In association with

The Insider [2000]
from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm
starring Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, Christopher Plummer, Diane Venora, Philip Baker Hall
directed by Michael Mann

Features:

• Dubbed
• PAL

Editorial Review:

As revisionist history, Michael Mann's intelligent docudrama The Insider is a simmering brew of altered facts and dramatic license. In a broader perspective, however, the film (co-written with Forrest Gump Oscar-winner Eric Roth) is effectively accurate as an engrossing study of ethics in the corruptible industries of tobacco and broadcast journalism. On one side, there is Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe), the former tobacco scientist who violated contractual agreements to expose Brown & Williamson's inclusion of addictive ingredients in cigarettes, casting himself into a vortex of moral dilemma. On the other side is 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino), whose struggle to report Wigand's story puts him at odds with veteran correspondent Mike Wallace (Christopher Plummer) and senior executives at CBS News.

As the urgency of the story increases, so does the film's palpable sense of paranoia, inviting favourable comparison to All the President's Men. While Pacino downplays the theatrical excess that plagued him in previous roles, Crowe is superb as a man who retains his tortured integrity at great personal cost. The Insider is two movies--a cover-up thriller and a drama about journalistic ethics--that combine to embrace the noble values personified by Wigand and Bergman. Even if the details aren't always precise (as Mike Wallace and others protested prior to the film's release), the film adheres to a higher truth that was so blatantly violated by tobacco executives seen in an oft-repeated video clip, lying under oath in the service of greed. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

• Riveting!
  Hollywood at its very very best. The performances from Al Pacino especially & Russell Crowe were spellbinding. An intelligent & totally absorbing film.

• Captivating film-making
  This is a masterful movie/docu-drama from the great Michael Mann. Watching a Michael Mann film is like being taken on a fantastic journey, in which you will be engaged with the poetics of the cinema in the grandest of possible ways.
  

• Money does not always win
  This is a true story of a man who decided to tell the world what the major tobacco companies knew about the dangers of their product. Jeffrey Wigand was a scientist employed in research for a tobacco firm. Soon after he was fired Wigand came into contact with a producer for 60 Minutes who worked closely with journalist Mike Wallace. Bergman, the producer, arranged for Wigand to be interviewed by Wallace for a 60 Minutes expose on the cigarette industry, though Wigand was still bound by a confidentiality... more info

• Money does not always win
  This is a true story of a man who decided to tell the world what the major tobacco companies knew about the dangers of their product. Jeffrey Wigand was a scientist employed in research for a tobacco firm. Soon after he was fired Wigand came into contact with a producer for 60 Minutes who worked closely with journalist Mike Wallace. Bergman, the producer, arranged for Wigand to be interviewed by Wallace for a 60 Minutes expose on the cigarette industry, though Wigand was still bound by a confidentiality... more info

Similar Products:

More from Amazon