The Heatwave Lasted Four Days
The Heatwave Lasted Four Days
The Heatwave Lasted Four Days
The Heatwave Lasted Four Days
The Heatwave Lasted Four Days
The Heatwave Lasted Four Days
The Heatwave Lasted Four Days
The Heatwave Lasted Four Days
The Heatwave Lasted Four Days
The Heatwave Lasted Four Days
The Heatwave Lasted Four Days
The Heatwave Lasted Four Days

Canadian International Pictures

The Heatwave Lasted Four Days

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Edition Type: Limited Edition Slipcover

CIP-037 SLIP
{ "42877680353322":1 }
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This Partner Label release is distributed through Vinegar Syndrome's sister company OCN Distribution. Vinegar Syndrome had no part in, nor are responsible for, the restoration, extras, quality control or any content(s) of this release. We hope you enjoy our growing roster of Partner Labels and the expertise and curation brought to each release by their dedicated staff!

Details

This special limited edition slipcover (designed by Tom Ralston) is limited to 1,000 units and is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them.

From arthouse to Canuxploitation, Canadian International Pictures (CIP) is devoted to resurrecting vital, distinctive, and overlooked triumphs of Canadian cinema. This label is focused on the country’s original cinematic boom years – spanning the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s – occasionally venturing past that period (and the country’s borders) to highlight the films of Canada’s most inspired actors and filmmakers. Vinegar Syndrome’s sister company, OCN Distribution, is thrilled to be representing CIP's brand new line of home video releases!

50th anniversary special edition

While shooting a news report on a Montréal heatwave, TV cameraman Cliff Reynolds (The Rowdyman’s Gordon Pinsent) unintentionally films Jerry Cuozzo (Scanners co-star Lawrence Dane), a recently-escaped convict hiding from police and his former criminal associates on the heels of a rogue heroin deal. With the help of Barbara (Day for Night’s Alexandra Stewart) and Gabriella (Vampire Circus’ Domini Blythe), Jerry schemes to fake his own death, while offering large sums of money to Cliff to hand over his film and help deliver the drugs – with lethal consequences.

Created for the National Film Board of Canada’s Filmglish series – which produced serialized feature films to help teach English as a second language – The Heatwave Lasted Four Days went on to become a surprise hit on American TV as part of ABC’s Wide World of Mystery. Almost entirely unavailable in the decades since its original release, this lost neo-noir classic is offered here in three distinct versions, alongside additional films from director Douglas Jackson, including his award-winning The Sloane Affair.

directed by: Douglas Jackson
starring: Gordon Pinsent, Alexandra Stewart, Lawrence Dane, Domini Blythe, Al Waxman
1975 / 72 min / 1.37:1 / English DTS-HD MA 2.0

Additional info:

  • Region A Blu-ray
  • Scanned and restored in 2K from the 16mm interpositives by the National Film Board of Canada
  • Three separate versions of The Heatwave Lasted Four Days:
    • the original TV cut (66 min.)
    • the extended cut (72 min.)
    • the four-episode Filmglish version (80 min.)
  • New audio commentary featuring author/film historian Amanda Reyes
  • Four Days, Three Versions (2025, 10 min.) – An overview of the differences in the film’s three cuts
  • The Huntsman (1972, 16 min.) – Jackson’s first fiction film
  • The Sloane Affair (1972, 53 min.) – Jackson TV movie that received four Canadian Film Awards, including Best TV Drama
  • Uncle T. (1985, 24 min.) – Jackson short featuring Linda Griffiths (Lianna) and Heatwave’s Gordon Pinsent
  • Press gallery
  • Double-sided poster
  • Reversible cover artwork
  • English SDH subtitles

Overall rating: 4.5675673 / 5 from 37 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

This limited edition slipcover features a classic Canadian film, The Heatwave Lasted Four Days, available in three distinct versions. Customers praise the film's strong cast and solid pacing, making it a popular choice. The release includes additional films from director Douglas Jackson and special features like an audio commentary and featurettes.

Summary topics

  • Film Quality: 22%
  • Movie Popularity: 22%

Review topics: ["looks","picture","work","buy","film","movie","release","cip","treasure","slipcover","flick","characters","opportunists","version"].

Review highlights

  • "The short films in the bonus features are engaging, very interesting supplements." — Donald M.
  • "Awesome Canadian TV movie with the always amazing Lawrence Dane and Mr. Canada himself Gordon Pinset." — Bryan K.
  • "The box is very beautiful and the movie is worth watching." — David S.

Reviews

The Heatwave lasted for Days

"Cool Canadian made for TV Crime Flick! Really glad I discovered this little gem! Has three different versions + extras! Cool slipcover!"

— Dustin S. (5/5)

Nice Canadian movie find !

"I love Canadian Exploitation and was unaware of the existence of this film. That is why I love Vinegar Syndrome and their partnership with CIP! looks and sounds great"

— Dean P. (5/5)

The Heatwave Lasted Four Days

"5 stars as always. CIP is the best!"

— Adam K. (5/5)

Good CIP

"One of my favorite CIP releases - multiple versions of the film, too!"

— Frank M. (5/5)

Entertaining crime drama

"Entertaining crime drama originally intended as an English learning tool. Centers around a group of opportunists, a reporter and a crime family couple. The picture looks great and the sound is on point. Nifty artwork and poster."

— Kresh R. (3/5)

Great

"Unexpected Canadian thriller"

— Matthew R. (4/5)

Hey buddy

"fast-paced 70s TV thriller that effortlessly blends classic crime tropes with regional Canadian charm."

— Kevin G. (5/5)

Thriller Action Drama

"I dug this movie a lot. Enough drama and action to keep me entertained the entire time."

— Jeffrey L. (4/5)

Great mini noir

"Not sure how watching this film would have been more effective at teaching English than watching any other film, but that's apparently the stated purpose of this movie. It's a fun little crime caper without anything graphic in it. The lead character is pretty unlikable towards the end, so unlike commentator Amanda Reyes, I didn't have much sympathy for him. Great movie though. Gets a lot for a little."

— Ed K. (5/5)

Canadian Melodrama - But Good!

"A slightly melodramatic but engrossing crime picture, created by the Canadian Film Board to serve dual purposes: as a serialized film series to teach English as a second language and as a straightforward television film. Outside of classrooms, it premiered on American TV, as part of the Wide World of Mystery, to great ratings and acclaim. And it's easy to see why. It has a gritty 1970s aesthetic that lends it a sense of realism, even if some of the acting is a bit theatrical, and the characters and layered plot are immediately and consistently involving. While covering a story on a heatwave, TV newsman Cliff Reynolds (Gordon Pinsent) accidentally films escaped convict Jerry Cuozzo (Lawrence Dane) and his female accomplice, Barbara (Alexandra Stewart), at the beach. In their attempts to secure the film, they raise Cliff's suspicions, and when he realizes that this is the same man being hunted, by both the police and the mob, for absconding with a large heroin shipment, he tries to extort him. Instead, he becomes involuntarily involved in Cuozzo's multifaceted plot to smuggle the drugs into the US. . . and escape in the process. Like many TV films of the time, it plays more like a theatrical film, so it contains many of the elements that are so admired in 1970s cinema: intense writing with multi-character arcs, a morally ambiguous hero, and the contrast of urban crime and decay against the myth of suburban domestic bliss. Blind opportunism, criminal complicity, infidelity, double crosses, and almost gentlemanly, but insidious, threats to our protagonist's domestic life dot this smart and intriguing, and infuriatingly obscure, Canadian gem. Massive kudos to Canadian International Pictures for unearthing such a terrific and practically lost piece of TV history and slapping it onto disc, with 3 different cuts(!!!), for new generations to enjoy."

— Michael S. (4/5)

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