Contact Us FAQ Français
Home / Mordecai Richler: The Last of the Wild Jews

Mordecai Richler: The Last of the Wild Jews


Catalogue Number:  A214-001
Producer:  Motsjo Films
Producers:  Motsjo Films
Producing Agencies:  Motsjo Films
Subject:  Arts, Biography, Canadian History, Diversity, English, History, Jewish Studies, Literature, Social Sciences
Language:  English
Grade Level:  9 - 12, Post Secondary, Adult
Country Of Origin:  Canada
Copyright Year:  2010
Running Time:  51:59


Request Preview Access

Scripted by Richler’s biographer, writer Charlie Foran, in collaboration with the film's director, Francine Pelletier, the film looks at Mordecai Richler, the man and the writer, in a new way, as one of a generation of gifted, angry Jewish writers and intellectuals who dominated much of North American culture from the ‘50s to the end of the century: Saul Bellow, Irving Layton, Lenny Bruce, Philip Roth, Norman Mailer and others.

Richler, like the others, was a 'wild Jew'. Born to immigrant parents and raised on a heady mix of talmudic teachings and comic book superheroes, later inspired by Isaac Babel’s jewish underworld, Richler was a natural agitator and provocateur. Like his famous American counterparts, he had the courage to rattle the cage of the complacent and the sacred while leaving an indelible mark on the society around them. Volatile, often contradictory, bereft of nuance, Mordecai Richler was also, as the film will show, sensible, engaging, and unnervingly forthright. An undeniably rich asset to Canada’s cultural and literary life.

His best known works, are The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Barney’s Version, both made into films and the Jacob Two-Two children's stories. His 1989 novel 'Solomon Gurksy Was Here' was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1990.

Also available in French: Mordecai Richler: le cosaque de la rue Saint-Urbain


Related Titles

Hemingway: A Film By Ken Burns and Lynn Novick

PBS Video 041963

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's six-hour documentary series, HEMINGWAY, examines the visionary work and...

The Hemingway Monologues: Life and Death in Key West

Gee Whiz Entertainment GWE000

This drama is based on the play "Death in the Afternoon', Part 3 of "The Hemingway Monologues" by...

Anne Morrow Lindbergh: You'll Have the Sky

PBS Video 041883

Anne Morrow Lindbergh: You'll Have The Sky brings one of the 20th century's best-loved writers out...

Long Walk Home: The Incredible Journey of Sheila Burnford

Franco Finn Films Inc. FF0000

For decades, The Incredible Journey has been a family classic with numerous generations embracing...

The Fantasy Makers: Tolkien, Lewis and MacDonald

Refuge 31 Films R31001

This feature documentary examines the profound impact that fantasy pioneers C.S. Lewis, J.R.R...


Browse Our Collection By Subject

View All Subjects