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A Crude Awakening - The Oil Crash [DVD]

Wade Adams (Actor), Abdul Samad Al-Awadi (Actor), Ray McCormack (Director), Rated:
Unrated
Format: DVD
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 113 ratings
IMDb7.7/10.0
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Genre Action & Adventure
Format DVD, NTSC, Dolby, Color
Contributor Reto Caduff, Basil Gelpke, Abdul Samad Al-Awadi, Wade Adams, Ray McCormack
Runtime 1 hour and 25 minutes
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Product Description

Product Description

An unforgettable and shocking wake-up call, A CRUDE AWAKENING offers the rock-solid argument that the era of cheap oil is in the past. Relentless and clear-eyed, this intensively-researched film drills deep into the uncomfortable realities of a world that is both addicted to fossil fuels and blissfully unaware of the looming "peak oil" crisis. Drawing on an international cast of maverick energy experts and thinkers, directors Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack debunk the conventional wisdom that oil production will continue to climb, and instead stare bleakly at a planet facing economic meltdown and conflict over its most valuable resource. Featuring a haunting score by Phillip Glass and a fascinating array of rare archival footage, the film explores oil's rocky relationship with human progress in locales ranging from ancient Baku, Azerbaijan to dusty oilpatch town McCamey, Texas.

Amidst a dark and disturbing vision of our future, A CRUDE AWAKENING hints at a humbler way of life built around sustainability and alternative energy, providing a visually stunning, boldly prophetic testament which provokes not just thought but action.

Amazon.com

While the previous eco-doc Who Killed the Electric Car? spent some time on the world's oil crisis, A Crude Awakening (formerly OilCrash) builds an entire film around the subject. Swiss journalist Basil Gelpke and Irish filmmaker Ray McCormack have constructed their narrative in a conventional manner, alternating between talking heads, archival footage, and modern-day material, but the addition of several pieces by Phillip Glass is an artful touch (and evokes his work on 1988's The Thin Blue Line). Throughout, a diverse array of experts from the U.S., Azerbaijan, Venezuela, and other countries explain how the 20th century became addicted to "the blood of the dinosaurs," and why contemporary society needs to change course. As attorney/activist Matthew David Savinar puts it, "Oil is our God." As Stanford professor Terry Lynn Karl adds, "More and more oil is going to come from less and less stable places...places that actually challenge the taking of oil in the first place." One of the more chilling revelations concerns the discrepancy between the reserves oil-producing nations claim they possess and the actual amount. These padded estimates allow them to drill with impunity, leading to an abundance of wealth in the short term and cataclysmic consequences once they've depleted their supply of this non-renewable resource. A Crude Awakening isn't exactly a day-brightener, but Gelpke and McCormack are comprehensive and impartial in their inquiry, which makes for an informative examination of a vitally important subject. Extras include extended interviews with four participants and bonus chapter Petrostates. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Product details

  • Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.78:1
  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ Unrated (Not Rated)
  • Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.4 x 5.35 x 0.55 inches; 5.11 ounces
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Ray McCormack, Basil Gelpke, Reto Caduff
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ DVD, NTSC, Dolby, Color
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 25 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ July 31, 2007
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Wade Adams, Abdul Samad Al-Awadi
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Docurama
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000PY52IG
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 113 ratings

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
113 global ratings
Get ready to have your eyes opened...
5 Stars
Get ready to have your eyes opened...
I stumbled across the concept of peak oil around two years ago on Matt Savinar's renowned site, [...]. Needless to say, I was numb for weeks, and oil was around [...] bucks a barrel then (it was $[...] as of 7/28, with no sign of dropping). This movie is the film equivalent of that shocking wake-up call I had, and lays out a clear, convincing case that we're all going to be in serious trouble when the oil runs out, which is likely sooner than later. If you think that we can change the course of things by switching light bulbs and tooling around in electric cars, this documentary will show you why those efforts, while commendable, are not going to change a thing. Everyone agrees that the oil is going to run out - they only disagree on when. This DVD will yank your head out of the sand, and it comes highly recommended. This isn't entertainment - it's a WAKE UP CALL. If you have kids, you need to see this right away so you can begin to work on your gameplan for a post-oil world.
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Top reviews from the United States

E. Youngdale
5.0 out of 5 stars A good introduction to the subject...
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2007
Verified Purchase
I have read numerous books on the subject, so nothing in the movie was really new to me. That being said, to someone who is unfamiliar with the subject, this movie will serve as an excellent introduction.

One mistake that many make when thinking of the subject is to concentrate merely on finding a replacement for oil so that life as usual can continue. The movie mentions (in passing, really) that it was the petroleum-fueled green revolution that led to unprecedented increases in the total human population on the planet. But consider what happens when cheap oil is no longer available? How much food will we be able to grow? Will we be able to feed the 6-billion-plus people that currently live on the planet? People have given it serious study - many have concluded that the maximum sustainable human population is between 1.5 to 2 billion people. Bartlett mentions this in passing towards the end of the film, but the full significance of this point could easily be missed if you aren't paying full attention.

There are other cases besides oil where we are using resources in a non-sustainable way. We are over-fishing the oceans. We are over-extracting water from underground aquifers in order to grow the food that we currently have. And in response to high fuel prices, some advocate growing even more corn and turning it into fuel for our SUVs.

There is a final point at the end of this however, and these questions weren't really addressed in the film. If you dig a little bit into the subject, they come up rather quickly however. Our economic systems depend upon and for that matter require growth to be healthy. But as we wind down oil usage, it seems inevitable that the world economy must contract - especially if the human population must also contract at the same time. But a contracting economy is one that we would consider to be deeply in a depression. So perhaps another question is whether there is a more suitable economic model that doesn't require constant growth (both in population, and also in the size of the economy). No current or past economic model meets these requirements, and while there has been some academic thought given to the subject, at this point nobody really knows what such an economy would really look like.

It would be a huge mistake to treat this issue as a left-vs-right type of issue however. Most of the world has become conditioned to a world where resources are always available for whatever we want to do. Or that when one resource does run short, we can trivially substitute something else in order to continue on with life as usual. None of us - neither left or right - have ever had to face anything of this magnitude.
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Preston C. Enright
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important films of the decade.
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2007
Verified Purchase
This outstanding documentary has won many awards, and has been called "possibly the most important film of the decade." Although, there are several other documentaries of the past few years that should be required viewing.
As a film, "A Crude Awakening" is brilliantly crafted. The cinematography and the music are moving. While the message of the film is of utmost importance. For years, environmentalists have been advocating for a more sustainable energy system. In this film, they have their concerns and goals validated by Republican representatives like Roscoe Bartlett, several energy industry investors, and the former head of the CIA - James Woolsey. While "Earth First" and the CIA may seem like strange bedfellows, there appears to be a shared interest in avoiding an amplified global catastrophe that is pulling them in similar directions. I say "amplified" because in many ways, there is already a catastrophe related to oil going on - the megadeath in Iraq, the propping up of dictators, the oil production waste sites in Nigeria and Ecuador, and much else.
As disconcerting as this film is, there are hopeful developments. Documentaries like  The Power Of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil  and the recently released film "The 11th Hour" point towards the ways in which global society can transition from the oil economy. Journals like  Plenty Magazine  and  Sustainable Industries Journal  also help people to avoid being neutralized by despair, and also provide entrepreneurs and investors all sorts of leads as to where money can be made in the "next industrial revolution."  Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution
But, this transition will face a lot of opposition by extremely wealthy entrenched interests that have designed society to addict the world to their products.  Internal Combustion: How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives
and  Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took Over America and How We Can Take It Back
These are perilous times; but if people discover their power as consumers, investors, citizen advocates, conversationalists, socially responsible entrepreneurs, organic farmers/gardeners and so forth, we can make our way towards a world that would be not only sustainable, but a lot more fun. This film is an excellent tool to begin that process.
42 people found this helpful
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Ana Zins
4.0 out of 5 stars A provocative eye opening look at our future...
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2007
Verified Purchase
A bold and provocative eye opening look at the future of "our way of life" on a global proportion as a result of the imminent looming oil crisis confirming the "survival of the fittest" human condition our world faces.

The results of the various scientific studies and models are staggering. They lead us to a better understanding as to why governments and corporations are scrambling "in a race against time" to secure the future remaining limited oil resources in the Middle East (Iraq) and Arctic poles.

Yet, it isn't all gloom and doom. In fact, it is somewhat inspiring and comforting to know that there are brilliant entrepreneurial and scientific "visionary thinkers" working towards alternative global methods of energy resources.

But, what is most fascinating is the realization of the urgency and importance of compelling every continent and their respective governments to form a global authoritative organization who's goal is to establish and execute a universal master plan for the equitable contribution and distribution of the various alternative forms of energy that exists on our planet.
3 people found this helpful
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William A. Bolduc
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on July 17, 2014
Verified Purchase
Quite fascinating and informative
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Proud-Lock
5.0 out of 5 stars Muss man sehen...
Reviewed in Germany on February 23, 2014
Verified Purchase
Keine Dokumentation hat meine Sicht auf die Welt derart verändert wie diese.
Das Versagen der Menschheit und ihre Unfähigkeit deutliche Ursache-Wirkungszusammenhänge anzuerkennen lässt sich aus dieser Dokumentation ableiten.
Wenn kein Wunder geschieht wie "die Entdeckung der kalten Fusion etc." wird es wohl darauf hinauslaufen, dass ein Deindustrialisierungsprozess einsetzt und ein Großteil der Menschheit letzlich verhungern wird.
Wir Menschen neigen dazu unangenehme Zusammenhänge zu ignorieren/abzulehnen. Die Masse der Menschen unterliegt leider dem Wunschdenken. Wir haben einen opportunistischen Bezug zur Wahrheit.
Wahrscheinlich wird der Abstieg derart langsam geschehen, dass man ihn kaum mitbekommt. Wenn man aber bedenkt, dass die Menschheit unaufhörlich wächst und wir bald 10 Mrd Menschen auf diesem Planeten haben werden, wird einem Angst und Bange. Die Olduvai-Theorie dürfte sich dann wohl entfalten.
Die Ignoranz mit der sich der Mainstream um die Zukunftsprobleme drückt ist beschämend und erinnert an den Opportunismus vergangener Tage.
4 people found this helpful
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Dyspeptic Spirit
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2012
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Another eye opening documentary examining the theory that we have reached or even gone past the peak of oil production. Considering the reliance that our society has on oil, the lack of any real replacement for oil, our ever expanding population and ever expanding desire for oil dependent products, it makes you wonder what state the world will be in in 50 years or so. When oil does start to run dry, and that is a certainty (though of course we don't know when it will happen), it is likely that society will have to make fundamental changes. Travel will have to be significantly reduced, the population is unlikely to be sustainable and it is highly likely that there will be some sort of unrest.

The real problem is that the greedy (George Bush et al) have not planned or invested in the future and have grown rich on plundering oil stocks knowing there is nothing to replace it. There is no suitable replacement for oil and, although it's possible that a fully working hydrogen cell will be developed in the near future, it appears unlikely to happen before oil runs dry.

As I said, thought provoking. But will George and his good buddies watch it?
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The coming oil crash
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 9, 2019
Verified Purchase
As the byline says "We are running out of oil - and we don't have a plan". For a world so dependent on oil, this is quite a worrying film. Naturally, any fossil fuel is a depletable resource and those countries which claim to have abundant supplies are not telling the whole truth. We need to be looking at alternative energy sources, but very little is being done in that direction. What with climate change and the continued destruction of important parts of our planet e.g the Amazon rainforest, the Earth seems to beheading rapidly towards a cliff edge!
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queblu
5.0 out of 5 stars We ALL must stop wasting OIL
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 28, 2009
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A film everybody should watch we are running out of OIL and it is non renewable I repeat when it is GONE it is GONE their is nothing to replace it with. So lets stop wasting it so don't press so hard on the gas pedal, recycle all plastic turn your heating down just a few things to start with but if we ALL do it maybe later generations can still benefit from this black gold we call OIL.
2 people found this helpful
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