Earth Days (2009)

84% of critics liked it
(31 reviews)
72% of users liked it
(1,102 ratings)

While the publication of Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring in 1962 has been cited by many as the dawn of the environmental movement, the celebration of the first Earth Day in 1970 demonstrated to many that the concern over pollution, overpopulation, and the abuse of our natural resources was no… More While the publication of Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring in 1962 has been cited by many as the dawn of the environmental movement, the celebration of the first Earth Day in 1970 demonstrated to many that the concern over pollution, overpopulation, and the abuse of our natural resources was no longer the task of a handful of scientists but something that had caught the attention of people all around the world. Filmmaker Robert Stone offers a historic look at the events leading up to the initial Earth Day event (and what has and hasn't happened to protect the planet since then) in the documentary Earth Days. Stone offers a thumbnail history of the early days of the environmental movement, profiles several of the movers and shakers behind the initial Earth Day event (including Stuart Brand, Rusty Schweickart, Stewart Udall, and Paul Ehrlich), and compares what politicians have promised to do about the environment since 1970 to what has actually taken place. Earth Days received its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 42 min.
Directed By: Robert Stone
Genres: Documentary, Special Interest

In Theaters: Aug 14, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Apr 20, 2010
Studio: Zeitgeist Films

Critic Reviews

Tom Long, Detroit News
Yes, the future still looks grim and whales are hunted here as they are in all such films, but Stone spends most of his time tracking something positive -- the birth of the environmental movement in the '60s and '70s.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
Earth Days captures those years when through sheer relentlessness, activists broke through to the public and put the mounting disaster at its doorstep.
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
A surprisingly engaging ecodocumentary about the history of the American environmental movement from the Depression era up to the present.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
These people, including Whole Earth catalog editor Stewart Brand and 87-year-old former Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, are smart and interesting folks who are worth listening to.
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News
A rich trove of news clips and interviews inform Robert Stone's fast-moving documentary about the movement to save the planet and the cultural forces that helped it along or held it back.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
Crusty eco-hippies spin random anecdotes about olden times in Earth Days, a turgid documentary on the environmental movement in the 1960s and '70s.
Sarah Sluis, Film Journal International
History of the environmental movement told by its activists is small in scope, but contains fascinating morsels that sustain interest.
Andrea Chase, Killer Movie Reviews
dynamic kaleidoscope of those heady days when revolution was palpable, and individuals really believed to the core of their being that they could change the world
Andrew Wright, The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
[A] bunch of planet-sized brains secure enough in their doomy conclusions to deliver essential information without being strident about it. If you're going to be talked at, this is the way to go.
John Hartl, Seattle Times
If you're feeling nostalgic for a time when the environmental movement was something everyone embraced, Robert Stone's Earth Days is bound to comfort -- and alarm.
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
Considering the environmental glass houses we've constructed around us, one comes away from Earth Days wondering if it's not past time for some bricks to be slung, metaphorical or otherwise.
Sarah Boslaugh, Playback:stl
...mostly a celebration of gray eminences who are very satisfied with themselves.
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Honoring the heroes of the environmental movement is clearly appropriate, but getting mired in nostalgia is a dirty shame.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
If the aim of Earth Days is to make viewers refall in love with the beauty of this tiny planet, then it succeeds.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
It's hard to watch this movie without feeling a little depressed and despondent about the future of mankind and its home.
Gerald Peary, Boston Phoenix
A surprise of Earth Days is seeing Richard Nixon signing progressive eco-legislation and starting the Environmental Protection Agency.
Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
A surprisingly calm documentary about the history of American ecological activism. But it's good calm, not dead calm.
Beth Accomando, KPBS.org
We may still have a long way to go but Earth Days applauds those who have helped bring us this far.
Steve Ramos, Boxoffice Magazine
A well-informed, well-constructed story boosted by the larger-than-life personalities of its subjects, all of whom played a unique role in raising awareness for the environment.