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Crude

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Crude (2009)

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Reviews Counted:43

Fresh:41

Rotten:2

Average Rating:7.6/10

Consensus: Dynamic, tightly arranged, and deliberately provocative, Joe Berlinger's Crude is a sobering, enraging wake-up call.

Rated: Not Rated

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release:Sep 9, 2009 Limited

Synopsis: Director Joe Berlinger continues in the tradition of his justice-driven films BROTHER’S KEEPER and PARADISE LOST with this documentary. CRUDE travels to South America, where it investigates the... Director Joe Berlinger continues in the tradition of his justice-driven films BROTHER’S KEEPER and PARADISE LOST with this documentary. CRUDE travels to South America, where it investigates the mammoth "Amazon Chernobyl" case from a variety of angles, refusing to take the side of any single person or side. Though it is a non-fiction documentary in form, Berlinger’s film has the pull of a legal drama where human life and the environment are at stake. [More]

Director: Joe Berlinger

Director: Joe Berlinger
Producer: Joe Berlinger, Michael Bonfiglio, J.R. Deleon, Richard Stratton
Composer: Wendy Blackstone
Studio: First Run Features

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Release:

Feb 23, 2010

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region [unknown]
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Crude

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When well-meaning Trudie Styler, founder of Rainforest Foundation (and Sting’s wife), comes on, even Farjardo’s convictions and Berlinger’s early scenes about native culture and ancestry get swept up amidst hubristic hubbub.

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment 3 Comments
09/09/09
Armond White
Armond White
New York Press

A heart-wrenching, alarming and brilliantly crafted documentary about Chevron's desecration of the Ecuadorian Amazon, and the 27-billion dollar law suit in which indigenous peoples seek remediation and justice.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment 1 Comment
09/12/09
Jennifer Merin
Jennifer Merin
About.com

Mr. Berlinger has both a strong narrative instinct and a keen eye for incongruous, evocative and powerful images.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
09/09/09
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A well-balanced and thought-provoking documentary that doesn't forget the cinema-going experience needs to entertain as well as educate.

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
06/29/09
Amber Wilkinson
Amber Wilkinson
Eye for Film

This isn't just a story of right and wrong, it's a story of money and media and, most of all, spin.

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
10/12/09
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

A provocative, well-balanced, illuminating and thoroughly engrossing documentary.

Full Review Source: NYC Movie Guru | comment Comment
09/11/09
Avi Offer
Avi Offer
NYC Movie Guru

while Berlinger allows the film to get a little too star-struck, spending less time with the winningly humble patchwork alliance doing the lawsuit's hard work, Crude at least acknowledges the reason behind this shift

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
09/08/09
Chris Barsanti
Chris Barsanti
Filmcritic.com

An elegantly structured, horrifying film that shows the vanishing rainforest may be the least of the Amazon's worries.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
11/13/09
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

A gripping, multifaceted thriller about media politics, global economics, and legal infighting. Wherever your sympathies fall, this may teach you a lot about the way the modern world works.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
12/03/09
Cliff Doerksen
Cliff Doerksen
Chicago Reader

"Crude" is a knock-your-socks-off documentary that will leave you speechless. It's the best documentary of the year.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
08/22/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Berlinger doesn't counter Chevron's counter charges with facts and figures. With footage of petrochemical-sludge swamps and babies covered with flaming sores, he doesn't especially need to.

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
09/07/09
David Edelstein
David Edelstein
New York Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An engrossing case for justice.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
12/03/09
Dennis Harvey
Dennis Harvey
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

One has to wonder if oil industry executives are concerned about the release of Joe Berlinger's damning documentary.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
12/03/09
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News

Involving doc about the devastating impact of oil exploration on Ecuador's rainforest community.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
09/09/09
Eric Monder
Eric Monder
Hollywood Reporter

Crude is both a tribute to human-rights tenacity and a sobering account of the multinational-Moloch greed that can keep justice in limbo.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
09/08/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
Slant Magazine

A dynamic and dramatic documentary about the David vs. Goliath dimensions of the "Amazon Chernobyl" case where indigenous tribal groups are fighting the multinational corporation Chevron.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
09/11/09
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Keeps a tight focus on a sprawling topic, condensing three years of production into a narrative that neatly lays out the history of the controversy, the opposing viewpoints and key players

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
09/09/09
Geoff Berkshire
Geoff Berkshire
Metromix.com

A stinging indictment of the huge Chevron corporation, which has been sued for despoiling the Ecuadorian Amazon to the severe detriment of the indigenous population.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
09/04/09
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

Berlinger provides a bracing and intelligent look at how such battles are (and perhaps must be) fought in a world that's hardly lacking when it comes to tales of injustice.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
10/09/09
Jason Anderson
Jason Anderson
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Berlinger gives a good amount of time to the big oil representatives, but it's clear that he's on the side of the people. Aside from that, Crude is a fine work of journalism.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
09/10/09
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
 
 
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