User Reviews

In 2004, the loud and politically motivated director Michael Moore made a splash with Fahrenheit 9/11, lambasting the Bush administration and making rude noises about the connections between oil and politics. The lack of academic rigour in his film allowed it to be dismissed as disingenuous, although it created plenty of waves in the minds of the anti-Bush camp, at least. Then in 2005, Stephen Gaghan made Syriana, a tense, well-researched, politically charged drama about the oil industry - which made plenty of sense to those steeped in world politics and economics, without outwardly offending anybody. Now in 2006 two directors in Switzerland make A Crude Awakening - The Oil Crash, a painstaking documentary about the frighteningly central role of oil in our lives. Gelpke has a background in anthropology, economics before working as a news/war reporter and then becoming involved in scientific film-making. McCormack worked in corporate film-making and documentaries but also holds an Honours Degree in Environmental Policy and Management. As you might expect, this film relies not on hearsay or fictionalised evidence, but interviews with notable academics, experts and advisors from across the political, corporate and economic spectrum. The film's official website is awash with official protocols, reports, and other evidence to help you check their sources. It has no discernible political axe to grind. In other words, it's hard to ignore.

Maybe you've read a lot of literature and have made some connections. You know that the globe faces an energy crisis. Yes? Think again. If you thought it was serious, multiply that a hundred-fold and start examining it on your mother's life - or rather that of your children. If you thought there was a connection between oil and foreign policy, good or bad, stop and realise that the underlying mechanics are much deeper than that and go to the root of things you never even dreamed of. Stop, and imagine your cosy world coming to an end.

A Crude Awakening starts off by calling oil 'the excrement of the devil'. That is the first and last piece of rhetoric - the rest is cold examination of evidence; which is perhaps one of the reasons it then has to work so hard to make its rather dry subject interesting . . . I was tired enough to nod off while watching it, but the cold and careful facts started seeping down my neck until I was almost in a state of shock.

Oil and other fossil fuels, compared to human physical labour, is so efficient as to make it look almost free by comparison. If we take away everything around us in our modern world that has not been affected by oil in some way, from food to manufacturing (but particularly transport), there is hardly anything left. Our cities, have consequently been designed and built (unlike most of those in Asia and much of the world, that pre-date the rise of oil) around an almost never-ending supply of cheap oil. There is no 'easy going back.' With Western supplies dwindling, and the main sources being ever more in the hands of rogue or unstable governments, oil, essential to our continued way of life (and a modern way of life that developing countries would emulate), becomes a catalyst and magnet for war. From 1945, the promise of security to Saudi rulers became the exchange currency for the promise of a cheap supply of oil. Ordinary Saudis however have seen a massive drop in their quality of life, which has led to discontent and the attraction of terrorism, especially by migrating to neighbouring countries where there is are bigger power vacuums.

The present lifestyle of the West, according to the range of least-to-most optimistic figures presented in the film, is impossible to maintain. This produces some bleak options. 1) militarise oil - in other words, say to people, if you want to keep your current way of life and present civilisation, be prepared for a lot of wars to secure the oil necessary; or 2) kick oil dependence, which means developing new technology. Although some of the scientists in the film try to be upbeat about never underestimating the human capacity for technology, they mercilessly dissect the present known options to show that, even with the best outcomes, the result would be the tiniest drop in the ocean of what is required.

In the absence of sufficient fossil fuels, they suggest that a world population of the current size would be difficult to maintain. We have an unsustainable lifestyle. Pushed into the corner, do you want to get the bicycle to work - even if it's fifty miles away? Or do you want to say, it's a future generation's problem? Put so starkly, the neo-con solution of 'democratising the Middle East' to ensure oil supplies in a publicly acceptable (or marketable) way, sounds a more realistic me-first solution than many liberals would care to admit . . . How much world poverty and deprivation, not in third world countries but our own, can the we stomach - and how much will our children have to stomach? Would you rather not know? Or do you maybe want to see this film . . .

The most fascinating aspect to A CRUDE AWAKENING is that the film was made not by some left-wing conspiracy theorists with ties to Greenpeace or The World Wildlife Fund, but by two Swiss directors, one (Gelpke) with a background in anthropology, economics, war reporting, and science films, and the other (McCormack) who holds an honors degree in Environmental Policy and Management. These two men know how to make a documentary that looks at both sides of our oil needs and industry while not knocking our addictive behavior towards gasoline. It does lack a few aspects in the end, but holds your attention enough to make the whole watchable.

The focus, as the title suggests, is on our crude oil dependency. We all know oil won't last forever, right? Right? Please tell me you know this. If not, you really need to watch this film. It looks at the boom and bust methodology used in early crude oil finds and how we naively thought (up until the 1970s) that oil/gas would last forever.

The story slashes across socio-economic ground, taking in opinions from specialists in the field to Senators and economists. All of them, without exception, realize that oil isn't going to last much longer. The need to find alternative fuels that are (and here's the key) affordable is on.

The great thing is that these men and women talk about how vital oil and natural gas is to our financial existence, simply because it is so cheap. You just can't find energy this affordable. Fuel cell technology, hydrogen fuels, solar, and many other alternatives are discussed but are exceptionally expensive to produce and market to the general population. No doubt we have a lot of worries coming our way as carbon-based fuels become more and more scarce.

The only lacking aspect in this documentary was that there's very little time given over to these alternative energy methods, and no experts on said same. All of the information comes from experts in the gas industry or those who monitor it. To truly round-out the program I would've liked to have seen specialists in alternative car manufacturing and other items that are undoubtedly headed our way.

Still, this is an insightful documentary to get your hands on. And one to show your kids to get them on-the-ball about what they can do to help decrease our oil addiction.

Having just got home from a HotDocs screening, I haven't had a whole lot of time to process all the information this doc throws at you, but my god was it interesting. I won't begin to tell you about the ideas, opinions, and facts that this film brings to the screen, because you should see it for yourself.

My criticism of the film would be in its editing - some places seemed choppy, I'm certain a few of the interviewees were cut-off in the middle of their last word (in the edit, not by the interviewer) but this nitpicking is insignificant when you think about what these people are telling you.

We need more people to see this documentary. But more than that: more people to start talking about the subject to which it is trying to alarm us, and beyond that, to actually take action. Immediately.

This is a stunning film that covers the oil question in a way never viewed before. What impressed me was the calm factual reasoning/questioning/answering/reviewing without the emotional drama normally associated with going to the cinema.

This film filled in many gaps, that really made sense to me of what was going on and has been going on for a very long time. It has impressed me so much that I have started going back to review history because of all the questions it has raised for me.

This film puts into perspective and also gives me many answers for the bloodshed carried out in many of the wars of the last century, and continuing into this century. When you have seen it there is a recognition, as when you get news/information/diagnosis that makes you go AH ! That explains it !

For me it was like getting an economic clinical diagnosis - of an economic terminal illness. And these are the reasons why.... And we've ignored all the symptoms...... And all the indicators...... And now with the best will in the world we will probably still have a huge decline, before things can get better, if they ever will......

But - by doing nothing we will have an economic meltdown.

By waking up and taking action - by making sure those in charge take action, we can slow the process and ensure that developing countries need to divert into renewable energy rather than old energy (oil) to achieve their aspirations.

There is a lot that can be done, starting with the reasons why that are portrayed in this film. It is absolutely amazing to see such a film on a big screen - but I must remember that this is real - this is our lives/lifestyles we are watching going up in smoke. While cinema is the vehicle, but this is not a film about make believe - in fact it is doing the opposite of what films are normally about and using itself as a means to get us to believe.

This is my honest reaction so far after having seen this film only once over a week ago. Initially I thought it a bit repetitive, but afterward I was glad as it has made it memorable, to the point that I can't let it drop. I look at everything differently and through a different value system. It really is like you hear of how people re-evaluate after getting a diagnosis of a terminal illness - that is what this film has done for me. I can't wait to get hold of a copy of the DVD.

It is the best film I have ever seen - and the title couldn't have been better !

Those whom the documentary "A Crude Awakening" fails to awaken now, to the fast approaching consequences of peaked oil depletion, at a time of unprecedented, and ever growing demand, just may not be awakeable, or won't likely wake up before it's too late.

Unlike that other much hyped Hollywood liberal misappropriation of the catastrophic global warming issue, to serve the personal needs of one disingenuous politician, "A Crude Awakening" is a Swiss production, that employs a broad range of viewpoints, from 27 scientists and energy experts, who's collective opinions all provide greater credibility to the message.

There's enough information concisely crammed into this one and half hour film for it to be the basis of a full semester's self-directed course of study... perhaps several semesters. In the special features, included on the DVD version, there is an extra chapter on the problems of petrostates, and four extended interviews with the following experts:

Colin Campbell: Oil geologist; consultant to numerous oil companies; and founder of ASPO www.peakoil.net

Matt Simmons: Energy investment analyst; author of "Twilight in the Desert"

Fadhil Chalabi: Former Acting Secretary-General of OPEC; and former Iraqi Oil Minister

David L. Goodstein: Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at the California Institute of Technology

While many viewing this documentary might perceive its realistic appraisal of the demise of cheap and abundant energy as pessimistic, I consider it to be objectively quite optimistic, considering that it did not linger long on the very inconvenient truth that there are over six billion people wanting to have a petroleum based high standard of living, that can't possibly be sustained for much longer, even if there were only two billion people wanting it. "Civilization" has only ever had one answer for that kind of problem. The thin thread that "A Crude Awakening" seems to hang its optimism on is the assumption that if enough people become fully aware of this totally unavoidable event sooner, rather than later, then human ingenuity, combined with a level of human cooperation the world has never before seen, might possibly attenuate the consequences for at least some of those who awaken.

There's a very, very real probability that our grandchildren will never ride in an airplane. You'll notice I wrote "probability"-not possibility. Yes, that goes for cars, trucks, buses, and virtually anything else that runs on gasoline. This documentary should be required viewing for every American. I was never so profoundly disturbed by a film. Chilling and informative, you'll never look at the world in the same way again. Everyone on the planet will be involved-there's no avoiding it-and no one's talking about a subject that will change the very fabric of our existence. Get ready for an eye opening experience like you've never had. And pay attention, because they're talking about you and me. Highest Recommendations.

This is a movie that people should be forced to see! It is an amazing display of the facts. These are real issues that everyone is going to have to deal with! The problems are not going to be solved by pointing fingers and expecting our governments to mitigate the problem, the problem lies within us as consumers! It is time that we look to our own lives and determine how we can live with far less than we currently do. The people that can grasp this concept will be far better off than those who are stuck in the past. Relocalization, reduction, more efficient use of energy and a serious reduction in consumption are great first starts.

Thanks Basil for the great movie, I look forward to your next film!

Its Happening Now, Oil is about to PEAK, Gas $ are up, Stocks are falling Be Prepared.....

If this is the first time you are hearing about Peak Oil, you are among the majority of the population. Peak Oil doesn't mean 'running out of oil', but rather 'running out of cheap and plentiful oil'. Inexpensive oil supports our very way of life, as we know it. It is crucial for our transportation, food production, economy and basically everything that we use on a daily basis.

In his 2006 State Of The Union address, President Bush publicly acknowledged for the first time that we are addicted to oil. Unfortunately, that's only part of the story. Addictions of any kind can result in catastrophe when the supply falls short or the costs rise beyond reach before curing the addiction. You owe it to yourself and future generations to learn more today.

It is time for all Americans to take individual responsibility for our future. Our industrial society, built on cheap and readily available oil, must be completely redesigned and overhauled … immediately. The changes ahead are going to be very difficult; and will be hardest for the ones who didn't, or wouldn't, see it coming, and didn't prepare adequately for it.

A documentary interviewing several scientists, politicians and others "in-the-know" regarding the end of oil's influence on our daily lives. The main gist of the presentation is common sense: the U.S. has been living high on the hog because of cheap oil. It's been known for a while that cheap oil will eventually end. That time has come.

History is littered with great civilizations that eventually collapsed. Did you ever wonder if and why our civilization will follow? Watch this movie and learn your fate.

This is a great, yet chilling documentary that everyone should watch. It is the ultimate thriller because it's not fiction. What's behind the next bend waiting to jump out at you? It's the scariest boogie monster of all: reality.

This is an excellent documentary/expose. Some of the above comments mentioned that it was not thorough enough exploring the alternatives.

I disagree to that being a flaw. I did not feel alt energy was the films objective. It was merely touched on as not being explored as much as it should be at this stage in our "Carbon-based man" evolution.

Alternative solutions is another extensive subject of many other documentaries and TV shows or another subject matter beyond the point presented here.

And this point is long overdue to be put to the public, it was presented engagingly well in this film.

The earlier reference to "3 Days of the Condor" is true (one of my old favs) and it proves that we were aware of the problem way back then, yet we continue to ignore it in the political main stage.

This is bleak and uncompromising stuff. Made in a tradition reminiscent of the best Cold War books and productions on nuclear war, an activist, a physicist, a politician and a geologist explain in rational and dispassionate terms the background to the energy crisis we face and, most alarmingly, highlight how totally unprepared we are to adjust to a world where oil is a scant resource, one we will all face in just a few years time. There are no vox pops to add light entertainment, no colourful graphics, no sense of theatre, no narrator to soften the blows of the stark reality in the experts' words. The effect is highly disturbing and makes a movie no-one with a sense of responsibility to the next generation should miss.

Another Alarmist film about the fact that one of the numerous types of the earth's resources is actually finite and one day will run out. The fact remains that long before it happens the market will force a new solution by necessity and until then its no use stressing out about it. Save petrol and do not use a car to travel to hire this DVD.

Seriously it is a great crisis and oil prices are already exponentially rising.

Peak Oil is being reached very rapidly.

The question is will humanity learn to use energy more efficiently and curb overpopulation with contraception and the answer is no.

The Human race is unfortunately doomed to a crisis caused by overpopulation and depleted resources.

The fact that a movie on this topic was made is admirable. I found the opening quarter a little rough (editing, footage choice), and had to overlook some exaggerations and oversights. But in terms of weaving a consistent message with data, dialog, music, and both historical and current video - hauntingly amazing. Whether you believe that message or its implications ... well, that's up to you ... and the movie leaves it at that. Although not directly comparable to An Inconvenient Truth, I'm sure viewers who liked one will like the other. If An Inconvenient Truth was about humanity's reach exceeding its grasp, then this movie is about humanity's reach falling short of its presumption.

Sure there are alternatives. I'd watch a video of someone working out the environmental consequences of using coal gas, the political consequences of fighting for oil, or the economic consequences (a measure of ability) of developing nuclear, wind, and solar power. I guess I'd rather believe I have an empty tank and conserve than think I have a full tank and burn - even if the truth is the other way around. I think it makes me a better person for trying, and in my opinion provides a better opportunity to explore the alternatives. Call it inspiration through pessimism. If people continue to burn ridiculous amounts of fuel in a frivolous manner, out of convenience or perhaps poorly planned necessity, shame on us. Since, I'm no better than the average North American on this issue, I'm afraid that this is a lesson we'll all have to learn the hard way.

This is the hard truth. Not some political statement, but real scientists and oil historians explaining the history of oil and where we are heading. It does not go down easy.

If you think it will last forever, then you would be in the company of Texans, Russians and Venezuelans that thought their fields would last forever and now sit on barren land. There is only so much underground and we know where all of it is.

If you think "Blood for Oil" is just an anti-war slogan, you will be surprised that the major conflicts going on right now - Darfur and Iraq - are about oil, not religion or ethnic issues. You must also be prepared for the fact that we will have continuous war in the future to keep SUVs on the road.

If you think that all the alternatives to oil that have been proposed will solve the problem, then you really need to find out just what we can expect. It will surprise you, I'm sure.

Look at the Amish and how they live. That is our future. If you think otherwise, you really need to put this film in your queue.

There's a scene in "Three days of the Condor (1975)", where the CIA hatchetman justifies his brutal killing of an entire fellow CIA cell, by saying that "when the oil runs out, people won't care how we get it, even if by war." This shocking documentary about the state of oil reserves left in the world, suggests indeed one solution for (America's) oil-problem: go and get it by force. That one is called "militarising oil" Basically, we only have enough oil left for 15 years, so whether your grand-kids will fly, is up for grabs.

Also, the real secret behind America's dominance is revealed. For those who wondered how a people so stupid can yet rule the world, here's the answer.

You just know that when a supposed 'documentary' begins with the comment "Oil is the excrement of the devil", that it will be an educated, well informed, unemotional and unbiased presentation....yeah right. Please...

This was clearly produced by a bunch of extreme activists on an agenda and is very one-sided. Just more fear mongering...as is the trend today unfortunately. The public is taken for fools once again because of the actual shortage of intelligent people out there. Do we need to start heavily investing in alternative resources? Absolutely, but the situation is not as dire as these clowns claim it to be. It was good for a laugh anyways....

If you enjoyed films like 'Loose Change' and 'An Inconvenient Truth', Then you'll love this little gem.

There should be a category of cheap documentaries or Peak Documentary on subjects done to death.

This "doc" regurgitates old music from Barry Lyndon and old Phillip Glass music. as well as it images of war, pestilence, etc. from archives.

A dozen interviews that support their viewpoint and presto: An agitprop documentary from the Soviet era.

Rather than a reasoned approach to finding other than oil sources of energy the essay on peak oil finds oil as the "bad guy".

Why didn't they start out by showing how oil saved the whales from being the primary source of oil (which they were). And that cars are a democratization of travel. Previously only Kings and Queens traveled and by carriage. Serfs had to walk.

You won't find that here. Clearly this is yet another apocalypse documentary of doom and gloom, with no clear message except, "hey, we are running out of oil".

New sources of oil are found ALL the time...as in Brazil and the Artic. These are never mentioned. Peak oil theory has been around since the 1920's and recycles itself every 20 years.

Save your time watching this film and go for a fun ride in your gas car and enjoy some new scenery and vistas. Oh, put the top down if you have a convertible.