Spaceship Earth (2020)

A look at the group of people who built the Biosphere 2, a giant replica of the earth's ecosystem, in 1991.

Director:

Matt Wolf

Stars:

Shelley Taylor Morgan, Kathelin Gray, Marie Harding

7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shelley Taylor Morgan	...	Self (archive footage)
Kathelin Gray	...	Self - AKA 'Salty'
Marie Harding	...	Self - AKA 'Flash'
William Dempster	...	Self - AKA 'Freddy'
John Allen	...	Self - AKA 'Johnny Dolphin'
William S. Burroughs	...	Self (archive footage)
Mark Nelson	...	Self - AKA 'Horse Shit'
Margret Augustine	...	Self - AKA 'Firefly' (archive footage)
Thor Heyerdahl	...	Self - Explorer (archive footage)
Tony Burgess	...	Self - Desert Ecologist
Ed Bass	...	Self - Chairman, Space Biosphere Ventures (archive footage)
Jane Poynter	...	Self - Biospherian (archive footage)
Linda Leigh	...	Self - Biospherian
Brian Mortenson	...	Self - Newscaster (archive footage)
Mindy Blake	...	Self - Newscaster (archive footage)

Storyline

The true, stranger-than-fiction, adventure of eight visionaries who in 1991 spent two years quarantined inside of a self-engineered replica of Earth's ecosystem called Biosphere 2. The experiment was a worldwide phenomenon, chronicling daily existence in the face of life threatening ecological disaster and a growing criticism that it was nothing more than a cult. The bizarre story is both a cautionary tale and a hopeful lesson of how a small group of dreamers can potentially re-imagine a new world.

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Plot Keywords:

giant | year 1991 | san francisco california | year 1966 | reference to harvard university | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Did You Know?

Quotes

Self - AKA 'Horse Shit': I think the whole project - I mean, I really liked that it was science fiction without the fiction.

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Connections

Features Silent Running (1972)

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Soundtracks

Something in the Air
Written by John Keen
Performed by Thunderclap Newman

User Reviews

This is the Story Behind the Story

I remember this in the news when I was a kid and thought it was intriguing, but I only vaguely remember the controversy. I didn't understand the problems with what they did (it was an experiment after all, not a dare or a bet) and still don't. At the end, they had a better idea of what was needed before they began. That's what you get from an experiment, generally.

It started slow but it picked up nicely. I wish there could have been interviews with all eight of the Biospherians and maybe a little more about what they learned, but this documentary is about the people behind the experiment, not the experiment itself. And that's OK. Not what I was hoping for but I was pleased with what I got. I'm glad they showed that these people weren't part of what most people would consider a commune. I would have enjoyed having been part of a group like that, especially once they left San Francisco. It would have been absolutely fascinating.

Totally worth a watch.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 May 2020 (USA)

Also Known As:

Spaceship Earth

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$362

Company Credits

Production Co:

Impact Partners, RadicalMedia, Stacey Reiss Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD