinator: native crafts
Françoise Pauzier	....	set dresser: France
Reet Puhm	....	scenic artist
Jean-Marie Vallerand	....	head carpenter
Francis Back	....	storyboard artist (uncredited)
Eric Lafrance	....	laborer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jeanine Chiavlo	....	dialogue editor (as Jeannine Chialvo)
Stephanie Flack	....	assistant sound editor
David Grusovin	....	assistant sound editor
Phil Judd	....	sound re-recording mixer
Pascal Marzolf	....	boom operator: French unit
Susan Midgley	....	assistant sound editor
Frank Morrone	....	adr recordist
Mike Palozzi	....	adr sound
Penn Robinson	....	supervising sound editor
Nicky Roller	....	foley recordist (as Nicki Roller)
Henri Roux	....	sound recordist: French unit
Mark J. Wasiutak	....	boom operator (as Mark Wasiutak)
Karin Whittington	....	additional sound editor
Gary Wilkins	....	sound recordist
Christian Bass	....	mix assistant (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Louis Craig	....	special effects coordinator
Thierry Craig	....	special effects technician
François Dagenais	....	key special effects makeup artist
Mario Dumont	....	special effects technician
Claude Lebeau	....	special effects technician
Pierre 'Bill' Rivard	....	key special effects technician (as Pierre Rivard)
Antonio Vidosa	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Roger Cowland	....	opticals
Tim Donahue	....	effects art direction: Introvision
John P. Mesa	....	visual effects cameraman
William Mesa	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Jamie Jones	....	stunt performer
Steve Lucescu	....	utility stunts
David McKeown	....	stunt performer
Minor Mustain	....	stunt coordinator
Paul Rutledge	....	stunt performer
Ron Van Hart	....	stunt performer

Camera and Electrical Department
Danny Batterham	....	camera operator
Claude Beauchamp	....	second assistant camera
Sylvain Bergevin	....	electrician
Mikey Bertrand	....	best boy grip (as Michel Bertrand)
Morgan Carpenter	....	generator operator
Julian Chojnacki	....	Steadicam operator
Rod Crombie	....	Steadicam operator
Jean-Maurice de Ernsted	....	key grip
Stéphane de Ernsted	....	grip
Guy Ferland	....	electrician
Andre Fleuren	....	camera operator: second unit
Gilles Fortier	....	best boy electric
Jacques Fortier	....	key electrician
Anna Howard	....	first assistant camera: "b camera "
Marc Lambert	....	electrician: French unit
Philippe Lapicque	....	key grip: French unit
Frédéric Lemaire	....	gaffer: French unit
Jean Lépine	....	camera operator: second unit
Laurent Leymonie	....	first assistant camera: French unit
Alain Masse	....	grip (as Alain Massé)
David Nichols	....	dolly grip (as David Nicholls)
Yves Paquette	....	generator operator
John Platt	....	first assistant camera
Frank Polyak	....	assistant camera: second unit
Takashi Seida	....	still photographer
François Taupin	....	electrician: French unit
André Tisseur	....	grip
Brett Tracey	....	camera trainee
David Ungaro	....	second assistant camera: French unit
Mathieu Ungaro	....	grip: French unit
Paul Viau	....	electrician
Stéphane Vidal	....	grip: French unit

Casting Department
Marie La Haye	....	casting australia

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Henri Aubertin	....	dresser
Olivier Bériot	....	dresser: French unit (as Olivier Beriot)
Blanche-Danielle Boileau	....	wardrobe coordinator (as Blanche Boileau)
Stéphanie Chagnon	....	dresser
Sylvie Clément	....	dresser
Mario Davignon	....	head dresser
Simonetta Mariano	....	cutter
Fran Marks	....	seamstress
Enrica Ponzi	....	seamstress
Marc Provencher	....	dresser
Anne Rémillard	....	cutter
Micheline Rouillard	....	costume builder
Jacqueline Rousseau	....	costume builder
Jacqueline Rousseau	....	dresser

Editorial Department
Arthur Cambridge	....	color grader
Claudette Duff	....	second assistant picture editor
Pat Mackle	....	first assistant picture editor
Karen Psaltis	....	negative matcher
Brett Tracey	....	editor trainee
H. Gordon Woodside	....	post-production associate (as Gordon Woodside)

Music Department
Martin Arminger	....	music coordinator
James D'Arcey	....	assistant music engineer (as James D'Arcy)
John Grundy	....	musical director: The Sydney Philharmonia
Phillip Hartl	....	orchestra leader
Gilles Plante	....	advisor: early music
Michael Stavrou	....	music scoring engineer
Coralie Hartl	....	orchestra contractor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Réjean Bouchard	....	driver: cast
Owen Coughlan	....	driver: Montreal
Edmond Delorimier	....	driver: wardrobe
Jim Disensi	....	transportation coordinator
Lorne Dosogne	....	driver: cast
David Leblanc	....	driver: cast
Gerardo Manzi	....	driver: honeywagon
Tim Parkinson	....	driver captain (as Ian 'Tim' Parkinson)
Don Poole	....	transportation coordinator
Jon Prévost	....	driver: cast (as John Prévost)
Don Riordan	....	driver: cast
Joelle St-Gelais	....	driver: La Baie office (as Joel St-Gelais)
Ted Wilson	....	driver: cast (as Teddy Wilson)

Other crew
Annabelle Alvarez	....	assistant accountant (as Annabell Alvarez)
Joe C.W. Armstrong	....	consultant: cartography
Nick Barker	....	location scout (as Nicholas Barker)
Belinda Bennetts	....	title designer: main titles
Helen Bobish Atkinson	....	translator: Cree (as Helen Atkinson)
Cherri Campbell	....	assistant: Robert Lantos
Merrianne Couture	....	production secretary
Earl Danyluk	....	extras captain
Lois Davey	....	tutor
Marie Luce David	....	production secretary: French unit (as Marie-Luce David)
Doreen Davis	....	production accountant
Paul Dupont	....	safety consultant
Sandrine Fayos	....	continuity: French unit
Claude Fortin	....	production assistant
Romain Gagnon	....	production assistant
Eric Gendron	....	production assistant
Jay Grant	....	caterer
Alan Hooper	....	canoe instructor
Dora Hopkins	....	guardian: children
Ginette Hoyse	....	assistant craft service
Desmond Kennedy	....	assistant accountant
Martha-Marie Kleinhans	....	production coordinator
Josée Lachance	....	assistant: Bruce Beresford (as Joseé Lachance)
Susan Lane	....	assistant: Sue Milliken
Pierre Lapointe	....	production assistant
Marc Larose	....	production assistant
Ian MacArthur	....	caterer
Remy Maltais	....	pontoon operator
Karen Marginson	....	unit publicist
Jill Morton	....	assistant craft service
Donna Noonan	....	consultant: First Nations
Réjean Obomsawin	....	extras coordinator
Charles Obrul	....	laboratory liaison
Philippa Orsborn	....	financial consultant
Paula Paizes	....	legal advisor: Samson Productions
Rick Parker	....	raven trainer
Jean-Clément Renaud	....	craft service coordinator
Ian Russell	....	laboratory liaison
Marce Savoie	....	canoe wrangler (as Marcel Savoie)
François Sylvestre	....	location manager
Colin Tomlins	....	production secretary
Diane Tremblay	....	nurse
Martin Tremblay	....	office assistant: La Baie
Billy Two Rivers	....	translator: Mohawk
Jose Uria	....	production assistant
Denise Wolfson	....	laboratory liaison

Thanks
Joseph Campeau	....	acknowledgment: intertribal round dance song provided by
Isoland Clauveau	....	acknowledgment: local resources
Alberta Cree	....	acknowledgment: intertribal pow wow song provided by
Alex Skead	....	acknowledgment: ojbway travelling song provided by

Production Companies

• Alliance Communications Corporation
• First Choice Films
• Goldwyn Pictures Corporation
• Rogers Telefund - Rogers Communications
• Samson Productions
• Téléfilm Canada

Distributors

• Samuel Goldwyn Company, The (1991) (USA) (theatrical)
• Hoyts Distribution (1992) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (Australia) (VHS)
• Indies Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Paris Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Pioneer (1998) (UK) (video) (laserdisc)
• Trimark Home Video (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Vidmark Entertainment (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Vidmark Entertainment (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Vidmark Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (Netherlands) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Intrigue (special effects)
• Introvision International

Other Companies

• Alcan Ltee.  thanks
• Atlab  post-production laboratory
• Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)  funding
• Australian Film, Television and Radio School  score recording facility
• Bellevue Pathé Québec  laboratory
• Captions  subtitles
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Chisasibi Indian Band  thanks
• Conseil General de la Seine Maritime  thanks
• Conseil de Bande d'Odanak  thanks
• Conseil de Bande de Betsiamites  thanks
• Conseil de Bande des Montagnais du Lac St. Jean  thanks
• Elite Productions  casting: Quebec
• Film Finance  bond
• Film Insurance Underwriting Agencies (FIUA)  insurance (as Film Insurance Underwriting)
• Huronia Historical Parks (Sainte-Marie among the Huron)  thanks
• Huronia Museum, Midland, ON  thanks
• L'Adminstration de Monuments Historiques  thanks
• Master's Workshop  adr: Canada
• Minsere des Loisirs de la Chasse et de la Peche du Quebec  thanks
• Mohawk Council of Kahnawake  thanks
• Moneypenny Services  production accounting: Australia
• Montreal Native Friendship Centre  thanks
• Musee des Traditions des Arts Norman, Rouen  thanks
• Optical & Graphics  end titles
• Optical & Graphics  subtitles
• Ottawa Native Friendship Centre  thanks
• Parc Sagueney, Quebec  thanks
• Public Archives of Canada  maps
• Reserve Faunique Ashapmushuan  thanks
• Reserve Indienne de Wolinak  thanks
• River Desert Indian Band  thanks
• Soundfirm  sound recording facilities
• Spectrum Films International  post-production facilities
• Strings Plus  musicians
• The Council of Crees of Waskaganish  thanks
• The Joe C.W. Armstrong Canadian Collection  maps
• The Sydney Philharmonia  choir
• Ville de Rouen  thanks
• Waswanipi Indian Band  thanks
• West Bay Indian Band  thanks
• Zoo St. Felicien  thanks

Also Known As:

Robe noire (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

101 min | Germany:97 min

Country:

Canada | Australia

Language:

Cree | English | Mohawk | Algonquin | Latin

Colour:

Colour (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | UK:15 | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | Australia:M | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Germany:12 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Saguenay Region, Québec, Canada

Company:

Alliance Communications Corporation

Trivia:

This movie was filmed "in sequence", that is to say, all of the scenes were filmed in the order in which they appear on the screen.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In one of the flashbacks to France, Father Laforgue's mother says she is praying to St. Joan. However, Joan of Arc was not canonized until 1920.

Quotes:

Father Jerome: Our only hope is that - some believe that baptism will cure their fever. If they ask for baptism, we must have a great public ceremony at once.
Father Laforgue: Fr. Jerome, shouldn't we - I mean, mustn't they understand our faith before accepting it?
Father Jerome: Understand? But they are in danger of death, and we are offering them a place in Paradise.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Lonely Passion of Brian Moore (1986)

Brutal but beautiful

_Black Robe_ is an under-appreciated gem. With fine acting, a strong, literate screenplay, beautiful visuals from the spare, cold Canadian wilderness, and a lyrical, dialogue-light storytelling style, this film is an absorbing experience. Viewers with less patience for visual storytelling, or who don't like having to pay attention to details, will probably find it slow-going.

Be forewarned: _Black Robe_ is a brutal film, by modern western standards. Gruesome torture is openly referred to; native americans, particularly the northern Mohawk and Huron peoples, are _not_ substantially idealized.

Nice ethnographic touches are preserved -- for example, the Alqonkian-speaking group who agree to guide the Black Robe are permitted to clearly express their perplexity at the Jesuit's rudeness for not sharing his tobacco. Similarly, a Mohawk war-leader keenly sees opportunity in permitting the French to live: they can be traded for muskets, and forced to teach the Mohawk how to use the powerful new weapons. No "simple savages", after all: The Iroquois did not come to control much of the northeast through stupidity.

While widely excoriated by some native american advocates for its depiction of Mohawk and Huron brutality, the film actually soft-pedals the reality (as noted by other reviewers). The southern, Five-Nations Mohawk may have abandoned ritual cannibalism by this time, but it's certain that ritual torture and cannibalism were practiced throughout the Iroquois sphere of influence up to the early contact period. It was an aspect of their culture, and really no stranger than similar practices as recorded among christianized Scandinavians circa 1060 AD.