RESTORED 35MM PRINT!

“A literally brilliant first film, glittering with intelligence, perception and integrity” (Judith Crist, Saturday Review). This archetypal story of two unskilled labourers from Nova Scotia taking the road west to seek the good life in unfriendly Toronto was universally praised by critics upon its release, and was the first English Canadian feature to bring Canadian and foreign audiences into theatres in large numbers, making Goin’ Down the Road a significant commercial, as well as artistic, accomplishment. The perfect casting of the film’s central characters is crucial to its success: the actors’ renditions of the frustrated ambitions and unrealized dreams of their working-class characters “make every word and look and gesture count for something, so that each scene is packed with almost more subliminal information, about the characters and their situation, than one’s brain can fairly digest” (Peter Schjeldahl, The New York Times). Richard Leiterman’s accomplished cinematography and Bruce Cockburn’s haunting score also contribute enormously to director Don Shebib’s assured feature debut. “There is scarcely a false touch in Goin’ Down the Road” (Pauline Kael, The New Yorker). – Chris Gehman

Rated 14A.