Posted on 04/15/2011 1:31:44 PM PDT by RobFromGa
Atlas Shrugged Part 1 Quick Review- 5 stars!
Very faithful to Rand's ideas. I didn't feel like they skipped any major items... the back story with Francisco was hinted at and would have been too hard to develop completely.
Casting was superb. Hank (Hooray!) and Lillian (Boo!)Rearden and Ellis Wyatt (!!!) were done perfectly as was Wesley Mouch and the other moochers and looters. Dagny was good but it took about ten minutes for me to completely buy her in the role.
Pace was perfect... it kept moving at a fast speed, and I didn't want it to end.
Cinematography very good- hard to believe only cost about $5 million! The Rearden Metal bridge was great, as was the Colorado landscape shots...
Audience Reaction: Duluth, GA 12:25pm showing was about 80% full (there was noon showing in a larger theater already going) & audience reacted with enthusiasm throughout and Applause at end.
Can't wait for Part 2! I will be going back to see Part One more than once...
Minor nitpick- shouldn't have had the date 2016 on the movie, it is timeless.
I encourage you to push through more than the first 100 pages. It really does pick up.
Check out Publius and Billthedrill’s threads from the bookclub (post 89 of this thread). They are a good “Cliffnotes” sort of guide to the book. Pub posted each thread and Bill added his comments down thread. If you just read those two, you get an excellent guide to the book.
Those threads were way, way beyond Cliffs Notes. That’s why we turned them into a book.
A few of the chronically uninformed radio talkshow hosts (Savage and Doyle, for instance) have been telling their listeners yesterday and today about that “Anne” Rand lady, and how she was an “individualist” and her philosophy is called “individualism”, and, of course, she was an atheist and oh my God not a conservative! I think Savage and a few others have only just heard of Ayn Rand this week and are now trying to edumacate their listeners (whom they apparently think are illiterate knuckle-dragging mouth breathers). It’s quite funny, really.
Oh, absolutely... I just couldn't think of a better way to describe them to someone who hadn't seen them.
When I heard that the movie was coming out, I re-read the first ten threads (well... 11). That made me pick the book back up and now I'm in the gulch.
Auntie, please go back to the book and try again. Force yourself to get beyond 100 pages. You will get caught up in it and it will be hard to put down. I have so little time for that kind of reading, it was difficult for me to attempt it. So, I made it my “bathroom” book. It took a very long time to get through it, but you know, I didn’t forget what I had read on the last visit to the BR. LOL
Ha... Did you find yourself going to Taco Bell more often just so you could get more “reading time”?
ROTFLMAO!!
You're killing me!
LOL. Now that there was funny......and true.
I saw the movie today and I think it’s good, but not great
I think the problem is that the source material is difficult to translate to film. The movie’s strength is that it deals with themes that mainstream Hollywood simply will not deal with. Also, it’s good to see fairly realistic depictions of government regulators, activists, and union types.
The movie is low budget and it shows, but not nearly as much as some of the film’s critics have suggested. We’re not getting Grade-A acting, either, and the dialogue at times seems forced and stilted. That’s a problem with the source material, though. It should have been more polished for the movie adaption. Still, not nearly as bad as some of those very hostile critics have suggested.
Part 1’s climax is a train on a maiden voyage on fresh tracks. In the film business, that’s pretty bad. We got a lot of setup and a pretty lame payoff. I suppose that’s just the nature of ‘part 1,’ but I hope we see parts 2 and 3 where it hopefully will get more interesting. Frankly, it would be a challenge to go to the well two more times and be less interesting.
A 1pm show at one of the NYC screens today was in one of the multiplex’s smaller rooms but it was doing good business, about 35 people or so. I’ve been to 1pm opening day shows at that theater for other films, and comparatively ‘Atlas Shrugged’ had a good crowd. They laughed at the ‘right’ parts, something I was pleased to see in a snarky, liberal major city.
By the way, a trailer running with it is, not surprisingly, the next film by the makers of ‘Fireproof.’
My exact thoughts on the bracelet. It didn’t ring true to the book version of the bracelet, but it was very cool. I’d get one for Mrs. rq
That is a good marketing idea. You should pass it on to the producers.
The problem is that the best thing about the bracelet is the metal from which it is made. Sadly, nickel cadium don’t cut it.
I completely agree with everything you said! My husband and I took today off and went to the first showing in Tucson. It was amazing. I especially enjoyed the locations and "timeless/art deco looks," perfect way you phrased it. And I want a bracelet too!
Yes - I loved it - can’t wait for the next part! Have you seen it?
UP even let them film a "track blitz" where they use a machine to lay track without huge crews of men.
They got a lot of bang for the buck.
Wow, thanks for the background, interesting!
The footage at the very beginning was frightening, especially as I heard what sounded like the Communist’s voice in the White House. And every city background scene looked like too much of the country does already (the bums, etc.).
Theater was sold out for 7:20 showing. New, full-service dinner theater set-up, and the manager did a little intro presentation to the new theater before the movie. He also asked how many had read the novel. About half the hands went up. He then stated that he was motivated to read it himself because of all he'd heard during this first-day premier. Crowd was hard to pigeon-hole, mostly middle age and a mix of professional and working class. Mostly white, couples.
Movie was necessarily terribly abbreviated, but was done well considering the medium. I would have done it differently - for one thing, it should have been longer than just 90 minutes. I would have liked to see this done in the time period suggested in the novel; don't think it would have detracted from the ability of any audience to relate.
Casting could have been a little better. The ages and personas of some of the characters were a little off, though I though Hank and Dagny were cast perfectly.
I thought a little too much was revealed of the conclusion of the story too early. Galt should have been kept much deeper in the shadows as a mystery; more of a myth.
In all, I was very please with the film. A very critical friend who came along and not very familiar with the story liked it, so I'm using him as a barometer of how well it will succeed. The fact that liberals are absolutely loosing it over this release bodes well. The novel's readership will go stratospheric as a result of this release, which can only be a good thing.
Sigh, I know, I've been told this by others, many times. I'll try again, I swear it. We were told by the theater manager that Part 2 is supposed to be out sometime around Christmas so I should manage get further along by then. ; - ]
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