Atlas Shrugged (Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3) (Trilogy)

Ever wonder why the heck so much of the world today is struggling so mightily to just hang on? Read Atlas Shrugged and watch this film and enjoy learning something worthwhile for a change. Do I agree with it entirely? NO!!! There is a noticeable lack of compassion involved in objectivism, but ... Ayn Rand was on to something. It's really worth your while to look into this - it will really make you think - one way or another!

“Atlas Shrugged” is a novel published by Ayn Rand in 1957. An interesting note is that former-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan became part of Rand’s inner circle of readers who read and discussed “Atlas” as Rand wrote it. Readers in this circle discussed what they read, and this helped Rand galvanize and strengthen the main and supporting ideas in the manuscripts before the final draft was accepted and published.This group discussion and draft editing have helped other writers also hone their craft before the professional critics are turned loose on their books/ films after they are published/ in movie theaters.More recently, this type of group discussion/ editing activity was also used by E.L. James in her three “Fifty Shades” books with online internet forum readers helping her craft, revise, and tighten up story lines before James finally published the final drafts of her trilogy. Following this, James became an adviser for the film versions of the 3 “Fifty Shades” books.“Who is John Galt?” is the main question in the trilogy of “Atlas Shrugged” films in this single Blu-Ray disk, from the novel published by Ayn Rand in 1957. Part/ Disc I, (2011) is 97 minutes long; Part/ Disc II (2012) is 112 minutes long; and Part/ Disc III 3 (2014) is 99 minutes long, for a total viewing time of 5 hours and 13 minutes.In Part I, John Galt is introduced more as a whisper of what he philosophizes that life should be when society seems to unwind and workers are laid off and the State becomes the sole arbiter of what workers really are, should do, how much they make, and who ultimately benefits from a worker’s work.In Part II, John Galt becomes a little more known by his working THROUGH other characters in the film.In Part III, John Galt comes out of the shadows, and we see his interactions with characters introduced in the earlier 2 parts.Because there are 3 films, there was a bit of cognitive dissonance in watching these 3 films, especially between the first 2 films. As Part 2 started, it became apparent that ALL of the actors who played the characters were different from those who played in Part I. This actually was a good point because it helped viewers note that there was a time shift, the characters had aged and had more life experience, and that this next crew was still believable and kept to the main points of the story all the while developing more mature ideas of what life was and should be. When Part 3 started, I was looking forward to seeing how the characters would continue to age and what their main ideas in this part of their lives would become. In sum, looking back, I thought that the change of the cast of characters enhanced the total viewing experience.A bonus of this entire viewing experience is the last 15 minutes of Part 3: two famous people who ended up in this film. Buy the trilogy to find out who these 2 people are. (Be careful not to jump ahead; the appearances of these 2 help logically support the main and sub-points in all 3 films.)All 3 films show 2 main travel modes: fast trains and supersonic jets. These modes are used for the wealthy and privileged only. It is unclear how the masses could travel anywhere.Some of the main and sub-themes that this trilogy deals with include: social, political, financial/ economic, technological, and technocratic forces that ‘workers and the State’ must traverse and intellectually discuss together, so that each benefits – not just one side.In a nutshell, “Atlas Shrugged” is about each person’s individual rights to live for his/ her own interests – not what is expected or dictated by someone else.I would also suggest reading the book (if the buyer hasn’t already done this) to see what was cut out of the films and to compare and contrast the time period that Rand set her book in with today’s time.An extension to watching the films and reading the book would be to look at financial and economic policies of important people, especially Greenspan, to see if he integrated any parts of ‘Shrugged” into his Federal Reserve Policies. It would be interesting to find out if what he espoused before 1957 ended up as Federal Reserve policy and then what he actually believes today.Because these 3 films are so interesting and mirror some of what is happening in our world today, I recommend buying and watching this Blu-Ray, sharing it with friends, getting and reading the book, and like Greenspan and E.L. James, putting collective minds together to discuss and solve the problems raised.

These movie versions of the very important novel "Atlas Shrugged" are quite good. I personally like the first one best because the actress who plays Dagney is absolutely perfect... I fell in love with her character just as I did while reading the book years ago. Tough, capable, and beautiful; the perfect woman. The other Dagney-depicting actresses are great too; I just like the first one best.All of these movies do justice to the important concepts presented in the novel. The last one is semi-narrated by the John Gault actor and that seems to work for that one. I would not have liked to see that approach in the first two movies as it would have been strange, but somehow in the last movie; it works.The diminishing of two important characters in the third movie (by barely mentioning them and they being played by two very unlikely and almost comedic casting selections) is semi-understandable in order to make their rejection by Dagney simpler and more believable. Those being Hank and Francisco. The actors who play them in the first and second movies are absolutely perfect though.I was going to be a very tough critic; as these movies tell the story and relay the extremely important concepts from the great Novel (my favorite Novel of all time), and there are a few things that I would change slightly, but overall these movies are wonderfully done and do not disappoint.I intend to buy a few more copies to give as gifts and to spread these important concepts of individuality, capability, and positive self-interest.

If you've read Ayn Rand and appreciate her philosophy and prospective on freedom of the individual you will enjoy the movies. I thought they were great and watch them more than once to be inspired. Note, these are NOT Hollywood thrillers, dramas or documentaries. They are about Ayn Rand's philosophy based on her life in Russia as a young girl. It sort of Libertarian in nature, but more that that. It is NOT religious NOR anti-Religion. I've read the book. These movies do not do it justice. It is a low budget crowd funded project. It was made without Ayn Rand approval as she wanted a movie to follow the book precisely. Any movie could not fulfill her request. These do very well for what they are. You have to be very forgiving as the actors are not big names and the characters are played by different actors in each movie which can be confusing. But, they are NOT about production quality or an attempt to win awards. They are about enlightening people to the dangers of Socialism and Communism and all tyrannical Oligarch governments and egalitarianism. That the human mind, individual liberty and freedom are the engine that provides prosperity and quality of life for all, Not central planning and control. When asked if she thought what she wrote would occur in America, she answered, It is happening Faster than she feared. Read the book.

I'm a music snob and I demand hi end audio for my music. I bought these thinking that I would have a cheep pair of headphones to use with the DVD players in the head rest of my vehicle. But I must say that I was very impressed with sound quality at such an inexpensive price. For those of you that know the difference I run Yamaha amps and CD players with classic Sansui speakers that are capable of brain damage. My home stereo is rock concert loud and I have seen The Who and AC/DC, that is just how seriously I take my music. No set of headphones will replace the sound and feel of a real stereo, but if you need a pair of headphones you will be very happy these for the price.