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Atlas Shrugged Part 1 Blu-ray and DVD Reviews

“Atlas Shrugged Part 1” is a cheaply made, watered down version of Ayn Rand’s classic novel.

Based on Ayn Rand’s legendary novel “Atlas Shrugged,” the film adapatation covers only a portion of the actual story. The film is set in the year 2016 in which the U.S. has become a mess. There’s a depression, gas and oil shortages, a rise in violence, etc. Wanting to change things for the better, Dagny Taggart (of Taggart Transcontinental Railroad) and Henry Rearden (of Rearden Metal) are hoping to ease the nation’s suffering by creating a newly rebuilt rail line. This is assuming, of course, if the Government doesn’t interfere with their plans. While all of this is going on, business people are mysteriously striking and vanishing after speaking with an equally mysterious man named John Galt.

It has often been said that “Atlas Shrugged” is unfilmable and that statement is probably accurate after seeing this “part” of the film. What could have been a deep, relevant, thematically rich political story has been reduced to a dull, low budget, talky snoozefest filled with unengaging and lengthy sit down (or stand up) conversations and a serious lack of characterization. Characters literally drift in and out of the film at all times which makes it hard to care for anyone or anything happening on screen. The no name cast doesn’t exactly help either.

The worst part of all this is that we don’t even get a full story, we get 1/3 of it. Of course, after seeing part 1, it’s likely viewers won’t want to see how it all pans out. Plus, who knows if the other parts will even be made after this film came and went from theaters in a few weeks time.

Summary: “Atlas Shrugged” is an insult to the source material. Don’t bother seeing this one.

Video/Audio:

The 2.35:1 1080p picture quality is noticeably sharper than its DVD counterpart (although the DVD transfer is nothing to scoff at).

The 5.1 DTS-HD audio track is better than this film deserves. Likewise the Dolby Digital 5.1 is a lively one.

Blu-ray and DVD Extras:
* Trailers for Fox World Cinema, “Another Earth,” “Snow Flower And The Secret Fan,” “The Whistleblower,”

* “The John Galt Theme Slideshow”- A photo gallery slideshow with a music score playing over it.
* “I Am John Galt”- A 35 minute online marketing contest in which people post a video of themselves saying “I am John Galt”. All of the submissions have been included on this extra. Only worth watching if you have been included on this extra.
* “Road To Atlas Shrugged”- A short featurette about Ayn Rand and how the film got made.
* Commentary by Harmon Kaslow, Brian Patrick O’Toole and John Aglialaro. The three talk about the film adaptation of the novel, the characters, the future in the film, etc.

November 19, 2011 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review, DVD review | Atlas Shrugged Part 1 Blu-ray Review, Atlas Shrugged Part 1 DVD Review, Ayn Rand