The 11th Hour (2007 film)

Synopsis

With contributions from over 50 politicians, scientists, and environmental activists, including former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, physicist Stephen Hawking, Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, journalist Armand Betscher, and Paul Hawken, the film documents the grave problems facing the planet's life systems. Global warming, deforestation, mass species extinction, and depletion of the oceans' habitats are all addressed. The film's premise is that the future of humanity is in jeopardy.

The film proposes potential solutions to these problems by calling for restorative action by the reshaping and rethinking of global human activity through technology, social responsibility, and conservation.

Quotes

People interviewed

• Kenny Ausubel
• Thom Hartmann
• Wangari Maathai
• Sandra Postel
• Paul Stamets
• David W. Orr
• Stephen Hawking
• Oren Lyons
• Andrew C. Revkin
• Sylvia Earle
• Paul Hawken
• Janine Benyus
• Stuart Pimm
• Paolo Soleri
• David Suzuki
• James Hillman
• James Parks Morton
• Nathan Gardels
• Wes Jackson
• Joseph Tainter
• Richard Heinberg
• James Woolsey
• Vijay Vaitheeswaran
• Brock Dolman
• Stephen Schneider
• Bill McKibben
• Peter de Menocal
• Sheila Watt-Cloutier
• Ray Anderson
• Tim Carmichael
• Omar Freilla
• Wallace J. Nichols
• Diane Wilson
• Andrew Weil
• Theo Colborn
• Jeremy Jackson
• Tzeporah Berman
• Gloria Flora
• Mikhail Gorbachev
• Thomas Linzey
• Michel Gelobter
• Lester Brown
• Herman Daly
• Betsy Taylor
• Wade Davis
• Jerry Mander
• William McDonough
• Bruce Mau
• John Todd
• Rick Fedrizzi
• Greg Watson
• Leo Gerard
• Mathew Petersen
• Peter Warshall
• Andy Lipkis

Environmental views

Experts interviewed underlined that everyone must become involved to reverse the destruction and climate change. The role of humans in the destruction of the environment is explained from the viewpoint of several different professional fields including environmental scientists, oceanographers, economic historians, and medical specialists. The many experts called upon in this documentary demonstrate a consensus concerning human-caused climate change, and the many other impacts of industrialization such as the dramatic loss of species (biodiversity).

Critical response

In March 2008 The 11th Hour was awarded the Earthwatch Environmental Film Award at National Geographic in Washington, DC. | access-date = March 21, 2008

The film received generally favorable reviews from critics, with a 67% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 94 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Well-researched and swimming in scientific data, this global warming documentary offers some practical and wide-ranging solutions to our climate crisis." | access-date = September 3, 2022 It has an average score of 63% on Metacritic based on 30 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". | access-date = September 3, 2022

Kevin Crust, a critic from the Los Angeles Times, rated the film highly:

Thankfully for audiences, "11th Hour" is not without hope. The filmmakers save the most exhilarating portion for last when they ask what's being done about the problems. Experts extol existing technologies and projects as attainable solutions. Progressive designs such as a carbon-neutral city and self-sustaining buildings already offer ideas for a new direction. By mimicking nature's own blueprints, it is possible to create a system of living that heals rather than depletes the Earth.|Kevin Crust|}}

References

References

1. "The 11th Hour". [[British Board of Film Classification]].
2. "The 11th Hour". [[Box Office Mojo]].
3. link. (August 17, 2007 . Retrieved on April 12, 2007.)
4. [http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-et-hour17aug17,0,2830729.story?coll=cl-mreview "The 11th Hour." Aug. 17, 2007, L.A. Times]. Retrieved on September 5, 2010.