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Canterbury is a Hundred

1950 Short film
  • Documentary
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About

This documentary was produced by the NFU to mark Canterbury's centennial. The original Canterbury crusaders' dream of a model England colony is shown in settler life re-enactments. The importance of meat and wheat to the region's prosperity is extolled, and a progressive narrative — "in one brief century they've turned the wilderness into fertile farms and built their red-roofed homes" — underpins contemporary scenes (cricket, church) and much bucolic (plains, Alps) scenery. Trivia: Peter Jackson used an excerpt from the film to open Heavenly Creatures.

Key Cast & Crew

Profile picture of Oxley Hughan
Oxley Hughan
Director, Editor, Writer
Profile picture of Cyril Morton
Cyril Morton
Producer
DD
Don Donaldson
Narrator
AN
Anthony Noorts
Composer