In a post-apocalyptic America, the iron fist of the totalitarian government seeks to crush one mysterious man named John Galt, who has the power and influence to change everything..In a post-apocalyptic America, the iron fist of the totalitarian government seeks to crush one mysterious man named John Galt, who has the power and influence to change everything..In a post-apocalyptic America, the iron fist of the totalitarian government seeks to crush one mysterious man named John Galt, who has the power and influence to change everything..
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Storyline
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- TriviaThe container ship seen seemingly sinking in the opening monologue is the MV Rena, which ran aground on the Astrolabe Reef off the coast of New Zealand's North Island in 2011, due to a course change. The ship subsequently tilted to starboard and split in two, by which time most of the containers aft of the split (two thirds of the ship) had been removed or lost at sea. The aft two thirds of the ship, after being emptied, sheared off of the front section due to tides and bad weather, then sank beneath the surface. The front section's containers were removed, and then the rest of the ship was cut into sections to be removed by salvage.
- GoofsThere's a map of the US in the Taggart Railroad center. In the State of Missouri the cities of Springfield and Jefferson City are reversed in geography.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Narrator: This is a story that begins on a warm spring night, at a meeting of the 20th Century Motors employees. It was a night I'll never forget.
Narrator: When the owner of the company died, his children took over and brought in a new plan to run the factory. The plan was that everybody would work as hard as they could, but share in their salaries and the profit based on need. That is, those who claimed they needed the money most, were the ones who got paid the most.
James Taggart: [at podium] This is a crucial moment in the history of this company. Now remember, each of us now belongs to the other, by the moral law we all voted for and we all accept.
John Galt: I don't. I don't accept it.
Narrator: His words caused confusion, but he stood there like a man who knew he was right.
John Galt: And I'm going to put a stop to this once and for all.
James Taggart: How?
John Galt: I'll stop the motor of the world...
[walks out]
- ConnectionsFollows Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011)
"Who is John Galt?" is the question that is asked in the first two parts of Atlas Shrugged, and in Part III, the question is answered. John Galt was a brilliant mind that decided his mental and physical capabilities were his, and not to be demanded or stolen by the government, society or anyone else. He sought to pull other gifted minds away from a society that sought to drain away all energies and creativity for the good of others - and it was never enough.
Galt and his like-minded colleagues abandoned the world they knew to live in a Utopian world where everyone did their part and no one was allowed to take without giving. The more the demands grew, the more regulations mounted, the less freedom, liberty and joy of living.
The novel's central character Dagny Taggert is played by actress Laura Regan - the third actress to play the part in the trilogy. Galt is played by actor Kristoffer Polaha, with more familiar faces such as Greg Germann playing James Taggert and Joaquim de Almedia playing Francisco d'Anconia.
The point of the film is to get Rand's long novel into the minds of an American society with an attention span that shortens more and more each year. The attempt is admirable and the result is that while the film itself will never compete for an Academy Award, it will stir interest in reading "Atlas Shrugged" and learning more about capitalism, entrepreneurship and independence.
Ayn Rand fans will complain about what the film left out and its low budget cast - and they will have a valid point. But instead of complaining about what and how someone else presented the classic to the world, why not respond with the lesson Rand would teach instead of griping. Rand would say, "Shut up and do it better."
The film does make the point that humans are to not depend on others to meet their needs, but to live independent of others: "I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."
But libertarian purists need to answer a huge, open question their asserting independence philosophy demands: What do you do with people that are unable to produce? What about the elderly, the severely handicapped or disabled? How do you value them when in Rand terms, they are not "producers," but rather "takers."
Rand's Galt tells his colleagues: "Pride is the recognition of the fact that you are your own highest value and, like all of man's values, it has to be earned. His own happiness is man's only moral purpose, but only his own virtue can achieve it Life is the reward of virtue- and happiness is the goal and the reward of life." And finally, Galt says that to turn things around, the current setting had to be wiped away. For example, when New York's skyscrapers would go black, that would not be the end, but the new beginning.
Watch the other two Atlas Shrugged films on Netflix or Amazon.com, and finish the story by seeing "Atlas Shrugged III: Who is John Galt?"
Rand's philosophy swings the pendulum back away from today's "take from others" economy - but way too far in the opposite direction. Hopefully, and sooner rather than later, a reasonable free, productive and charitable middle ground will rise among Americans once again.
- franeaton
- Sep 14, 2014
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $5,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $846,704
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $461,179
- Sep 14, 2014
- Gross worldwide
- $846,704
- Runtime1 hour 39 minutes
- Color
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