The Insider

Rating:
Summary: "I'm an Insider Too"
Review: We all know that it's sometimes worth it to take a second look at a film you may have been dismissive of before. To say, I didn't "get" THE INSIDER the first time I saw it would be something of an understatement. I didn't see it as all that revelatory--"'Big tobacco' corrupt?" "Big media craven?" "Mike Wallace has an ego and a temper on the scale of Mt. St. Helens?" Quelle surprise! There was nothing particularly new about all that. In fact, the only big news was that Russell Crowe was going the DeNiro route and altering his physical appearance for the sake of his art. (OK, OK, not as extreme but he did put on a few pounds and donned a less than flattering grey toupe.)

Maybe it was something I ate that first time, though, 'cause the second time around, I have to admit, it was pretty riveting. This time out, I found the moral dilemmas facing Crowe's whistleblower and Pacino's muckraker TV producer pretty darn fascinating--despite the fact that I knew how it was all going to turn out. Oh yeah, and I finally got the fact that the title is supposed to be a little ambiguous and that,yes, Pacino's Lowell Bergman character is an "insider" too.

Sometimes I'm a little slow, but eventually, if I'm lucky, I catch on. THE INSIDER is a quietly powerful and effective film. Apparently, it didn't manage to convince Russell Crowe to quit smoking, but--as a morality tale and as sheer drama--it's still pretty darn effective.

Rating:
Summary: The Insider (1999)
Review: Director: Michael Mann
Cast: Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, Diane Venora, Philip Baker Hall, Lindsay Crouse, Debi Mazar.
Running Time: 158 minutes.
Rated R for language and some violence.

Loosely based on a similar real-life tobacco industry media predicament, "The Insider" is an honest, taut portrayal of how one man's willingness to comply with the media and speak his mind can change more things than he could ever imagine. Al Pacino gives his best performance outside of "The Godfather II" and "Scarface", depicting the veteran "60 Minutes" television show producer Lowell Bergman, who is on a hot trail of a story involving the corrupt tobacco industries. Russell Crowe, fresh off fine performances in "L.A. Confidential" and "Courage Under Fire", plays an insider source for Bergman after he loses his job as a prominent tobacco company excecutive.

When these two men join forces in a battle against the cigarette production and distribution company, Jeffery Wigand (Crowe) has his world turned outside down with death threats and media coverage. Believing that Bergman has set up him to fall, he later realizes that both not only want to save their reputations, but they are striving for the same goal--to communicate the truth. Pacino is in rare, spectacular form, while Crowe is more than adequate as the counterpart. Supporting the lead stars is Plummer as the incomporable Mike Wallace, portraying the strong television icon to near perfection.

Although over two-and-a-half hours, "The Insider" moves at a quick pace and keeps the audience guessing both Wigand and Bergman's next moves. Michael Mann shoots and cuts a brilliant, beautiful piece of visual artistry, solidifying himself as one of the top directors heading into the next century. A masterpiece of intellect and honor, setting itself a part from many other media-dramas of its kind. Exhilerating and captivating.

Rating:
Summary: SLICK, MESMERIZING THRILLER WITH BIG BOLD QUESTIONS.
Review: If there ever was a list of utterly absorbing films, this would be right up there. What a riveting piece of drama, from Lisa Gerrard's haunting score to the mesmerizing cinematography of Mike Mann in form.

Al Pacino and Russel Crowe have such intensity you almost feel your veins pop. The conspiracy theory tinged sub-themes are thrillers as it is (big network, big tyke tobacco players, big journalist, strong-arm tactics of corporations, marital relations amidst stressful jobs, etc.) but their rendition in the immaculate screenplay make them even more powerful!

A word about the DVD. Although it has a couple of interesting extras, including glimpses of some of the real characters, the DD 5.1-only soundtrack is a tad disappointing. Except for a couple of early scenes, one in a cafeteria and one with rain, there is virtually no sound in the rear channels. Not up to today's standards for 5.1 sound. Hopefully a newer version of the DVD would have a better transfer.

Regardless of the minor gripe, the film itself is fantastic. I'd recommend this as a library item in a blink.

Rating:
Summary: Murky story - but the leads take us in
Review: Russel Crowe is Jeff Wigand, "The Insider", a research scientist for a cigarette manufacturer who goes up against his boss. When the flick opens, we see his well manicured family and his pretty life, but we have the sense that it's already over for him. He's clearly had enough of his employers, but knows he could lose a severance package negotiated to keep him silent about the workings of his ex-employer's marketing tactics. Al Pacino as Lowell Bergman, a producer for 60 Minutes proves, at about the same time, that he's not afraid to put his personal safety on the line for the story. Christopher Plummer is a surprisingly effective Mike Wallace, one of a small strike force of tele-journalists fearless in the face of intimidation from anybody. In the "Insider", they come together in a sort of manipulative morality tale about corporate greed and nicotine. Though there's no secret about the health risks of chain smoking, Wigand threatens to expose the industry's dark secret - that they actively design cigarettes to be more addictive. Unfortunately, Wigand's attempts to expose his former employers - through both legal action and through an expose on "60 Minutes" make him a target. Losing his severance package and soon his pretty family, Wigand's life is turned upside down. On Bergman's end, his efforts to air Wigand's expose are morphed from a complex story involving well-meaning journalists rendered powerless by questionable law - into a simpler story of noble journalist Davids against the might of corporate Goliaths (the flick shamelessly touts "corporate" as if it were a profane word, as in "did CBS News cave in to CBS Corporate?"). Mike Wallace and Don Hewitt, who probably had no power to resist CBS's initial ban against the Wigand story, are now seen as craven corporate lackeys (Wallace, who is fearless in the face of an Hizbollah bigwig early in the movie, cowers at the thought that he may be reduced to doing NPR if he disobeys orders). Played by Pacino, Bergman is the hero here (the script seems to credit him for leaking the banned story to the print media, even though WSJ is credited with doing it themselves), while Wigand is well meaning to the point of martyrdom.

Unfortunately, this account of dirty tricks and cigarette makers is undone by its own murky paranoia - just how do these menacing guys manage to hold onto their political power the way nicotine holds onto smokers? Least convincing is speed with which the editorial staff at "60 Minutes" caves into corporate pressure to dump the story. It's never really explained how guys who regularly face-off against government bureaucrats, corporate honchos and terrorist leaders in the darkest corners of the new century crumble like a house of cards before big tobacco. The film, by never explaining the stranglehold of the cigarette industry implicitly supports them - that the "big" in big-tobacco is a myth created by the self-righteous of the media and government to explain their own inability to deal with America's nicotine problems.

For all its murkiness, the film remains evocative, a collection of great scenes, like Crowe's epiphany in a hotel room, and Pacino's giving a hotel attendant long-distance instruction in the art of talking like Al Pacino. Remember this as the movie in which TV action fixture Wings Hauser played a lawyer for the tobacco industry.

Rating:
Summary: Widespread Public Awareness.
Review: To be cinematographically loyal to a Real Life Story is impossible, and this is because the only real truth to any story, is the point of view of its protagonist. Once an author takes the facts and expose them in any particular media, that point of view becomes a third person in the events, the objectiveness of those facts then become subjective to the intuition of the author. Now, the intention of that author has to be honorable, and that is: to honor the Truth of that story he or she is trying to tell, as accurate and close to the point of view of the people that went trough those events, that way the beholder will take that information through a third, and will judge it accurate, inaccurate or hypocrite, whatever that information is objectively right, or subjectively wrong. All the author need is: first hand information, objectiveness away from a partial judgment, a real understanding of that story, plus a real care for it, and confidence in a deep research work to be credit with. This is as close as you can hope to get, then you can digest it.
When The Insider began shooting, Jeffery Wigand was still on litigation against Big Tobacco. Many of the specific information couldn't be disclose to Michael Mann and his crew, so he and Eric Roth took license and approach the story as close to the emotional truth of the protagonist with the intention to portrait the long way towards redemption and inner strength, a docudrama including the personal side of it. In no easy sense Jeffrey Wigand is a hero, but an ordinary man in extraordinary conditions, in the other hand, Lowell Bergman is an idealistic man who's moral professional ethics are about to be past over. Corruption, manipulation, psychological and financial aggression, personal interests, are the issues against these two man are tested with. How they survive and manage their way through victory, is a real statement of Integrity and Moral Truth.
Based on a article published by Vanity Fair called, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Insider is pure journalism language. The always interesting Michael Mann, narrates with integrity and courage, the events about two-man disclosure campaign against Tobacco giant Brown and Williamson, meaning absolute power in every sense. Jeffrey Wigand is set into despair when Big Tobacco C.E.O.'s threatens him with a massive sued in case he doesn't sign an extension of the confidentiality agreement he never intended to dishonor. And it is here when Lowell Bergman (a producer for 60 minutes), enters his counterpart to attempt the exposition of the real Truth of the Cigarette industry, and that is: cigarettes are a delivery devise for nicotine, light it up, put it in your mouth, and it will get you fix. Jeffrey Wigand's life will crush against this sons of bit', and Lowell Bergman will be betrayed by his own office and friends when C.B.S. Corporate pushes hard on C.B.S. News to not go with the story. Lowell and Wigand will endure, but after a nerve breaking battle of a life time, at the end the exclusive is lost, but the Story will be cast, and integrity and peace of mind will find its way again in the strong Jeffrey Wigand, and the audacious Lowell Bergman.
Michael Mann gives you a lesson in cinema, his directorial skills are proved in this masterpiece, keen, powerful, and honest, just brilliant and much close to the real Truth as you can hope to get. The great Al Pacino portraits Lowell Bergman in an intense canvas of human will, excellent. Russell Crowe performance is absolutely impressive, all the complicated ways of Jeffrey Wigand, his despair, his moral debate of disclose this much important information, his emotiveness in times of no hope, all this is perfectly done by Crowe in his highly inspiring work (Actually, the best performance of 1999. Crowe lost the Academy Award against Kevin Spacey for his also great performance in American Beauty). Veteran actor Christopher Plummer also gives an excellent performance as the legendary and arrogant Mike Wallace (Wallace actually protested for this, but think about it, after all the accolades he has receive in his long career; Could it be possible that he just turned a little too cocky over the decades? So many people kissing your behind for so much time, must have some effect in your personality. Isn't that just so unfair Mike?). The rest of the cast is also great.
A perfect adapted screen play, a beautiful and accurate photography, and an amazing music score by the great Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke, brings more emotion to the story (other musical credits includes: Graeme Revell, Massive Attack, etc), unforgettable. The Insider is that magnificent movie, that the Academy so often tends to past over and forget when then moment of Truth (in most cases, the best movie of the year), even with its 7 nominations, the Insider didn't get one single award, another huge oversight (Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock never in their life time received an Academy Award for Best Director, such a thing completely discredits this highly prestigious Award). Never mind.
The DVD is good, a quality visual transferring and a fine 5.1 Dolby Digital are great, the problem is that the DVD lacks of extras, just a production Featurette, the Trailer, and a Scene Comparison with the original script, is all that there is. I would have love to see the entire 60 minutes original Interview, and a 25 minutes Making Of, any way, the transferring is great, and that's all that matters. A must for your DVD collection.
Interesting enough is that the movie talks about the Cigarette Industry in many ways, and goes even further with the manipulation surrounding it's addictive product, but never in the film one single person is shown smoking a cigarette.

Rating:
Summary: An Analytical Film about Corporate Scandal.
Review: Tobacco courtroom fraud does not seem like an exciting motion picture film to make and certainly the idea of corporate fatheads eating up all the capitalism they can manage is just a state of reality that one can sympathise with but also feel that people are ultimately responsible for their own actions and nobody is forcing the products down their throats. It seems that Michael Mann would have a lot to go up against here if he wanted to prove that 'self-inflicted harm' is someone else's responsibility. Mann does not avoid this element but he does aim his direction more at corporate employee suppression, the impact that their testimony may have on society, the importance of the freedom of speech, how the media can be manipulated and the influence on government and state sector lobbying.

This is a very intelligent movie that brings one man's quest to do battle with the giants into sharp contrast with the stark reality of its lunacy, shortcomings and psychological affects that is has on a family and one's life in general. At times this picture is extremely deep and moving. It is also equally complex, controversial and conspires. Maybe repeat viewings are needed to capture all of its intricacy and involvedness with the real world corporate scandal scene.

Russell Crowe plays Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, a scientist with a heart who believes that the tobacco giants he worked for perjured themselves in a court of law when they said that they believed that tobacco was not addictive. Wigand believes that while he worked for these companies that he was asked to develop a chemical system by which nicotine would be administered to the brain, through smoking, more quickly and effectively. He takes his story to CBS's 60 minutes producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) and this starts a chain reaction where the corporate fatheads proceed to suppress him, the CBS show and resort to unconditional threats and exploitation of the man's family that even involves manipulating the police services. The bottom line here - Money is Power.... but so are some other things.

This is not all good guys vs bad guys stuff. At times Wigand comes across as a really gruff and stuck-up chemist with a grudge. Bergman, for all his interest and want to tell a good story, is also ultimately just a reporter who wants to be the one behind presenting the facts to the American public. Bergman's story is just as interesting as Wigands. Wigand finds himself heavily suppressed by the corporate sector to the point where he is escorted to the courts under armed guard. Bergman finds himself, and his career, ruined by 'corporate-CBS' who have final say over what they can or can not air.

This is all good stuff and makes for remarkable viewing. It is very long, drawn out but never dull and does transcend its narrow theme to incorporate much more about the real world than just its corporate scandals. This is the kind of film that you would like to see Hollywood do more. It is brainy, thoughtful and thoroughly satisfying. It is also based on a true story. The film itself attracted some hullabaloo from the tobacco giants in question.

Anybody can enjoy this film. It is a tense drama and certainly you will hard-pressed not to like it. If you are looking for a worthy and worldly reason for a drama then you do not have to look much further than The Insider.

Great Cinema. Bold Filmmaking.

Rating:
Summary: "I'm just a commodity to you, aren't I?"
Review: In a capitalistic society, businesses continuously engage in questionable practices in pursuit of the almighty dollar. Michael Mann's "The Insider" shines the spotlight on one particular industry that went to extreme lengths to guarantee that their income stream never dried up. After all the dust settled, big tobacco stood exposed as a participant in one of the most stunning corporate cover-ups in American history.

While working on a tobacco segment as a producer for "60 Minutes," Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) stumbles upon an even more astonishing story. He learns that a consultant he has hired named Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe) has first-hand knowledge that tobacco companies are manipulating the make-up of their cigarettes to make them more addictive. Knowing the significance of this story, Bergman and reporter Mark Wallace (Christopher Plummer) pursue it with vigor but come up against roadblocks in the form of a confidentiality agreement signed by Wigand and CBS lawyers who fear that airing the story would result in a lawsuit that would bankrupt the network. Unwilling to bow to the pressures around him, Bergman engages in tense behind-the-scenes maneuvering to ensure that the story sees the light of day.

Michael Mann is one of the better directors working today. His body of work has been impressive as "Manhunter" (1986), "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992), and "Heat" (1995) all have been wonderfully crafted films that still entertain to this day. "The Insider" is more reflective and insightful than his earlier films, but it still retains the Michael Mann mark of quality. Under a less able director, "The Insider" could have easily been a languid investigative piece, but Mann utilizes passionate performances and his skilled craftsmanship to create a captivating story about the darker side of corporate America. Pacino is his usual dependable self as he turns in another distinguished performance as the heroic and embattled television producer. Yet, the breakthrough performance in this film belongs to Crowe who offers tantalizing glimpses of the great things yet to come in his future. "The Insider" is a stark reminder that good men and women in the investigative reporting field are still diligently at work exposing the evils around us despite the enormous pressures exerted upon them to keep sinister secrets secret. The world is a better place because of their efforts.

Rating:
Summary: Best Journalism Film Since All the President's Men
Review: Michael Mann's The Insider is one of those films that makes you think then it makes you angry. In its most simple form the movie tells the story of corporate whistle blower Jeffrey Wigand and his battle with Brown and Williamson Tobacco. This story is only the beginning however. The film in its second half explores media ethics like no recent film that I've seen

Russell Crowe plays Jeffrey Wigand who has been fired from his corporate job at Brown and Williamson. Hired as a consultant by 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) to consult on another cigarette issue he gradually begins to open up about huge health concerns within the industry in violation of confidentiality agreements.

The film charts CBS News darkest hour. When it made the choice to pull the plug on Wigand's interview to avoid the risk of a lawsuit which could have cost the Network massive amounts of cash in a corporate buyout.

There are outstanding performances throughout the film. Among the standouts are Christopher Plummer as Mike Wallace.

Even though the film is somewhat long it maintains interest throughout and remains as one of the greatest journalism films of the last decade or so.

Rating:
Summary: This was an excellent film!!!
Review: Scientist Jeffrey Wigand ( Russel Crow)is fired by one of the largest tobacco companies in America. Wigand feels that it is his duty to blow the whistle, and warn the general public of the danger that the tobacco industry concealed about their products. Despite being under a legal and binding contract for employee confidentiality, Wigand throws caution to the wind risking his family, and his financial future in the process. He puts his trust in Lowell Bergman ( Al Pacino) who is the producer for 60 Minutes. Bergman puts together an expose on the tobacco industry by using Wigand's testimonial. The only problem is that the tobacco industry threatens with a multi billion dollar law suit, which makes the top CBS news executives, want to kill the story. Wigand is subject to numerous lawsuits and a vicious smear campaign, leaving his story in danger of never reaching the American people. Now Bergman and Wigand must work together to save their reputations, and possibly even their own lives...

This controversial and unforgettable true story is Michael Mann's best film without a doubt. The film features an amazing script that deals with the issues of journalistic integrity, coporate responsibility, and one's man moral obligation to risk everything, to tell the truth. The film itself is incredibly suspenseful, and you will be kept on the edge of your seat. It involves not only the fight for the truth, but the threatening of Wigand's life and family. Great mix of conspiracy and paranoia thrown in! Al Pacino is always great, and Lowell Bergman is no exception. His pursuit for justice and the truth is amazing. He never gives up, and actually stands by Wigand. He puts a whole new meaning to the phrase " My word is my bond." Russell Crowe gave the film's best performance however. His portrayal of Jeffrey Wigand is filled with humanity, vulnerability, and selflessness. Crowe also put on some serious weight, to make himself look like the actual Jeffrey Wigand. Great performance all the way around. Christopher Plummer gives a nice performance as anchor Mike Wallace, and Gina Gershon is great as well.

" The Insider" is a masterpiece. The wonderful script, tons of suspense, and the overall acting are all incredible. While the film is long at 158 minutes, time flies, and it does not seem long at all. The DVD offers a production featurette, and commentary from Al Pacino and Russel Crowe. This film is definately a must own, and I highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: Modern newsmaking just keeps getting shiftier
Review: Not 10 minutes into Michael Mann's "The Insider," CBS "60 Minutes'" reporter Mike Wallace (Christopher Plummer) launches into a tirade at the notion that someone might control one of his interviews. His target begins as an Arab gunman protecting his leader, then transforms to everyone in the room. Wallace storms off by himself. The gunman rescinds his demands. And quietly, carefully, the "60 Minutes" producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) approaches Wallace to see if he's "warmed up."

"I've got my heart going now," Wallace says.

The scene sets the perfect tone for the "The Insider," an unflinching look at modern journalism. After that, can we look at Wallace straight? When, in another tirade, he accuses a corporate drone of strong-arming him, is he, in fact, strong-arming her? When he cries, are his tears real? And if Mike Wallace is an icon in this business, what does that say about the ethics of everybody else?

Mann takes those questions and applies them to the trials of Jeffrey Wiegand (Russell Crowe), a tobacco whistle-blower whose interview with "60 Minutes" was delayed for more than three months because of CBS's fear of lawsuit. Wiegand, under legal pressure from Big Tobacco, loses everything in the process: his wife (Diane Venora), money, reputation, freedom. And CBS hangs him out to dry.

The specific details of exactly what Wiegand knew - laid out nicely in the Vanity Fair piece "The Man Who Knew Too Much" - are inconsequential in the movie, for they merely confirm what we've supsected for half a century. More provocative is Mann's two-fold approach that shows Wiegand's downward spiral, and Bergman's fight to keep the interview intact.

The film's second half proves it, as "The Insider" shifts to a behind-the-lies look at the CBS decision and Bergman's counteroffensive to get executive producer Don Hewitt (Philip Balker hall) and Wallace back on board. Bergman's crusade is a little simplified - Pacino's performance plays up the "one-man-and-his-mic" fantasy - and yet because Wiegand's livelihood is at stake, we root hard.

Mann, a master technician, jams the camera up in everybody's face to create intimacy rare in a movie this big Cinematographer Dante Spinotti has always been superb, and the visuals are crisp and have a full-bodied atmosphere to them.

And then there is Russell Crowe, in the role that put him on the A-list. Wiegand, a brash, sometimes compulsive personality, is played body and soul by Crowe as a determined, principled man who refuses to be pushed around.

"All the President's Men" got most of its thrill in how it utilized the anonymous insider "Deep Throat." This time, we know exactly who Deep Throat is, and how, unlike the 1970s, he doesn't call the shots anymore. That's how much journalism has changed.