GasLand (2010)

It is happening all across America-rural landowners wake up one day to find a lucrative offer from an energy company wanting to lease their property. Reason? The company hopes to tap into a... See full summary »

Director:

Josh Fox

Writer:

Josh Fox

Stars:

Josh Fox, Dick Cheney, Pete Seeger

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Josh Fox
Dick Cheney	...	Himself (archive footage)
Pete Seeger	...	Himself (archive footage)
Richard Nixon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Aubrey K. McClendon	...	Himself
Pat Fernelli	...	Herself - Resident
Ron Carter	...	Himself - Resident
Jean Carter	...	Herself - Resident
Norma Fiorentino	...	Herself - Resident
Debbie May	...	Herself - Resident
Mike Markham	...	Himself
Marsha Mendenhall	...	Herself
Dave Neslin	...	Himself
Jesse Ellsworth	...	Himself
Amee Ellsworth	...	Herself

Storyline

It is happening all across America-rural landowners wake up one day to find a lucrative offer from an energy company wanting to lease their property. Reason? The company hopes to tap into a reservoir dubbed the "Saudi Arabia of natural gas." Halliburton developed a way to get the gas out of the ground-a hydraulic drilling process called "fracking"-and suddenly America finds itself on the precipice of becoming an energy superpower.

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Plot Keywords:

gas | energy | chemical contamination | chemical pollution | polluted environment | 

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Taglines:

There's something in the water.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 2011 (UK)

Also Known As:

Gasland

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$2,641 (USA) (17 September 2010)

Gross:

$30,846 (USA) (15 October 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Documentary Films, International WOW Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in The 83rd Annual Academy Awards (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Number 28"
Written By Vicki Brown
Performed By Vicki Brown
Published By Vicki Brown
Courtesy Of Vicki Brown

User Reviews

"GasLand"

Allow me to alleviate your initial trepidation. "GasLand" is not another documentary about the oil industry. You're on the right track, but first-time feature director Josh Fox has his sights set not on the gas you pump into your car, but the so called "natural gas" extracted from beneath your feet through the process of hydraulic fracturing known colloquially as "fracking."

Issue films, like "Food, Inc." or "An Inconvenient Truth" are notoriously dry, and Fox takes a welcome page from the Michael Moore book of documentary film-making, without the hard leftist political grandstanding. Rather, he adopts the format of painting himself a protagonist of sorts, though more justifiably than Moore. "GasLand" begins with an intimate history of the Fox family and their home, which lies just off of an artery to the Delaware River.

Positioned above the Marcellus Shale, a subterranean formation that stretches from New York through Pennsylvania to Virginia, and as far west as Ohio, the Fox home receives a lease offer for their land, a constituent slice of what energy companies have dubbed the "Saudi Arabia of natural gas," and so Fox embarks for some first hand reconnaissance on the communities already tapped by hydraulic fracturing, and his findings are nothing short of alarming.

The chemicals used in the fracking process seep into the soil and water supply, leaving many families with bizarre aberrations like flammable tap water. Uh oh. And as Fox makes his way across the country, into dozens of areas crippled by decade-past drilling efforts, he collects bottles of yellow-brown water like postcards in some macabre travel diary.

If there is a problem with "GasLand," it's that as a story, it becomes a little redundant as we watch family after family set fire to their sinks, but perhaps all the more resonant for it. From a film-making standpoint, the effect is marginalized, but in making something so shocking feel almost normal, Fox underscores the breadth of the issue. This is happening everywhere, and with such clear evidence of the immediate health hazards, the question is, why?

Fox's intimate approach and genuine stake in the issue is "GasLand's" greatest asset. He never has to rely on talking heads or PowerPoint presentations, and even at nearly two hours, the film is positively gripping. His story comes full circle as he returns home, faced with the "speculative" fracking of the Delaware watershed, which provides water to rural towns, suburbs, and cities. The implication is truly disquieting, and Fox can only ask that the public make themselves aware of the issue and take a stand before it's too late.

His film is an excellent place to start, and manages to entertain while outlining the severity of the problem, and to do so without an over-reliance on the pitfalls of so many of its contemporaries. "GasLand" is just about everything you could hope for from a documentary of its type, and its Sundance special jury prize is testament to its impact.

The film has yet to see general release, but a distribution deal is reportedly immanent. Interested parties can join the mailing list and watch a potent 15 clip at www.gaslandthemovie.com.

Ignore that initial trepidation. "GasLand" isn't another documentary about the oil industry, but it's just as important, if not more so.