At last on the screen!
Date: November 1, 1968
Credit: The Georgian student newspaper, vol. 32, no 15
This ad from 1968 announces the first screening of the film High at the Cinéma Guy, in downtown Montreal. As implied by the ad, the Montreal public had to wait for more than a year before viewing the film in theaters.
In 1967, High was programmed for both the Montreal International Film Festival and the Vancouver International Film Festival. But, screenings were canceled after Quebec and British Columbia censorship boards banned it. It was also banned in Toronto in early 1968 by the Ontario Film Censors.
Alan King and Jean-Pierre Lefebvre were co-winners of the festival’s Canadian competition. In a gesture of solidarity and in the name of freedom of expression, the two shared their prize money with Kent.
High was eventually released in parts of Canada in late 1968 with, according to the Vancouver Sun, “some scenes deleted.” Even so, the film was known to be clandestinely shown in underground venues before then. It was also presented in film festivals abroad, as in the United States or in Europe.
Transcription:
NOW
“The Anarchic Cross-Country odyssey of a Young Couple” -MacLean’s
“Fascinating, beautiful, ludacrous, and funny.” -Globe and Mail
18 years for adults only
HIGH
Larry Kent, with Astri Thorvik, Lanny Beckman
Shown at the Berlin Festival 1968
Special price for students from 11.00 am to 5.30 pm Monday to Friday
Cinema Guy/Guy and Maisonneuve/Tel 931-2912/AT LAST on the screen