At first Crude looks like one more environmental agit-doc intended to outrage and inspire. Director Joe Berlinger is no doctrinaire hack, though.
Comment
11/05/09
Rate this Movie 
Crude (2009)
94
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work
Reviews Counted:36
Fresh:34
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7.5/10
Consensus: Dynamic, tightly arranged, and deliberately provocative, Joe Berlinger's Crude is a sobering, enraging wake-up call.
Rated: Not Rated
Genre: Education/General Interest
Theatrical Release:Sep 9, 2009 Limited
Synopsis: Director Joe Berlinger continues in the tradition of his justice-driven films BROTHER’S KEEPER and PARADISE LOST with this documentary. CRUDE travels to South America, where it investigates the... [More]
Director: Joe Berlinger
Get This Movie
Reviews for Crude
Top CriticIf you ever had doubts about the impact that celebrities can have on such a David-and-Goliath struggle, Berlinger methodically removes them.
10/23/09
...good documentary filmmaking and an interesting, thought-provoking, subject.
10/17/09
It's a David-and-Goliath tale, full of anger and disturbing accusation, but it's also inspiring.
10/14/09
Top Critic...a better balance of the human element against that of politics and courtrooms would have given the film a stronger emotional hook.
10/12/09
This isn't just a story of right and wrong, it's a story of money and media and, most of all, spin.
10/12/09
Looking for another reason to leave your car at home? Go see Crude.
10/09/09
A legal thriller, it's a three-year investigation into the disaster environmentalists call the “Amazonian Chernobyl” that offers both sides of the story and leaves the viewer in the position of jury.
10/09/09
Top CriticIt will certainly remain in your mind the next time you stop for gas.
10/09/09
Crude has all the hallmarks of a John Grisham story - sharp lawyers, raw greed, Big Business behaving badly. The difference is that this David-vs.-Goliath story is no work of fiction.
10/09/09
Berlinger provides a bracing and intelligent look at how such battles are (and perhaps must be) fought in a world that's hardly lacking when it comes to tales of injustice.
10/09/09
Top CriticPowerful and powerfully upsetting.
10/08/09
Top CriticNo film could convey all the complexities of the case -- what Crude does is air the plaintiffs' claims and show the lawyers at work.
09/25/09
Top CriticA heart-wrenching, alarming and brilliantly crafted documentary about Chevron's desecration of the Ecuadorian Amazon, and the 27-billion dollar law suit in which indigenous peoples seek remediation and justice.
09/12/09
Embedded in the story are enough intriguing characters and moments of high human drama for it to function more like a piece of effective fiction than a work of overwrought agitprop.
09/11/09
A provocative, well-balanced, illuminating and thoroughly engrossing documentary.
09/11/09
A dynamic and dramatic documentary about the David vs. Goliath dimensions of the "Amazon Chernobyl" case where indigenous tribal groups are fighting the multinational corporation Chevron.
09/11/09
Here’s a powerhouse of a documentary that makes you feel mad as hell and unwilling to take it anymore.
09/11/09
Top CriticBerlinger gives a good amount of time to the big oil representatives, but it's clear that he's on the side of the people. Aside from that, Crude is a fine work of journalism.
09/10/09
Crude is remarkably clear-eyed in the way it shows how even people on the right side of a cause only succeed if they’re willing to play a little dirty.
09/10/09
Latest News for Crude
September 10, 2009:
Critics Consensus: 9 Looks Great, But The Plot's Weak
This week at the movies, we've got post-apocalyptic conflict (9, with voice work by Elijah Wood and Jennifer Connelly); Antarctic intrigue (Whiteout, starring Kate Beckinsale... More...
August 11, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review 
More...
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
Worst Movie Biopics
Moviefone brings us 9 failed attempts at biographical films.
Top Cameron Crowe Moments
TIME reminisces on the 10 most iconic moments from the films of Cameron Crowe.
November Films
BuzzSugar wants to know which movies coming out this month you're most looking forward to.
The New Cult Canon
The AV Club takes a look back at Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
IGN RSS Feeds