For the anthology of writings by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, see A Sense of Life.
Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life is a 1996 American documentary film written, produced, and directed by Michael Paxton. Its focus is on novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand, the author of the bestselling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, who promoted her philosophy of Objectivism through her books, articles, speeches, and media appearances.
Paxton first encountered Rand's work in 1970 at the age of 13, when he read her novel We the Living. In 1977 he saw her speak at the Ford Hall Forum, an experience that he later cited as an inspiration for his approach to the documentary.[1]
Paxton spent four years working on the film.[1] It was completed in 1996 and appeared that year at the Telluride Film Festival.[2] On November 2, 1996, it premiered in Los Angeles with a special screening to benefit the Ayn Rand Institute.[3] In January 1997, it appeared at the Slamdance Film Festival.[4]
ReceptionEdit
ReviewsEdit
Janet Maslin of The New York Times called the film "a pedantic specimen," "dutiful in outlook and utterly conventional in format," and said it "does little beyond appreciating its subject as unwaveringly as possible."[5] Film critic Leonard Maltin gave the film 2.5 stars out of 4, and commented: "Too long – and pedantic – for some viewers, but a must for Rand enthusiasts."[6]
Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said the film "is not what one might expect at this stage in Rand's literary afterlife. The film doesn't make a case for her as an artist or philosopher, nor does it delineate her place in the pantheon of letters. It just assumes her importance and goes about telling her story . . . Obviously this was a woman of enormous courage, tenacity and fire. That comes through enough in Ayn Rand to make one wonder what she would have thought about the tone of the documentary, which at times borders on sappy . . . The tone will become grating even to anyone who is in sympathy with Rand's work. Though the documentary concentrates on the biographical, it glosses over the major embarrassment of her personal life – her adulterous relationship with her much younger disciple, Nathaniel Branden . . . Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life isn't nearly ambitious enough, but as an introduction to an important 20th century American voice, it works."[7]
Todd McCarthy of Variety observed, "Benefiting from some first-rate archival, personal and commercial film material, Michael Paxton's Oscar-nominated effort serves as a solid and appreciative precis of her life and world views, but doesn't get down in the trenches to illustrate how and why she stirred up such passions pro and con, and gingerly refrains from analyzing the paradoxes and complexities of her personality and intimate relationships."[8]
Box officeEdit
Following appearances at festivals and other limited venues, the film's regular theatrical release was on February 13, 1998. It earned $26,101 at two theaters in its opening weekend. When it closed its domestic theatrical run on November 12, 1998, it had grossed $205,246.[9]
Image Entertainment released an all-region DVD on October 19, 1999. A two-disc director's cut was issued by Strand Releasing on August 17, 2004. The film is in anamorphic widescreen format. Bonus features include an interview with screenwriter/producer/director Michael Paxton, additional interviews with friends of Ayn Rand, outtakes, a deleted dance sequence, a photo gallery, the complete filmed version of Rand's play Ideal, and cast and crew biographies.
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For the anthology of writings by Antoine de Saint Exupery see A Sense of Life Ayn Rand A Sense of Life is a 1996 American documentary film written produced and directed by Michael Paxton Its focus is on novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand the author of the bestselling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged who promoted her philosophy of Objectivism through her books articles speeches and media appearances Ayn Rand A Sense of LifeOriginal film posterDirected byMichael PaxtonWritten byMichael PaxtonProduced byMichael PaxtonNarrated bySharon GlessCinematographyAlik SakharovEdited byChristopher EarlLauren A SchafferMusic byJeff BrittingDistributed byStrand ReleasingRelease dateNovember 2 1996 1996 11 02 Running time145 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish Contents 1 Overview 2 History 3 Reception 3 1 Reviews 3 2 Box office 3 3 Awards and nominations 4 DVD releases 5 References 6 External linksOverview EditActress Sharon Gless narrates the story of Rand s life and an overview of her ideas In addition to color and black and white archival footage of Rand the film includes appearances by philosophers Harry Binswanger and Leonard Peikoff CBS News correspondent Mike Wallace television interviewers Phil Donahue and Tom Snyder architect Frank Lloyd Wright political figures Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky and Hollywood personalities Cecil B DeMille Edith Head Adolphe Menjou Marilyn Monroe and Robert Taylor History EditPaxton first encountered Rand s work in 1970 at the age of 13 when he read her novel We the Living In 1977 he saw her speak at the Ford Hall Forum an experience that he later cited as an inspiration for his approach to the documentary 1 Paxton spent four years working on the film 1 It was completed in 1996 and appeared that year at the Telluride Film Festival 2 On November 2 1996 it premiered in Los Angeles with a special screening to benefit the Ayn Rand Institute 3 In January 1997 it appeared at the Slamdance Film Festival 4 Reception EditReviews Edit Janet Maslin of The New York Times called the film a pedantic specimen dutiful in outlook and utterly conventional in format and said it does little beyond appreciating its subject as unwaveringly as possible 5 Film critic Leonard Maltin gave the film 2 5 stars out of 4 and commented Too long and pedantic for some viewers but a must for Rand enthusiasts 6 Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said the film is not what one might expect at this stage in Rand s literary afterlife The film doesn t make a case for her as an artist or philosopher nor does it delineate her place in the pantheon of letters It just assumes her importance and goes about telling her story Obviously this was a woman of enormous courage tenacity and fire That comes through enough in Ayn Rand to make one wonder what she would have thought about the tone of the documentary which at times borders on sappy The tone will become grating even to anyone who is in sympathy with Rand s work Though the documentary concentrates on the biographical it glosses over the major embarrassment of her personal life her adulterous relationship with her much younger disciple Nathaniel Branden Ayn Rand A Sense of Life isn t nearly ambitious enough but as an introduction to an important 20th century American voice it works 7 Todd McCarthy of Variety observed Benefiting from some first rate archival personal and commercial film material Michael Paxton s Oscar nominated effort serves as a solid and appreciative precis of her life and world views but doesn t get down in the trenches to illustrate how and why she stirred up such passions pro and con and gingerly refrains from analyzing the paradoxes and complexities of her personality and intimate relationships 8 Box office Edit Following appearances at festivals and other limited venues the film s regular theatrical release was on February 13 1998 It earned 26 101 at two theaters in its opening weekend When it closed its domestic theatrical run on November 12 1998 it had grossed 205 246 9 Awards and nominations Edit The film won the Satellite Award for Best Documentary Film It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature but lost to The Long Way Home 10 DVD releases EditImage Entertainment released an all region DVD on October 19 1999 A two disc director s cut was issued by Strand Releasing on August 17 2004 The film is in anamorphic widescreen format Bonus features include an interview with screenwriter producer director Michael Paxton additional interviews with friends of Ayn Rand outtakes a deleted dance sequence a photo gallery the complete filmed version of Rand s play Ideal and cast and crew biographies References Edit a b Paxton Michael 1998 Ayn Rand A Sense of Life The Companion Book Layton Utah Gibbs Smith pp 9 10 ISBN 0 87905 845 5 OCLC 38048196 Sutton Larry March 21 1998 A Payoff for Patience NYU Film Maker Bides Time Wins Change for Oscar New York Daily News Ayn Rand Premiere Slated at Paramount Los Angeles Times October 26 1996 Slamdance Chronology Variety January 21 1999 Retrieved March 13 2015 Maslin Janet Ayn Rand A Sense of Life A View of the Philospher sic NYTimes com Retrieved September 25 2017 Maltin Leonard 2003 Leonard Maltin s 2004 Movie amp Video Guide Plume p 70 ISBN 0 452 28478 3 San Francisco Chronicle review Variety review Ayn Rand A Sense of Life Box Office Mojo Retrieved March 13 2015 The 70th Academy Awards 1998 Nominees and Winners oscars org Retrieved November 19 2011 External links EditOfficial website Ayn Rand A Sense of Life at Strand Releasing Ayn Rand A Sense of Life at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ayn Rand A Sense of Life amp oldid 1107071668, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
