Collapse (film)

For other uses, see Collapse.

2009 American film

Collapse

Theatrical poster

Directed by| Chris Smith
Produced by| Chris Smith
Kate Noble
Starring| Michael Ruppert
Cinematography| Ed Lachman
Max Malkin
Chris Smith
Edited by| Barry Poltermann
Music by| Didier Leplae
Joe Wong
Distributed by| Vitagraph Films

Release date

* September 12, 2009 (2009-09-12) (TIFF)

Running time

| 82 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English

Collapse, directed by Chris Smith, is an American documentary film exploring the theories, writings and life story of the controversial author Michael Ruppert (1951–2014). Collapse premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2009 and gained positive reviews from its viewers.

## Overview

[edit]

Ruppert, a former Los Angeles police officer who describes himself as an investigative reporter and radical thinker, has authored books on the events of the September 11 attacks and of energy issues. Critics in the mainstream media and D.C. called him a conspiracy theorist and an alarmist.

Director Smith interviewed Ruppert over the course of fourteen hours in an interrogation-like setting in an abandoned warehouse basement meat locker near downtown Los Angeles. Ruppert's interview was shot over five days throughout March and April 2009. The filmmakers distilled these interviews down to an 82-minute monologue with archival footage interspersed as illustration.

The title refers to Ruppert's belief that unsustainable energy and financial policies have led to an ongoing collapse of modern industrial civilization.

Critics have variously described the film as both supportive and critical of Ruppert's views. Smith himself, speaking at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere, said that "What I hoped to reveal was ... that his obsession with the collapse of industrial civilization has led to the collapse of his life. In the end, it is a character study about his obsession."[1]

## Synopsis

[edit]

Sitting in a room that looks like a bunker, Ruppert briefly recounts his life including his parents' ties to U.S. intelligence agencies and Ruppert's own career as an LAPD beat cop and detective. Ruppert then summarizes current energy and economic issues, focusing mainly around the core concepts of peak oil and sustainable development. He also criticizes fiat money, fractional reserve banking, compound interest, and leveraging, and discusses alleged CIA drug trafficking.

The bulk of the film presents Ruppert making an array of predictions including social unrest, violence, population dislocation and governmental collapses in the United States and the world. His commentary uses news reports and data available via the Internet as references, but he applies a unique interpretation which he calls “connecting the dots”.

Smith periodically stops Ruppert to question his assumptions and provide a note of skepticism.

## Critical reception

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After its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly called Collapse “one of the few true buzz films of the festival” and wrote that “you may want to dispute [Ruppert], but more than that you’ll want to hear him, because what he says — right or wrong, prophecy or paranoia — takes up residence in your mind.”[2]

Daily Variety wrote that Collapse was “unnervingly persuasive much of the time, and merely riveting when it's not. Ruppert's talking-head analysis gets the Errol Morris treatment from director Chris Smith (American Movie), whose intellectual horror film ranks as another essential work.”[3]

The Onion's A.V. Club wrote that "in several immensely poignant moments, we can also see an angry, lonely, vulnerable man whose life epitomizes the title as much as the globe does. There are many layers to the man and the movie, and I for one left the theater shaken."[4]

Roger Ebert wrote, "I don't know when I've seen a thriller more frightening. I couldn't tear my eyes from the screen. "Collapse" is even entertaining, in a macabre sense. I think you owe it to yourself to see it."[5]

## Distribution

[edit]

In October 2009 the filmmakers announced that Collapse would premiere simultaneously in theaters in New York City and via video on demand on November 6, 2009.[6] According to press announcements, this unique release arrangement “will mark the first time a film will be released this soon after it premiered at a festival without distribution.”

## See also

[edit]

* Collapse (film, 2010)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Forbes "Apolcolypse now? Dark visions at Toronto film festival"". 2009-09-14. Archived from the original on 2012-01-18. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
2. ^ "Toronto Buzz: 'COLLAPSE showcases gripping pundit of economic doom". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
3. ^ Nelson, Rob (2009-09-17). "Daily Variety Review: "Collapse"". Variety. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
4. ^ "The Onion's A.V. Club "Toronto Film Festival '09: Day 4"". The A.V. Club. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
5. ^ "Roger Ebert Movie Reviews "Collapse"". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2009-12-13. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
6. ^ "IndieWire "Chris Smith's "Collapse" Coming Soon"". 13 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-20.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website (archived by the Internet Archive)
* Collapse at IMDb
* Review at Row Three.com

* v
* t
* e

Works directed by Chris Smith

Feature films|

* American Job (1996)
* American Movie (1999)
* The Yes Men (2003)
* The Pool (2007)
* Collapse (2009)
* Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton (2017)
* Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened (2019)
* Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal (2021)
* "Sr." (2022)
* Wham! (2023)
* Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever (2025)

TV series|

* The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann (2019)
* 100 Foot Wave (2021-present)
* Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives. (2022)
* Mr. McMahon (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Peak oil

Core issues|

* Fossil fuel phase-out
* Hubbert peak theory
* Predicting the timing of peak oil

Results/responses|

* 1970s energy crisis
* 2000s energy crisis
* Global energy crisis (2021–present)
* Energy crisis
* Export Land Model
* Food vs. fuel
* Hirsch report
* Oil and gas reserves and resource quantification
* Permaculture
* Pickens Plan
* Price of oil
* Renewable energy commercialization
* Rimini protocol
* Simmons–Tierney bet
* Simple living
* Swing producer

People|

* Albert Allen Bartlett
* Colin J. Campbell
* Kenneth S. Deffeyes
* David Goodstein
* John Michael Greer
* Richard Heinberg
* M. King Hubbert
* James Howard Kunstler
* Jean Laherrère
* Jeremy Leggett
* Dale Allen Pfeiffer
* Richard Rainwater
* Michael Ruppert
* Matthew Simmons

Books|

* The Limits to Growth
* Beyond Oil
* The End of Oil
* The Long Emergency
* Out of Gas
* The Party's Over
* Power Down
* Twilight in the Desert

Documentary films|

* A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash
* Collapse
* Crude
* The End of Suburbia
* Escape from Suburbia
* Fuel
* GasHole
* The Oil Factor
* PetroApocalypse Now?
* The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
* What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire

Organizations|

* Energy Watch Group
* International Energy Agency
* International Renewable Energy Agency
* Oil Depletion Analysis Centre
* The Oil Drum
* OPEC
* Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries
* Post Carbon Institute
* REN21
* Transition town

Other peaks|

* Car
* Coal
* Copper
* Food
* Gas
* Gold
* Minerals
* Phosphorus
* Soil
* Water
* Wheat
* Wood

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