Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011)

Railroad executive Dagny Taggart and steel mogul Henry Rearden form an alliance to fight the increasingly authoritarian government of the United States.

Director:

Paul Johansson

Writers:

Ayn Rand (novel), John Aglialoro (screenplay),

Stars:

Grant Bowler, Taylor Schilling, Michael O'Keefe

Cast

Credited cast:
Grant Bowler	...	Henry Rearden
Taylor Schilling	...	Dagny Taggart
Michael O'Keefe	...	Hugh Akston
Edi Gathegi	...	Eddie Willers
Armin Shimerman	...	Dr. Potter
Patrick Fischler	...	Paul Larkin
Paul Johansson	...	John Galt
Christina Pickles	...	Mother Rearden
Geoff Pierson	...	Midas Mulligan
Matthew Marsden	...	James Taggart
Navid Negahban	...	Dr. Robert Stadler
Jon Polito	...	Orren Boyle
Michael Lerner	...	Wesley Mouch
Rebecca Wisocky	...	Lillian Rearden
Jsu Garcia	...	Francisco D'Anconia

Storyline

It was great to be alive, once, but the world was perishing. Factories were shutting down, transportation was grinding to a halt, granaries were empty--and key people who had once kept it running were disappearing all over the country. As the lights winked out and the cities went cold, nothing was left to anyone but misery. No one knew how to stop it, no one understood why it was happening - except one woman, the operating executive of a once mighty transcontinental railroad, who suspects the answer may rest with a remarkable invention and the man who created it - a man who once said he would stop the motor of the world. Everything now depends on finding him and discovering the answer to the question on the lips of everyone as they whisper it in fear: Who *is* John Galt?

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Plot Keywords:

railroad | motor | business | railroad company | selfishness | 

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Taglines:

Who is John Galt?

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Atlas Trilogie: Wer ist John Galt?

Filming Locations:

Piru Mansion - 829 & 837 Park Road, Piru, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,686,347 (USA) (15 April 2011)

Gross:

$4,563,873 (USA) (13 May 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Strike Productions, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first time we see Dagny Taggart in her apartment, as she's clicking on the television, a computer monitor visible at scene left is showing a black & white photo of Ayn Rand, the author of the book which is the source of this film.

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Goofs

When Dagny gets in her car after leaving the roadside diner in Brandon, WY, the license plate is a red Colorado plate. When she arrives in Wyatt Junction, CO, the plate is a county 22 Wyoming plate. Same car, different plates.

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Quotes

Henry Rearden: The next time you decide to throw a party, can you stick to your own crowd? Don't bother inviting people you think are my friends.
Lillian Rearden: But Henry, you don't have any friends.

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Connections

Featured in Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream (2012)

User Reviews

Read This Before Seeing This Film:

Having read the book, seen the movie, and read a representative sample of user reviews, I feel I can confidently make a few points that may help those who haven't seen the movie yet.

The negative user reviews found here can all be placed in one of three distinct categories: (1. Those who disagree with Rand's philosophy for whatever personal reasons they have and would despise the movie for that reason alone, even if it were a cinematic masterpiece (it's not -- not bad under the circumstances, but "The Fountainhead" it's not); (2. Those who agree with Rand's philosophy and enjoyed the book, but are repulsed by the relatively low-budget treatment of the film and the somewhat stunted screen writing that isn't entirely faithful to the original work, and (3. Those who are completely ignorant of Rand's work and are seeing the film and judging it in a relative vacuum (these negative reviews do, in my opinion, have a certain merit inasmuch as the film doesn't really stand on its own as something that would appeal to the general movie-going audience).

That said, I enjoyed the movie. I agree with Rand's philosophy (not the "all-about-me" world view that her dissenters accuse her of espousing), so seeing it on the big screen is refreshing for me. The main faults I find with it are no doubt due to condensing roughly 350-400 pages of book into about 90 minutes of film without butchering it beyond recognition (films adapted from Stephen King's works generally have the same faults) compounded by a woefully inadequate budget. That the finished product came out as good as it did (budget limitations notwithstanding) is a testament to the production team.

In summary, the book is far superior to the movie (as is almost always the case), but I found the movie to be, frankly, a better adaptation than I expected and well worth seeing -- if one can identify with or at least appreciate the ideology presented.