| Earth Days | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Robert Stone |
| Written by | Robert Stone |
| Produced by | Robert Stone |
| Cinematography | Howard Shack |
| Edited by | Don Kleszy Robert Stone |
| Music by | Michael Giacchino |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Zeitgeist Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.2 million |
| Box office | $23,179 |
Earth Days is a 2009documentary film about the history of theenvironmental movement in the United States, directed byRobert Stone and distributed byZeitgeist Films in theaters.Earth Days premiered at the 2009Wisconsin Film Festival, and released to theatres on August 14, 2009.
Earth Days combines personal testimony and archivalmedia. The film reviews the development of the modernenvironmental movement—from the post-war 1950s and the 1962 publication ofRachel Carson’s bestsellerSilent Spring, to the successfulEarth Day celebration in 1970. Featured pioneers of the era include the formerUnited States Secretary of the InteriorStewart Udall; biologistPaul Ehrlich, author ofThe Population Bomb;Whole Earth Catalog founderStewart Brand;Apollo 9 astronautRusty Schweickart; "The Forecaster"Dennis Meadows, scientist and Emeritus Professor of Systems Management; and "The Politician"Pete McCloskey, formerRepublican. Also included areRichard Nixon, formerGovernor of CaliforniaJerry Brown,Jimmy Carter,Denis Hayes,Jacques-Yves Cousteau, andHunter Lovins.
The film premiered on April 2, 2009 at theWisconsin Film Festival.[1] It went on to have a limited theatrical release on August 14, 2009.[2] It aired onUS television on April 19, 2010 as part of theAmerican Experience series onPBS.[3]
Onreview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 82% based on 33 reviews, and an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "This engaging and well-organized eco-doc maps the successes and failures of the American environmental movement, thanks to sharp interviews and remarkable archive footage."[4] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[5]
