A Crude Awakening - The Oil Crash
by Ray McCormack, Basil Gelpke, Reto Caduff
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Abdul Samad Al-Awadi, Wade AdamsDirector: Basil Gelpke, Ray McCormack, Reto Caduff
Brand: NEW VIDEO GROUP INC
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 85 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-07-31
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: DOCURAMA
Movie Reviews of A Crude Awakening - The Oil Crash
Movie Review: Scarier than horror movies
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very real problem that may very well define future generations' ability to adapt to a world where energy has become more scarce. The fact that, in the third year after this film's debut, only 32 reviews have been posted about this movie speaks volumes about the lack of knowledge the general population has about this issue.
It is true that alternative energy sources may break our dependency on fossil fuels, but for that to happen there must be a huge increase in the amount of time/money our governments allot to research and development of new energy technology. And it has to happen fast.
Whether or not you believe the doomsayers who say that in the future we'll all have to live like the Amish, this is a great documentary that explores the possibilities of our lives without oil.
Summary of A Crude Awakening - The Oil Crash
An unforgettable and shocking wake-up call, A CRUDE AWAKENING offers the rock-solid argument that the era of cheap oil is in the past. Relentless and clear-eyed, this intensively-researched film drills deep into the uncomfortable realities of a world that is both addicted to fossil fuels and blissfully unaware of the looming "peak oil" crisis. Drawing on an international cast of maverick energy experts and thinkers, directors Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack debunk the conventional wisdom that oil production will continue to climb, and instead stare bleakly at a planet facing economic meltdown and conflict over its most valuable resource. Featuring a haunting score by Phillip Glass and a fascinating array of rare archival footage, the film explores oil's rocky relationship with human progress in locales ranging from ancient Baku, Azerbaijan to dusty oilpatch town McCamey, Texas.? Amidst a dark and disturbing vision of our future, A CRUDE AWAKENING hints at a humbler way of life built around sustainability and alternative energy, providing a visually stunning, boldly prophetic testament which provokes not just thought but action.Q&A with Basil Gelpke
1. What inspired you to make this film?
I thought it was the most underreported burning issue at the time when we embarked on the project back in 2005.
2. What kind of response have you encountered from audiences who've seen it?
We've got a lot of feedback: Either people would deny our conclusion or they would see the film as an eye-opener.
3. What, if anything, do you think has changed since you made the film about the oil situation?
The current financial crisis has lowered the overall consumption but it's interesting to see that not very much as oil consumption is so vital to our societies. While demand goes down in the US it's still increasing in places like China.
4. Do you feel that the high price of gas last year and the current economic crisis has changed our oil addiction?
Yes, and I think there's a growing consensus that we have to change our dependence on imported energy and now there's a remarkable push to look for alternative sources of energy.
5. How much do you think things have changed now that there is a new administration in the White House?
The Obama administration is definitely very aware of the issue and they have taken lots of promising steps to change our addiction to oil and fossil fuels in general. Whether they'll be successful remains to be seen but it's certainly going into the right direction.
6. Can you discuss your decision to use animation and archival footage that sings the praises of oil?
It seemed a good way to show how perceptions change over time and how we're all conditioned by history.
7. The score by Philip Glass is remarkable. What made you choose him for the film?
Yes, we love his work too!
8. Faced with the alarming future shown in the film, what, if any, is your hope for curing our addiction to oil?
There's always hope. However, I strongly believe that when the financial crisis has subsided there will be a next crisis caused by nature: The dwindling resources of the planet simply can't satisfy the ever increasing demand arising from a growing population. So over time we'll have to rethink our way of life.
While the previous eco-doc Who Killed the Electric Car? spent some time on the world's oil crisis, A Crude Awakening (formerly OilCrash) builds an entire film around the subject. Swiss journalist Basil Gelpke and Irish filmmaker Ray McCormack have constructed their narrative in a conventional manner, alternating between talking heads, archival footage, and modern-day material, but the addition of several pieces by Phillip Glass is an artful touch (and evokes his work on 1988's The Thin Blue Line). Throughout, a diverse array of experts from the U.S., Azerbaijan, Venezuela, and other countries explain how the 20th century became addicted to "the blood of the dinosaurs," and why contemporary society needs to change course. As attorney/activist Matthew David Savinar puts it, "Oil is our God." As Stanford professor Terry Lynn Karl adds, "More and more oil is going to come from less and less stable places...places that actually challenge the taking of oil in the first place." One of the more chilling revelations concerns the discrepancy between the reserves oil-producing nations claim they possess and the actual amount. These padded estimates allow them to drill with impunity, leading to an abundance of wealth in the short term and cataclysmic consequences once they've depleted their supply of this non-renewable resource. A Crude Awakening isn't exactly a day-brightener, but Gelpke and McCormack are comprehensive and impartial in their inquiry, which makes for an informative examination of a vitally important subject. Extras include extended interviews with four participants and bonus chapter Petrostates. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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