Rating: 
Summary: Gripping!
Review: After renting The Insider from the video store, I had to own this DVD. Strong performances by Pacino, and Christopher Plummer was fantastic as Wallace. And it carries a real good message. A lot F...'s which I don't and didn't particularly like, because for one thing I think it would be a great film to show teens to reinforce the notions of integrity. But, I know, "realism" and all that.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Great Political Thrillers
Review: Director Michael Mann ("The Last of the Mohicans" and "Heat") has created a sophisticated, multi-layered, social thriller which is one the most well acted and well written films in recent memory. Russell Crowe (from "L.A. Confidential") plays Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, a chemist for a major tobacco company, who is fired and then is mysteriously threatened and intimidated against revealing inside information which he possess about the use of chemical enhancements for nicotine. Crowe deftly portrays a man who is both forceful, intelligent, and emotionally explosive while at the same time quirky, naïve, and fearful. Crowe gives a thoroughly convincing performance as a man who is squeezed, in vice-like fashion, between preserving his family and his compulsion to tell the truth. Al Pacino, in one of the best performances of his career, plays "60 Minutes" producer Lowell Bergman who coaxes Wigand to reveal what he knows, despite Wigand's conflicted feelings about violating a corporate confidentiality agreement. In his recent roles ("Heat," The Devil's Advocate," and "Scent of a Woman") Pacino has tended to push his characters over the top. Here he plays Bergman with just the right balance of subtlety, restraint and passion. Christopher Plummer (the father in "The Sound of Music"!) is equally superb as "60 Minutes" reporter Mike Wallace. Plummer's portrayal is just the right mix of ego, wit, and self-assurance. Only in the very capable hands of Director Michael Mann could such a movie-which consists primarily of the characters talking to each other-be suspenseful, dramatic, and fresh. Mann's use of extreme close-ups, deft editing, out-of-focus shots and hand-held cameras make for a riveting movie experience. But beyond the technical brilliance of the film, Mann (who co-wrote it) weaves into the plot and dialog larger moral and social questions such as the extent to which reporters should manipulate sources and their own colleagues to "get the story" and how much should be sacrificed in the search for truth. These larger issues do not seemed forced or preachy but, rather, are natural extensions of the story and dialog. While this film was shut out at the recent Academy Awards (despite 7 nominations) and did lackluster box office, it is a great movie that squarely places Michael Mann in the upper echelon of Hollywood directors. It is a movie that is clearly the equal of "All the President's Men" to which it is often, and favorably, compared. [Note: this movie has received an "R" rating entirely for its use of the F-word (about 15 times). There is no sex or violence.]
Rating:
Summary: Powerful
Review: A gripping film depicting the terrible cost paid by those who dare to expose the underhanded tactics perpetrated by the tobacco industry. Pacino and Crowe are excellent in the leading roles. This is one of Pacino's best performances. A film well-worth seeing.
Rating: 
Summary: slow and painful
Review: Perhaps the DVD is ok as you could fast forward but I'd think twice about purchasing such a slow film. I thought the movie had finished 3 or 4 times before it actually did. Mea culpa!
Rating:
Summary: Places, Please. Quiet on the Set. No Smoking Allowed.
Review: Watch closely as Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe, in an unbelievably natural and outstandingly good performance), after having lost his family, his reputation, and almost everything he has, begins to teach his first chemistry class. By way of introducing himself, he says to his students something to the effect of "call me whatever you like." When we have reached this point in the movie, that seems cynically appropriate. Also cynically appropriate is the prop he chooses to use in class for the intital experiment. A butane lighter. A little cigarette lighter. As all his problems have stemmed from the tobacco company he used to work for, which now is harassing him, threatening him with jail, and worse. It is ironic that this little lighter pops up briefly in this scene. Yet it is a testament to the director, Michael Mann: he doesn't miss a trick. This is one beautiful docudrama. Seamlessly put together, with cautious acting by Al Pacino as the CBS "60 Minutes" producer Bergman to whom Wigand first comes under duress of his conscience, with a perfect script and a complicated theme, it is well worth watching more than once if you are a true movie lover. So, watch it more than once. Once for the acting: for Pacino; as I have said, who is understated, true, and pure in his portrayal of a newsman who has the confidence of a winner in the "news game" and learns the hard way it isn't that simple...that it isn't really just a game after all...for Christopher Plummer, who, playing Mike Wallace, has now redeemed himself forever, in my eyes, from his turn as Captain Von Trapp... and of course, for Russell Crowe, who as Jeffrey Wigand, affects every scene with his subtlely powerful depiction of a man torn between what he knows is right and what he knows will happen to his life if he chooses the ethical path. It's not easy having convictions if you work for a tobacco company, even if you simply are passionate about chemistry-- and that seems to be why he ended up there to begin with. As with the lighter he chooses to use in chemistry class, the love of science was what put him in the position he found himself in. What happened next makes us wonder about ourselves, our country, and convictions in general. Watch it one more time for the plot: You have the big business machines versus the little guys in two aspects and more: The tobacco industry vs. all of us, the tobacco industry vs. Weigand (what they do to him is disgusting), and the tobacco industry vs. CBS. Then you have CBS corporate/legal affairs vs. "60 Minutes". Then you have "60 Minutes" tearing itself apart under pressure--the scene between Pacino and Plummer when Plummer, as Wallace, explains why he can't stick up for the story as it stands is worth the price of the video alone. Watch it once more for the photography. If you like good shots and interesting photgraphy, you've got it here. Finally, watch it for the sheer pleasure of seeing a masterwork unfold in front of you. It's long: but you'll be glad. It's worth it. best wishes, Jean ps: I used to smoke Kools. I am wearing a patch as I type this. pps: If you need one more, "just for fun", reason to watch this movie, try counting the number of cell phone and general phone call scenes in it. You will not BELIEVE how many there are!
Rating:
Summary: Earns Its Nominations
Review: I wasn't quite sure if I would like this film or not, it didn't appeal to me too much in theaters and when it got the Oscar nomination it was already out of theaters, so I hd to wait to see it on DVD. (I rented it a few days before it was officially released.) I only wish I had it for a few more days so I could watch it again. It is one of those movies you think about for a few days after you watch it...I am considering buying it. The direction was outstanding, and I believe this movie is probably better than any of the other nominees, excluding AMERICAN BEAUTY, which I still haven't seen. I can see why so many critics loved this film, it really gets into the conflict and the characters. There is some good acting here, especially from Al Pacino (who perhaps should have been nominated instead of Sean Penn), Christopher Plummer, and Russel Crowe, who WAS nominated. I also really liked Gina Gershon in her small role. Overall, well-acted and extremely well-directed, engrossing with great music and good ending. I recommend this to any fan of dramas.
Rating: 
Summary: Performances, direction, atmosphere, a must!
Review: Okay, just too let you know ahead of time, this is NOT a sterotypical summer blockbuster. Nothing blows up, CGI monsters do not threaten the planet, Al Pacino doesn't get to kill anybody, and there's no Will Smith song in the credits. There, now that's out of the way, THIS IS A GREAT MOVIE. Al Pacino gives a more restrained and disciplined performance than we've seen in other recent displays, and it's stunning. Russel Crowe gives the best performance of his career and possibly the best performance of the year. Michael Mann's direction is, as always, slick, atmospheric, and never condescending. He doesn't cater to the audience by spelling out every little detail, he forces you to make some of the judgements for yourself that a lesser director may have turned messy in their explanation. The plot is complex and always twisting, but never tedious (unless of course your LOOKING for the afore mentioned "blockbuster traits"). It involves Crowe as a tobacco corporation health researcher who is fired after refusing to take part in the controversial cover-up and exploitaton of a new cigarette drug additive that would boost sales but endanger lives. When his former employers begin delivering alomst mob-esque threats, Crowe gives his story, and a tell-all interview, to Lowell Bergman (Pacino) of 60 Minutes, only for both of them to find that if they air these facts, CBS could face a billion-dollar lawsuit from the tobacco corps through a loophole in Crowe's Confidentiality Contract. I don't do such a great job of explaining really, so check it out! Just take my word for it, great movie!
Rating:
Summary: A powerful look at how far corperate America will go.
Review: One man fighting a copreate lawsuit that thretans the one thing he holds dear his life and his family.Based on the suit on the tabacco industry Wyland the man that is being thretened by the tobacco industry.Al Pachino is the only man willing to fight for the truth in this very electrifying film an intense performance by Russel Crowe who was nominated for an award for his acting performance. This DVD offers and look into this electrifying film and the making of this academy nominated film an incredible film by michael mann.
Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful, Gripping and Brilliantly Acted
Review: The Insider is great on so many levels. It is perfectly acted by an expert cast, with Russell Crowe delivering without a doubt the best performance of the year. Al Pacino has been great for so long that is is easy to take him for granted, but he makes you sit up and take notice of his talent here, giving a performace that is both slightly over the top and deeply felt. Christopher Plumber was amazing as Mike Wallace, he managed to impersonate the well known newsman perfectly and also make him a relatively sympathetic character. Phillip Baker Hall, as always, gave a rock solid supporting performance as the 60 Minutes producer who kept the segment in question from airing. The cinematography was great, the handheld camerawork adding a sense of urgency to every scene. And, maybe most importantly, the story was deep, thoughful, and entertaining. The characters were brilliantly developed, and the story was gripping. The Insider is over 2 and a half hours long, but it isn't boring at all. Michael Mann is one of the best directors currently working, all of his movies have a distinctive look,an attention to detail, and a certain intangible intellegence. The Insider has an abundance of all three of these qualities.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful drama
Review: "The Insider" was one of the two Oscar-nominated films that actually earned its nomination. After his great film "Heat", which was also overlooked by the Academy, Michael Mann delievers a worthy follow up that captivates the viewer for more than two and a half hours. In many respects, "The Insider" is a typical Michael-Mann-picture. The screenplay offers rather traditional storytelling without any of the post-modern coolness that so many films have nowadays. The direction and the cinematography are highly stylized, which is also pure Michael Mann. Like in "Heat", the relationships between the characters are explored more thoroughly and in more explicit detail than in most other films. This gives the characters a depth that is rare in many of today's movies. Another great asset of "The Insider" are the performances by the whole cast. Al Pacino is powerful and credible as always and Russel Crowe is simply sensationel as the whistleblower Wigand who is threatened by his former company. "The Insider" was surely one of the best films of 1999. It is a shame that it wasn't a box office success. I hope that Michael Mann is able to retain his style despite the commercial disappointment. Perhaps the seven Academy Award nominations will persuade the studios to keep him independent.
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