A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash
December 2007 Reviewed by: Marc Mickelson Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

"We're running out, and we don't have a plan." That's the teaser for A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash, a film that presents in chilling detail what the West's reliance on oil has wrought and what it says about the way of life we've become accustomed to. According to the movie, we are entering an entirely new epoch: cheap, abundant energy will become increasingly scarce and thus increasingly expensive. Of course, there are signs of this happening already, as oil pushes toward $100 a barrel. In various parts of the world, the oil that seemed to be everywhere under the ground early in the 20th century is now gone in the 21st, and the appreciable stores left are in the volatile Middle East, which hasn't yet peaked in terms of production. This underscores that oil's value, and the notion that the Iraq War really is about oil, outlining the way in which the world will operate from this point forward, especially as demand from China and India grows.

The hope, as the movie points out, is over our heads -- solar power, a completely pollution-free source of energy. Yet, for some reason, no world government seems committed to harnessing it, and the US relies on military might to secure the energy that its collective lifestyle demands.

Interviews with noted experts give the movie its knowing voice, while stock footage provides much of the imagery. The video image is very bright and clear, even with what are certainly disparate materials, and while 5.1-channel sound seems like overkill, it works here, along with a pulsating Philip Glass score that heightens the feeling of urgency. Extras include a deleted scene and extended interviews with some of the experts from the movie. They aren't vital, but they do deepen understanding of a complex subject.

We in the US have come to accept $3-a-gallon gas, but a world in which air travel is a luxury, affordable by only the very richest people, seems inconceivable. Yet, it may be coming, because no policy exists for the smart use of the oil still left in the ground. Military might may seem right in 2007, but the countries that achieve energy self-sufficiency will thrive in the next century. That will be a crude awakening indeed for the rest of the world.

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