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Atlas Shrugged, Part 1 (view source)
Revision as of 02:26, November 26, 2011
, 02:26, November 26, 2011→Motivations of the characters
John Galt's motives remain the deepest mystery of all. But by film's end, we know his purpose: the complete and utter destruction of American society, or rather the quasi-socialistic state that America has now become, and the supplanting of it with a new civic, economic, and social order. Its name is [[Atlantis (Atlas Shrugged)|Atlantis]], a name that translates as "that which belongs to Atlas." His method: to encourage the most productive people in America to go on strike, and refuse to support a society that taxes them to death.
John Galt's motives remain the deepest mystery of all. But by film's end, we know his purpose: the complete and utter destruction of American society, or rather the quasi-socialistic state that America has now become, and the supplanting of it with a new civic, economic, and social order. Its name is [[Atlantis (Atlas Shrugged)|Atlantis]], a name that translates as "that which belongs to Atlas." His method: to encourage the most productive people in America to go on strike, and refuse to support a society that taxes them to death.
One other character gets no screen time, but bears frequent mention in newscasts and newspapers: [[Ragnar Danneskjøld]], a [[buccaneer]] famous for hijacking "government relief" cargoes that are the new [[foreign aid]] in this era. But is Danneskjøld a buccaneer—or a [[privateer]]?
One other character gets no screen time, but bears frequent mention in newscasts and newspapers: [[Ragnar Danneskjøld]], a [[pirate|buccaneer]] famous for hijacking "government relief" cargoes that are the new [[foreign aid]] in this era. But is Danneskjøld a buccaneer—or a [[privateer]]?
== Themes ==
The obvious theme is the proper (and improper) role of [[government]], and whether good, quality work or government favor-trading will be the way that men will live and work together. It is also a graphic demonstration that the government way does not work. The sight of a collapsed [[freeway]] that no one bothers to repair or even to clear away, is a metaphor for this decay. What's more, the opening sequence ends in a train wreck, and that itself is a metaphor for a larger disaster to which the government's policies must inevitably lead.
The film's heroes, Dagny Taggart and Henry Rearden, try to fight the socialistic tendencies of the government and those who seek to trade favors in it. But Dagny's old friend Francisco d'Anconia is not interested in fighting: he wastes vast parts of his personal fortune on business ventures that he knows that the favor-traders will invest in, just to make them suffer when:
# a totalitarian government nationalizes them, and then
# those same ventures turn out to be worthless.
John Galt has his own solution: tell society's heroes to jump off the train and let it go to wreck. That is something that Dagny and Henry cannot—yet—bring themselves to do. But Dagny catches a hint that John Galt will come after her someday, just as he has come after many other prominent and productive people. But by film's end, Dagny Taggart is ready to find him—and kill him.
== Novel adaptation ==
This film obviously has its basis in [[Ayn Rand]]'s original novel, ''[[Atlas Shrugged]].'' More specifically, it covers the first third of the novel. It begins with a wreck on the Rio Norte Line and ends with the horrific lighting of "Wyatt's Torch," a series of shale-oil well fires that will keep burning for years afterward.
For whatever reason, Atlas Productions decided to set the story in a future America, not the original period. Rand wrote for an era that did not yet know commercial airline travel. The producers of this film set it in an era that has ''abandoned'' commercial airline travel. And also an era in which the American left has achieved its dream of slashing the budget for the American armed services. Only they get more than they bargained for: they have cut the Navy, it seems, to pre-[[First World War]] levels, so that the once-mighty [[United States Navy]] cannot cope with ''one'' man, with ''one'' ship, who seizes foreign-aid cargoes with absolute impunity.
== Releases ==
The film had its American premiere on April 15, 2011—[[Income tax|Tax]] Day. [[Mainstream Media]] reviews have been uniformly scathing. Alternative-media reviews have been mixed. The film made back only about three-quarters of its budget in its first theatrical run.
On November 8, 2011, the film released to home-viewing in DVD and Blu-ray formats. Unaccountably, the first copies of each version carried this blurb:{{cquote|Ayn Rand's timeless novel of courage and self-sacrifice comes to life for a new millennium...}}
A sharp outcry among fans of the original work forced Atlas Productions to [[recall]] all copies still on store shelves and replace them with new copies not having the offending blurb on their covers.
== Awards and nominations ==
This film has received no nominations.
== Future plans ==
Unconfirmed reports state that the producers plan to seek outside financing and make ''Atlas Shrugged, Part 2'' despite the losses on ''Part 1''. Other unconfirmed reports state that they intend to make the film longer than the 97 minutes of ''Part 1'', and to replace the cast.
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[[Category:Movies]]