IMDb > Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life (1997)

Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life (1997) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
6.8/10   275 votes
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Director:
Michael Paxton
Writer:
Michael Paxton (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
13 February 1998 (USA) more
Genre:
Documentary | Biography more
Tagline:
A Life More Compelling Than Fiction
Plot:
Ayn Rand was born in 1905 in St. Petersberg, Russia. She escaped to America in 1926 amidst the rise of Soviet Communism... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win more
User Comments:
The problem isn't bias, it's shallowness. more (16 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Sharon Gless ... Narrator (voice)
Michael S. Berliner ... Himself (editor of Rand's letters) (as Dr. Michael S. Berliner)
Harry Binswanger ... Himself (professor, friend) (as Dr. Harry Binswanger)
Sylvia Bokor ... Herself (artist)
Daniel E. Greene ... Himself (artist)
Cynthia Peikoff ... Herself (friend, secretary)
Leonard Peikoff ... Himself (intellectual heir, friend) (as Dr. Leonard Peikoff)
Al Ramrus ... Himself (writer, producer)
John Ridpath ... Himself (professor, York University) (as Dr. John Ridpath)
Mike Wallace ... Himself (CBS News correspondent) (also archive footage)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:

Janne Peters ... Kay Gonda
Peter Sands ... Dietrich von Esterhazy
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
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Runtime:
145 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White | Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Stereo
Company:
AG Media Corporation Ltd. more

Fun Stuff

Movie Connections:
References Love Letters (1945) more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
7 out of 16 people found the following comment useful.
The problem isn't bias, it's shallowness., 17 January 1999
5/10
Author: meebly from Denver, CO

Let's face it. Every documentary is biased. No matter how objective (forgive the situational wordplay) a documentary filmmaker wants to be in presenting his/her subject, he/she has a point of view, or else why bother making the film at all?

The problem here is not Michael Paxton's bias, although he is clearly an adoring fan of the writer/philosopher. The problem is that in painting a portrait of this equally celebrated and vilified woman, he never shows, and only barely tells of, the vilification. As a result, he doesn't give viewers, not even her most ardent admirers, reason to celebrate her.

The film mentions in passing some of her flaws as a person, and repeatedly talks of the criticism surrounding her ideas. But we never hear any of the criticism, any of the arguments against, anything at all to cast her in the light of "defender of the faith," or defender of anything at all, for that matter. She states her case time and again, in interviews, in excerpts from her novels and philosophical works, etc. But we're left with a feeling of "Great. Why should I care?"

Not many people will see this film -- 2 1/2 hour docs rarely draw the masses in theater, on video or anywhere else -- so I'll make a rather simplistic analogy. Think of "Star Wars". How compelled would we be to root for the good of the force if we hadn't heard Darth Vader expound on the power of evil (the Dark Side)? How can you convince anyone of any point, positive or negative, without at least presenting the counterpoint?

Viewers who already adore Rand will no doubt cheer this film. For them, it's very palatable candy. Her detractors shouldn't waste their time. But a documentary is supposed to educate viewers in some way, and the uneducated will get nothing more than a biography and an unquestioned statement of philosophy. That's not much for any doc, but especially for one this long.

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