The Collapse

THE FILM

Collapse, directed by Chris Smith, is an American documentary film exploring the theories, writings and life story of controversial author Michael Ruppert. Collapse premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2009 to positive reviews.

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 call 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 of 2009. The filmmakers distilled these interviews down to this 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.

The film does not overtly take a perspective on the validity of Ruppert’s positions and critics have alternatingly described the film as supportive and as 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."

MICHAEL RUPPERT

Michael C. Ruppert (born 1951) is an American author, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer and investigative journalist and peak oil theorist.

Until 2006, he published and edited From The Wilderness, a newsletter and website covering a range of topics including (international) politics, the C.I.A., peak oil, civil liberties, drugs, economics, corruption and 9/11 alternative theories. He is also the author of Crossing The Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil and was the subject of the 2009 documentary film Collapse.

Currently, he is CEO and president of Collapse Network, Inc, and hosts The Lifeboat Hour on Progressive Radio Network.



MEMORABLE QUOTES

“Why has Congress not once lived up to its statutory obligation to review the emergency status? It's been almost four years... And why is Cynthia McKinney the only member of congress in this room?”

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“Since September 11th we have seen the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th amendments to the Constitution abrogated either in whole or in part. What has been done about it?”

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“And what about the right to declare war? The executive branch does not have that right; only Congress is given that power by our Constitution.”

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“the point man in breaking major stories involving government foreknowledge of 9/11, corruption and violations of the Constitution.”

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“It is designed from the ground up for women. Previously, all (chemical dependency) treatment was designed for white males. Every element (of the Boulder facility) is designed for women.”

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“To survive you don't have to be faster than the bear, you only have to be faster than the slowest among you.”