Gabriel Byrne Movie:

		List Price: $19.98		Label: GO-KART RECORDS Salesrank: 42578 Released: September 6, 2005
		Our Price: $29.99
		Used Price: $47.94
		MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Media: DVD

Flight From Death - The Quest for Immortality Reviews:
Fascinating!
2009-02-10 - This film documents human nature like few others have...Our fears of death and eternal punishment can drive us to do things in life that are hardly life-enhancing. This film helped to free me from some of those fears that were instilled as a child raised in an oppressive, punitive religion...

Very touching
2008-09-17 - "The Flight From Death: The Quest For Immortality" is a moving documentary and deals with the subject that, indeed, most people spend their lives trying to avoid: mortality--for all that, though, it isn't a very good representation of Ernest Becker's actual ideas.

There seems to be a misunderstanding on the part of Greg Bennick and Patrick Shen, the writers of the documentary, that Becker's life changing and devastating sociological/existential tome "The Denial of Death" is a different book than Irvin Yalom's "Existential Psychotherapy". Despite having undeniable similarities, they are two different thinkers. The majority of the documentary is spent politely blaming religion for most of the wars in the world and most human conflicts, though there are a few times when economic strife is mentioned. Professor Sheldon Solomon, a colorful commentator and university teacher, says at one point "My god is better than your god and we'll kick your butt to prove it." Then the film cuts to a series of footage with people beating each other up in mass crowds, including a rally headed by Mao Zedong. Strangely enough it is not mentioned that Mao was a ruthless secularist, or that thousands of people have been martyred in Communist countries for holding religious beliefs.

While I'm not denying that religion has contributed to wars and that "belief" in a God has for some been an "immortality project", Becker himself often put more emphasis on military force and man's lust for power as being an immortality ideology than religion. If I recall correctly, "The Denial of Death" is more informed by the ideas of Soren Kierkegaard and Paul Tillich than it is by any hard line materialists.
The cultural fabrication/collective death denial that Becker wrote about may included some forms of *religion*, but he left a very definite door open to the transcendent, as evidenced by every book he wrote.

After 9/11 a lot of politicans used the word "evil" as a way to describe the events, and this is somehow wrong in the view of the filmmakers? What else do we call it when two buildings full of thousands of people are rammed into by planes? The reaction to September 11th was not religious in nature at all (here I am referring to the invasion of Iraq, not Afghanistan) but a deliberately deceitful series of political maneuvers by men interested in money and power.

On a more positive note, one is not going to leave this documentary unaffected. The ephemeral nature of our material existence is driven home with real poetry and force, and one cannot help but be impressed by the plight of the female cancer survivor who greets death not with horror or depression, but with a graceful acceptance. Commendable also is the depth of thought and the sympathy for the poor demonstrated by Professor Sheldon. If you're interested in an actual elucidation of Ernest Becker's work, though, I'd suggest reading his books.

Great film on a very insightful book... MAY CAUSE ABREACTIONS!
2008-01-24 - This movie is truly phenomenal, though I highly recommend reading (before or after watching the film) the book this movie is based on: The Denial of Death (E. Becker).

The negative reviews of this film interest me, as most of them come off as rather defensive (i.e., arguing that one does not really fear death)... interestingly, this type of behavior makes sense when viewed from the perspective provided in this film. One of the most difficult things a person can do is ADMIT, or become aware, that at their core, their UNCONSCIOUS fear of death motivates their behavior. When this comes to question, the natural response for people who unconsciously fear it the most is to defend their pre-held beliefs at all costs.

Anyway... keep an open-mind and you will certainly benefit from this film. To feel a bit hopeless after watching it is part of the learning process, as this awareness will open new routes to personal growth.

Not Perfect, but better than nothing
2007-06-21 - Having been a proponent of Ernest Becker's theories articulated in The Denial of Death since its publication in 1973, and of terror management theory, I came watch the movie with great expectation considering the past reviews. While acceptable as a purely introductory movie, it did not add much to my understanding of the subject of death's impact on human motivation and behavior. Still, by confirming the viability of Becker's ideas, my immortality project was enhanced. And that is always good!

The work of idiots
2007-06-07 - When your premise is wrong, everything after that, including your conclusion, is horribly erroneous. This film claims that we are all afraid of death, that we are all in denial of it (two statements that contradict and cancel each other out - if we are in denial, we are not in a state of fear; if we are conscious of something to fear, we can't be in denial), and that this anxiety motivates so much - or perhaps all, of human activity - creativity, war, aggression, religion, art, etc. First of all, let me speak as someone who has absolutely no fear of death. Why don't I have any fear of death? Simple logic. When I am dead, I will have no sensation and I will be incapable of thinking so I will not experience death. Without sensation or thought, there is no experience. When I am, there is no death. When death comes, I will not be. It is stupid to fear something that you will never experience. It would be like fearing being attacked by an extinct animal like a T-Rex - it's not going to happen. We cannot experience non-existence; if we did, it would not be non-existence. Where are all these people that the commentators in this film believe supposedly walk around in fear and anxiety of death? Most people I know are involved in joyful careers, relationships, affairs, athletics, hobbies, travel, etc. They are affirming the precious gift of life. They don't waste a single second fearing death or worrying about it. The commentators of this film seem to be talking more about their own personal fears and neuroses (and the commentators seem to consist mostly of secular, Jewish academics (who have a distinctly different cultural, historical, theological, and familial dynamic experience from most people in the Christian/secular West)) than about any research into facts and figures. In fact, when they do address the objection that many people disagree with these idiots' idea that they have anxiety and fear of death, these self-reports are dismissed by claiming that these people are simply in denial. So, according to them, if you state that you are not afraid of death, you must be in denial because everyone is afraid of death and this only means you are in denial of being afraid. This idiotic argument is a win-win for them every time because it is nothing but circular reasoning. I am not afraid of death and it is NOT because I am in denial. It is because I enjoying my life as best I can and happen to be a pretty happy and content guy.
The fear of death is not universal. The denial of death is not universal. And these two do not motivate most of our activity no matter what these guys say. It simply is not so.
What motivates human activity? Gee, I hate to sound like a radical but the desire for food, water, sleep, sex, love, companionship, creative activity, excitement, and novelty are pretty high up on my list. A pity that the commentators on this silly film couldn't stoop to accepting such simple truths. They would rather sound like fourth-rate existentialists and neurotics than have a stitch of common sense.