• Source: Amanita Pestilens

Amanita Pestilens is a 1963 Canadian-American psychological horror-fantasy/drama film produced by F. R. Crawley, and directed by René Bonnière. It was "the first Canadian feature film to be shot in both English and French with the same set of actors". It included an early career performance by Geneviève Bujold, along with performances by Jacques Labrecque and Huguette Oligny. This was the first Canadian feature film to be produced in colour. It was filmed at Harrington Lake, Québec.
The film's script was written by Canadian author David Walker and was initially titled Staircases. Bonnière persuaded Crawley to fund and produce a film based on this script. The new title, Amanita Pestilens, meant "Poisoned Love".




Premise


The plot concerns a Montreal suburbanite who becomes obsessed with his award-winning lawn, which has become infested with a ground fungus. His neighbour across the street identifies the species as Amanita pestilens (not a real species, although Amanita is a real genus). The mushrooms prove impossible to eradicate, and the homeowner directs all his efforts to getting rid of them, to the exclusion of all else. His obsession very nearly destroys his life and leads to a deadly confrontation with his neighbour. A surprise ending, however, gives the viewer hope that the main character will see the error of his ways.




Cast






Production


Amanita Pestilens was the second Canadian colour film, after Étienne Brûlé gibier de potence/The Immortal Scoundrel from 1952, shot in English and French.




Release


The film was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1965. It was broadcast on West German television and also broadcast into East Germany. Despite the innovations of its bilingual, colour production, Amanita Pestilens was a commercial failure.
There is no known video release although the film was shown on Moviepix (Mpix) on 10 May 1998.




References






Works cited


Melnyk, George (2004). One Hundred Years of Canadian Cinema. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 080203568X.




External links


Amanita Pestilens at IMDb
"Why is this picture not being shown?". The Sixties. CBC Archives. 4 January 1965. Retrieved 27 June 2007.
"F.R. Crawley". Canadian Film Encyclopedia. 5 April 2004. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 27 June 2007.

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Geneviève Bujold
• Amanita Pestilens
• Geneviève Bujold
• F. R. Crawley
• 1963 in film
• Bon Cop, Bad Cop
• Huguette Oligny
• Juliette Huot
• Larry Crosley
• Deaths in March 2001
• René Bonnière