The Insider (1999)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Michael Mann

Writers (WGA):

Marie Brenner (article)
Eric Roth (written by) ...

Release Date:

5 November 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Warning: Exposing the Truth May Be Hazardous

Plot:

A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a "60 Minutes" expose on Big Tobacco.

Plot Keywords:

Tobacco | Big Tobacco | Producer | Interview | Tobacco Industry

Awards:

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 21 wins & 34 nominations

Cast

Al Pacino	...	Lowell Bergman
Russell Crowe	...	Jeffrey Wigand
Christopher Plummer	...	Mike Wallace
Diane Venora	...	Liane Wigand
Philip Baker Hall	...	Don Hewitt
Lindsay Crouse	...	Sharon Tiller
Debi Mazar	...	Debbie De Luca
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Eric Kluster
Colm Feore	...	Richard Scruggs
Bruce McGill	...	Ron Motley
Gina Gershon	...	Helen Caperelli
Michael Gambon	...	Thomas Sandefur
Rip Torn	...	John Scanlon
Lynne Thigpen	...	Mrs. Williams
Hallie Kate Eisenberg	...	Barbara Wigand

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)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

157 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #36775) | Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Canada:14A (Ontario) (video rating: 2004) | South Korea:12 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Manitoba) | Chile:TE | Czech Republic:12 | Finland:K-10 | France:U | Germany:6 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Mexico:B | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | Greece:K-17 | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Abaco Island, Bahamas

Company:

Blue Lion Entertainment

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.

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.

Quotes:

Lowell Bergman: Are you a businessman? Or are you a news man?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross: (#11.6)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Hot Shots

The film that keeps on giving

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!