The Champagne Safari
First Run Features
•
1h 34m
Directed by George Ungar • Documentary • 1995 • 94 minutes
What was a reputed Nazi collaborator doing reconnoitering the Canadian Northwest in 1934? In that year, mogul Charles Bedaux embarked on an ill-fated journey across through the Canadian Rockies. His upper-crust caravan, called "The Champagne Safari," was abandoned and film footage of the journey was lost. Decades later, director George Ungar discovers the film. Using it, he composes this documentary that tracks the wealthy industrialist's life, exploring how his worker-management system left its imprint on the modern world. He also examines Bedaux's Nazi ties, which led to his undoing.
The Champagne Safari is a captivating documentary recounting the previously untold story of this mysterious millionaire's expedition. The puzzle unravels against the stunning backdrops of Canada's remote Northwest, Berlin, Paris, London and the United States.
"An inspired and fascinating documentary about a near-forgotten man. As intriguing as 'Citizen Kane'." —Los Angeles Times
Up Next in First Run Features
-
Touristic Intents
Directed by Mat Rappaport • Documentary • With Hasso Spode, Sussanna Misgajski, Gabi Dolff-Bonekämper • 2022 • 72 minutes
Architecture, mass tourism and political ideology come together in Touristic Intents, a new documentary that investigates the never-completed Nazi resort of Prora on Germany'...
-
Imagining the Indian: The Fight Again...
Directed by Aviva Kempner and Ben West • Documentary • 2022 • 95 minutes
A comprehensive look at the movement to eradicate the words, images, and gestures that many Native Americans and their allies find harmful, demeaning, and offensive. The film examines mascoting issues through archival foota...
-
Modernism, Inc.: The Eliot Noyes Desi...
Directed by Jason Cohn • Documentary • With Sebastian Roché (narrator) • 2023 • 79 minutes
From the filmmaker of Eames: The Architect and the Painter comes a new documentary about a pioneer of modern design. Architect Eliot Noyes was one of the leading pioneers of modern design during the mid-ce...
