The Passion of Ayn Rand

Rating:
Summary: DVD Manufacturer HORRIBLE
Review: I received two copies of this DVD from Amazon.com. The first one stopped in the middle, froze and would not play. It was warped. I returned it and they sent another. Very good. The second one I received got me two scenes past the first DVD and did the same thing. Don't order this DVD from AMAZON.com.

Rating:
Summary: Passion in the sense of love affairs, rather than ideas etc.
Review: I was disappointed with this film. I was thinking (or hoping) this film was going to be about the passion of knowledge, ideas, thinking, and any other form of mental stimulation; I really didn't think there was much of that in this film. Maybe I'm just odd in the way I dislike Hollywood's usual portrayal of passion: love affairs et cetera. Passion in this film was portrayed in the Hollywood sense. There was brief mentioning of thoughts, the mind, ideas, the individual, et al, but I felt they were only in idle chatter, and not what really mattered. Maybe all the "Hollywood passion" represented in this film turned me off, but I would have rather spent my time doing something other than watching this film.

Recently I had the pleasure of a watching a different documentary film about Miss Rand called "Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life." And I think if you are looking for more details actually about her, her life, and her ideas, rather than love affairs which I thought were quite unpleasant within "The Passion of Ayn Rand," "Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life" is the film I think you'll enjoy to watch and listen to instead.

Rating:
Summary: Passion in the sense of love affairs, rather than ideas etc.
Review: I was disappointed with this film. I was thinking (or hoping) this film was going to be about the passion of knowledge, ideas, thinking, and any other form of mental stimulation; I really didn't think there was much of that in this film. Maybe I'm just odd in the way I dislike Hollywood's usual portrayal of passion: love affairs et cetera. Passion in this film was portrayed in the Hollywood sense. There was brief mentioning of thoughts, the mind, ideas, the individual, et al, but I felt they were only in idle chatter, and not what really mattered. Maybe all the "Hollywood passion" represented in this film turned me off, but I would have rather spent my time doing something other than watching this film.

Recently I had the pleasure of a watching a different documentary film about Miss Rand called "Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life." And I think if you are looking for more details actually about her, her life, and her ideas, rather than love affairs which I thought were quite unpleasant within "The Passion of Ayn Rand," "Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life" is the film I think you'll enjoy to watch and listen to instead.

Rating:
Summary: excellent movie
Review: I watched this movie a couple of years ago and I was stunned by the quality of the acting. The characters are so lively and faithfully portrayed, they are almost being resurrected. The director's detached attitude towards them is a very seldom appearance in today's movies industry. Instead of being ideologically-driven cardboard figures, they are shown as real persons driven by an internal struggle for power which gives them unmatched reality.

I personally imagine this movie's director as a intelligent person. To look upon both Rand's mass-production "individualism" and hers communist detractors' heavy-handed "arguments" WITH EQUAL HUMOR is something quite admirable. In addition, he has the inspired choice to rely much more on personal battles between the characters rather than those based upon their shallow so-called "philosophies". Communists and objectivists are two sides of same worthless coin, both being about as philosophical as the average dog.

It's easy to see why this movie is disliked both by objectivists and communists. The former see this as a sacrilege against the immaculate nature of their "hero". The latter see this movie as unacceptably deviationist, failing to be transformed into a cheap slogan where all the good characters are communists, while the bad ones are "fascists" (whatever that means).

Rating:
Summary: I love this film, but it's not for the kids!
Review: I would classify this as an 'intellectual erotic' film, a category that doesn't exist but should. It is smart, well acted, beautifully shot, and filled with ideas and sex- together! While not being the biggest Ayn Rand fan in the world, I do have an appreciation for her work, particularly The Fountainhead, and was curious about her personal life. This film provides some interesting stories about how she functioned. Based on a book written by one of the characters (Barbara Branden), it deals with Rand's (the wonderful Helen Mirren) sanctioned affair with her intellectual heir Nathaniel Branden (the terrific Eric Stoltz). This affair was 'approved by her husband Frank (Peter Fonda) and Brandens wife Barbara (Julie Delphy). Pretty heady stuff for the 1950's. It also features some rather steamy sex scenes with Mirren and Stoltz that came as a pleasant surprise. This director also did Mirrens' "Prime Suspect" series, and it is beautifully directed. Worth a rent, I'd call it an under seen gem.

Rating:
Summary: I wish I hadn't bought it.
Review: I'm an Ayn Rand fan (I don't dare say "follower").
I didn't like this movie because in spite of its objectivity, it really wasn't about Ayn Rand!
I mean if they were to nominate it for an Oscar, Ayn Rand's character would be "the supporting actress".
I would have much preferred if the focus was on her. I wanted to learn more about her.
If you're really interested in getting to know what she was about, try ASIN: 630529285X. It's a documentary and VERY accurate and capturing.

Rating:
Summary: Don't view this with pre-concieved notions.
Review: It seems the reviews here are either Ayn Rand freaks or Helen Mirren freaks. I'm neither, but I'm an Eric Stolz fan, and he's great in this. He and Helen Mirren have some great sex scenes, it's true, and this woman was messed up, that's true too- but the story fascinates and it's made in a really cool way. I liked it a lot. Peter Fonda was so great he almost wasn't there (you'll know what I mean when you see it) and Julie Delphy was beautiful. Worth watching.

Rating:
Summary: And so on and so on....
Review: Just in regards to the Australian reviewer below. Good grief! A review that misquotes a movie which misquotes a book which misquotes life. The infinite regress of modern thought....
Of course, now he'll misquote me by saying I misquote him.....

Rating:
Summary: She is one of my Heroes
Review: Reviewer William G. Adamson from Haverford, really hit the nail on the head. Peter Fonda was nominated for an Oscar, and I was intrigued so rented the movie and wanted to throw stuff at the screen amongst the screams I was aiming at the screen as well.

This is a Hollywood movie made by people who either detest women (strong women) who both think and who live by the actions=reactions and make choices and live with the personal price. Hollywood types denounce anything Ms Rand says, because she unlike them, believes that we have libertarian rights, which carry personal not societal consequences. Hollywood like most false liberals want to live their lives as they desire, but when they screw up they want society i.e. the rest of us, to bail them out and pay the price.

The acting in this film is fine, it is the damn story line that is so faulty. They made Ms Rand out to be insensitive and selfish and lacking in any value overall.

Ayn Rand was a woman ahead of her time. She can teach many of the wantabe feminists what a real feminist is, or should be. She was a free thinker in its purest form. She was a rebel. And the fact she either turns people off or causes them such angst is proof of her brilliance.

Rating:
Summary: horrid
Review: the Brandens have made a career through defamation of charector of a dead woman. they have become rich entirely based on unproven claims as a means to discredit a rational uncompromising philosophy. they propogate a pragmatic view of objectivism that is adored by libertarians, anarchists and any who build their sad philosophies to fit their pathetic life styles. In a world of compromise, some don't; I wouldn't watch this again if they paid me the $22 to take it.