Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life (1997)

Director:

Michael Paxton

Writer:

Michael Paxton (writer)

Release Date:

13 February 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

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...

Plot Keywords:

Narration | Philosophy | Author | Independent Film | Character Name In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

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

Runtime:

145 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

AG Media Corporation Ltd.

Movie Connections:

Features Nibelungen: Siegfried, Die (1924)

A love letter to Ayn

As someone who spent a lot of time reading and thinking about Rand's ideas many years ago, I found this film very informative and entertaining. It presents Rand with just the right breath of grandeur. It shows her the way I like to think of her.

Like Thomas Jefferson, flaws in Rand's personal life throw a bit of shadow on her intellectual triumphs. This is not to suggest that Rand's achievements come close to Jefferson's. But, like Rand, his lifestyle contradicted his life's major achievement: the Author of The Declaration of Independence was a slaveholder.

In Rand's case, the champion of individualism surrounded herself with a "Collective" of yes-men (and -women) that systematically excluded anyone who didn't toe the line on matters of philosophy, religion, aesthetics, and even cigarette smoking. Incredibly, this champion of "independent judgement based on facts" would actually forbid her followers from reading things written by people she deemed "evil."

But, just as a tribute to Jefferson might not dwell on slavery at Monticello or mention Sally Hemmings, this love letter to Ayn doesn't explore her problematic social life or her peculiar band of followers. But I still think this documentary earned its accolades from the film industry. Ayn Rand probably would have approved of the film herself.