So i managed to secure a copy of this very cool movie recently and I loved it! What a cool movie!
For those who don't know; Power Play was a feature film based (loosely) on Edward Lutwak's book; Coup de Tat (also a very cool book). The film is about (duh!) a coup de tat and get this; it stars the Canadian Army of the 1970s! How cool is that? Now the movie itself is not much like the book; it's not a forensic break-down of the how-to's or history of coups, and it features "no particular nation", but it's still well worth tracking down a copy in my opinion.
Here's the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnIBkd9uraA
Not only did they use Canadian Army extras, it's achingly obvious; C1, C2, C4, C5, Super-Bazooka and other distinct combinations of weapons; M38 Jeeps and m113s with Centurion tanks; there is even a hanger filled with RCN Grumman Trackers with visible RCN Roundels. The dress uniforms are nearly perfect summer tans and the slip-ons are just a different colour when you see the field uniforms.
I think the biggest bit of camouflage is the use of S&W76 SMGs here and there; but even those were common with police departments at the time. At one point, you even see at the "Secret Police" headquarters (Exterior-shot; classic CF Barracks building!) a gun rack with just the kind of weaponry you would find in an RCMP armoury of the time.
I'd love to hear any first or second-hand accounts from people in the army at the time or generally with first or second, or third-hand knowledge of the production and filming of the movie, as well as any side-stories. It must have been the talk of the army at the time.
I mean, come on! At the height of the Trudeau era, the Canadian Army starred in a movie about a coup? That's amazing!
Anyway, thanks for your time and I hope this shakes the cobwebs loose. This is just the sort of history we need to talk about more; strange, entertaining and just a little bit (or a lot!) irreverent!
For those who don't know; Power Play was a feature film based (loosely) on Edward Lutwak's book; Coup de Tat (also a very cool book). The film is about (duh!) a coup de tat and get this; it stars the Canadian Army of the 1970s! How cool is that? Now the movie itself is not much like the book; it's not a forensic break-down of the how-to's or history of coups, and it features "no particular nation", but it's still well worth tracking down a copy in my opinion.
Here's the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnIBkd9uraA
Not only did they use Canadian Army extras, it's achingly obvious; C1, C2, C4, C5, Super-Bazooka and other distinct combinations of weapons; M38 Jeeps and m113s with Centurion tanks; there is even a hanger filled with RCN Grumman Trackers with visible RCN Roundels. The dress uniforms are nearly perfect summer tans and the slip-ons are just a different colour when you see the field uniforms.
I think the biggest bit of camouflage is the use of S&W76 SMGs here and there; but even those were common with police departments at the time. At one point, you even see at the "Secret Police" headquarters (Exterior-shot; classic CF Barracks building!) a gun rack with just the kind of weaponry you would find in an RCMP armoury of the time.
I'd love to hear any first or second-hand accounts from people in the army at the time or generally with first or second, or third-hand knowledge of the production and filming of the movie, as well as any side-stories. It must have been the talk of the army at the time.
I mean, come on! At the height of the Trudeau era, the Canadian Army starred in a movie about a coup? That's amazing!
Anyway, thanks for your time and I hope this shakes the cobwebs loose. This is just the sort of history we need to talk about more; strange, entertaining and just a little bit (or a lot!) irreverent!
