Keanu & Co.
Before Johnny Utah, before Neo,
before John Wick, there was… Ron.
Keanu & Co. (1985-1986)
Keanu Reeves gave his first lead performance in 1985’s One Step Away, establishing the charm and vulnerability of his beloved screen persona while exploring the pitfalls of juvenile delinquency. The film was directed by Robert Fortier, a seasoned documentarian venturing deeper into fiction filmmaking following the success of his daredevil stunt-driving doc The Devil at Your Heels. Keanu & Co. collects three of the films he directed for the NFB’s Family Crisis Series – including Keanu’s essential debut – vividly evoking the spirit of the After School Special and its ’80s heyday.
In Out of a Job, Dan Lett (The Shape of Water) plays a young engineer who returns to the home of his parents and computer whiz brother after his promising career abruptly falls apart. In One Step Away, Keanu Reeves plays Ron, a troubled teen struggling to overcome peer pressure and his own criminal impulses when his latest arrest derails the life of his single mother (Diana Belshaw). Finally, in the shocking thriller Running Scared, Stephen Mendel (Jack Frost) plays an intensely jealous boyfriend whose spying and scolding ways rapidly escalate to full blown stalking.
Special features
• Scanned and restored in 2K from the 16mm interpositives by the National Film Board of Canada
• New audio commentary featuring Paul Corupe of Canuxploitation.com and film historian Jason Pichonsky
• Excellent Adventure (2024, 11 min.) – New interview with One Step Away star Diana Belshaw
• Job Well Done (2024, 14 min.) – New interview with Out of a Job star Dan Lett
• On the Job (2024, 18 min.) – Lett reflects on his body of work
• Unsettled on the Set (2024, 11 min.) – New interview with Running Scared star Stephen Mendel
• An Actor Remembers (2024, 12 min.) – Mendel reflects on his body of work
• A Single Regret (1983, 22 min.) – Another Family Crisis Series short directed by Fortier
• A Gift for Kate (1986, 28 min.) – Family Crisis Series short directed by John N. Smith (Dangerous Minds)
• The Painted Door (1984, 24 min.) – Short written by One Step Away screenwriter Joe Wiesenfeld and directed by Bruce Pittman (Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II)
• Going to War (1985, 24 min.) – Short written by Wiesenfeld based on a short story by Timothy Findley (Don’t Let the Angels Fall)
• End of a Summer Day (1972, 9 min.) – Fortier’s directorial debut
• One Step Away in SD (1985, 29 min.) – Reeves’s debut as seen in the VHS era
• Booklet featuring a reproduction of the Family Crisis Series viewer’s guide, outlining “suggestions for film use” and other activities
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH subtitles
Canadian International Pictures
From arthouse to Canuxploitation, Canadian International Pictures (CIP) is devoted to resurrecting vital, distinctive, and overlooked triumphs of Canadian cinema. We are 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.
