In the 1970s, the U.S. faced an energy crisis so severe that President Jimmy Carter declared it “the moral equivalent of war.” Seeking to curb the country’s dependence on foreign oil, Carter kicked off a legislative melee with the divisive Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 at its center. This epic look at the inner workings of government chronicles the arduous efforts of lobbyists, senators, cabinet members, and the president himself to reach a compromise amid a deeply divided Congress. Directed by legendary documentary filmmakers D. A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, and Pat Powell as a three-part PBS special, THE ENERGY WAR is a riveting immersion into the high-stakes world of DC dealmaking as well as a timely account of the messy realities of lawmaking in a fractious political environment.

Two bored Montreal housewives (Monique Mercure & Louise Turcot), with inattentive husbands (Marcel Sabourin & Donald Pilon), and lots of time on their hands, amuse themselves by paying the local tradesmen something extra to give them amorous attention. Their entertainment leads to frantic confusion, however, when one of the visiting gentlemen - shall we say - 'expires'. The housewives deal with their unpleasant situation quite energetically.

The film consists primarily of degraded footage of landscapes shot from vehicles moving across the country; meanwhile, 537 computer-generated permutations of the film’s title appear like subtitles—the letters are scrambled over and over again, undermining the meaning of Pierre Trudeau's infamous motto.

Robert Lepage directed this Canadian comedy, filmed in black and white and color and adapted from Lepage's play The Seven Branches of the River Ota. In October 1970, Montreal actress Sophie (Anne-Marie Cadieux) appears in a Feydeau farce at the Osaka World's Fair. Back in Montreal, her boyfriend Michel (Alexis Martin) watches the October Crisis on TV and sees Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau declare the War Measures Act. The Canadian Army patrols Montreal streets. Sophie learns she's pregnant and phones Michel. However, Michel is immersed in politics, while Sophie rejects the amorous advances of her co-star (Eric Bernier), becomes friendly with a blind translator, and passes an evening with frivolous Canadian embassy official Walter (Richard Frechette) and his wife Patricia (Marie Gignac). Meanwhile, in Montreal, Michael plots terrorist activities. Commenting on East-West cultural distinctions, the film intercuts between Quebec (in black and white) and Japan (in color).

Canadian director Catherine Annau's debut work is a documentary about the legacy of Pierre Trudeau, the long-running Prime Minister of Canada, who governed during the 1970s. The film focuses particularly on Trudeau's goal of creating a thoroughly bilingual nation. Annau interviews eight people in their mid-30s on both sides of the linguistic divide. One tells of her life growing up in a community of hard-core Quebec separatists, while another, a yuppie from Toronto, recalls believing as a child that people in Montreal got drunk and had sex all day long. Annau has all of the interviewees discuss how Trudeau's policies affected their lives and their perceptions of the other side, in this issue that strikes to the heart of Canada's national identity.

1970 film by Robin Spry