IMDb > The Insider (1999)
The Insider
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The Insider (1999) More at IMDbPro »

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The Insider (1999) -- A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a "60 Minutes" expose on Big Tobacco.
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Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   63,260 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Michael Mann
Writers (WGA):
Marie Brenner (article)
Eric Roth (written by) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for The Insider on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
5 November 1999 (USA) more
Tagline:
Warning: Exposing the Truth May Be Hazardous more
Plot:
A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a "60 Minutes" expose on Big Tobacco. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 21 wins & 34 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(116 articles)
Soderbergh says that Damon is the next Lemmon
 (From The Hollywood News. 2 November 2009, 2:49 PM, PST)

DVD Review: Public Enemies
 (From HeyUGuys. 1 November 2009, 4:41 PM, PST)

User Comments:
The film that keeps on giving more (467 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
60 Minutes (USA) (pre-release title)
Man of the People (USA) (working title)
The Untitled Tobacco Project (USA) (working title)
Untitled Michael Mann Film (USA) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for language.
Runtime:
157 min
Country:
USA
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS
Filming Locations:
Abaco Island, Bahamas more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
A third instance of a character smoking in the film occurs while Wigand is giving his deposition. Bergman converses briefly with a photographer about what might be going on inside the courtroom. The photographer, whose back is to the camera, takes a drag from a cigarette. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: On two separate occasions Bergman gets in a cab in New York and both times it is the same cab, the numbers on the roof and door are the same. The odds of this happening are slight, since there are 11,787 yellow cabs in New York. more
Quotes:
Lowell Bergman: Are you a businessman? Or are you a news man? more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross: (#11.6)" (2006) more
Soundtrack:
Hot Shots more

FAQ

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88 out of 105 people found the following comment useful.
The film that keeps on giving, 4 May 2000
Author: m&a_o from OC, California

I first wanted to see 'The Insider' because it professed to show the truth behind the lies of the Tobacco Industry. My wife and I saw it and were thoroughly impressed. In fact we've now seen it 5 times (I think, though I may have lost count).

If you go to the movies to be entertained mindlessly, do NOT see this movie, you will bored. This movie is for people who like to think, and who like to receive superior presentation of thought provoking material. The Insider has all that.

The movie gets you thinking about mankind. The obvious problem with human nature is obvious in this movie. The Tobacco companies knowingly selling addictive product, whilst claiming it is not. And then almost, almost but not quite, getting away with ruining an individual's life, an individual who's conscience was pricked by what they had seen.

But then it moves into the CBS drama, where again the hopelessness of mankind in general shines through. The strength of two individuals though manages to win the day, which is what makes this true story so unusual.

I found that (contrary to those who complained of the movies length) every scene that Mann has given us has a reason. A good reason. From the opening scenes depicting an evil far from USA. To the hints as to why we didn't hear anything about the drama when it happened, because the OJ murder story and media frenzy drowned out what should be to us all a much more serious matter.

For me the crowning moment in the film was when Russell Crowe (as Wigand) was about to dig into a hamburger when behind him on TV a newscaster reported findings about him, bad (though unfounded) findings. Crowe put his knife and fork back down in a way that told us all that he had no more appetite, in fact all the will left in him had been violently thrust away, thrust away by the selfish interests of the Tobacco companies.

All in all this is a complete movie that deserved its 7 nominations and should have gotten some awards. The sound was great, as was the camera work. If you love an artistic movie, you will love this one. Crowe is thoroughly believable and has cemented himself as a first rate actor, capable of playing just about any part put his way. Pacino is very well cast, Plummer is a class act, and a host of supporting cast did themselves proud.

What we can't forget about this movie, for all its drama, and for the pointed view it gives us of the nature we bear, its a TRUE STORY. Thats what really makes it shocking. And only those driven to the ends of despair and loneliness such as Wigand and Bergmann were, can really truly realise another fact pointed out in the movie, in the end of it all, we are nothing anyway, so what does it all matter?

See it!

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best russell crowe film. meeyakey22
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