Product Description

THE INSIDER recounts the chain of events that pitted an ordinary man against the tobacco industry and dragged two people into the fight of their lives. Academy Award(R)-winner Al Pacino (1990 Best Actor, SCENT OF A WOMAN; THE RECRUIT) gives a powerful performance as veteran 60 MINUTES producer Lowell Bergman and Academy Award(R) Winner Russell Crowe (2000 Best Actor, GLADIATOR; A BEAUTIFUL MIND) co-stars as the ultimate insider, former tobacco executive Dr. Jeffrey Wigand. When Wigand is fired by his employer -- one of the largest tobacco companies in America -- he agrees to become a paid consultant for a story Bergman is working on regarding alleged unethical practices within the tobacco industry. But what begins as a temporary alliance leads to a lengthy battle for both men to save their reputations, and much, much more. As they soon find out, Corporate America will use all legal means at its disposal to save a billion-dollar-a-year habit. And as the corporate giants soon find out, Bergman and Wigand are honorable men, driven to smoke out the evidence. Also starring Christopher Plummer (MALCOLM X) as anchor Mike Wallace and Gina Gershon (FACE/OFF), THE INSIDER will chill you with its cold, hard edge -- and thrill you with its unbelievable twists and turns.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8743 in DVD
• Brand: Disney
• Released on: 2000-04-11
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 157 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
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 (cowritten 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 favorable comparison to All the President's Men. While Pacino downplays the theatrical excess that plagued him in previous roles, Crow 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

From The New Yorker
Midnight calls, clandestine meetings, threatening e-mail messages, not to mention cell phones used as obsessively as lances and shields in a jousting epic: the circuits never stop burning in this self-important but juicily entertaining public-affairs melodrama about big-time journalism and corporate villainy. Russell Crowe plays the real-life whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand, who in 1995 had devastating things to reveal about his former employer, tobacco giant Brown & Williamson, and Al Pacino is the bristling "60 Minutes" producer Lowell Bergman, who wanted to bring Wigand's information to the public. The two men-one stolid, the other self-dramatizing-make an odd but satisfying couple; they are meant to represent two kinds of personal honor arrayed against venal or merely smooth corporate game-players, including Michael Gambon as a tobacco executive and Christopher Plummer as a mildly satirized Mike Wallace. Director Michael Mann creates a rising line of tension and paranoia which leads, paradoxically, to a muted, not entirely reassuring ending. Mann and Eric Roth wrote the screenplay, which is based on actual events and on Marie Brenner's reporting in Vanity Fair. With Bruce McGill and Diane Venora. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

An incredible movie- worthy of much praise!
"The Insider", a theatrical delight, is a well cast, brilliantly acted, and ingeniously directed movie. I cannot say enough about this film!

Russell Crowe is pheonominal as the socially-conscious scientist,Dr. Jeffrey Weigand. Mr. Crowe, one of my favorite actors since first seeing him in "L.A. Confidential", brings multiple dimensions to his character. One the one hand you applaud Dr. Weigand for being so courageous in spite of the threats he receives from "big tobacco". On the other hand, you sense his pain, and the fear he has for his family. It is all in the eyes- Russell Crowe emotes like few actors can. WE WILL BE PULLING FOR HIM ON OSCAR NIGHT!

While Russell Crowe is truly the star in this film, one certainly cannot overlook the outstanding performance turned in by Al Pacino. Mr. Pacino lives up to this movie's expectations, and provides wonderful depth in his character. The pure sarcasm in several of his lines leaves you laughing inside, while silently saying to yourself, "you know, this guy has a point!" Watching Al Pacino is a delight- and in the end, you hope he not only wins the right to produce TV as he sees fit, you are hoping that his character gets a raise! Al Pacino- you are not worthy of a "supporting actor" nomination, you are in a class all your own!

Lastly, we cannot forget the performance of a veteran actor, Christopher Plummer. Mr. Plummer shows sides of Mike Wallace that you imagined were there, but have never been able to see. Mr. Plummer gives the movie perspective- and plays the depressive Mike Wallace with stunning accuracy. In the end, you forget that Mr. Plummer is an actor- you begin to think that the real Mike Wallace is the true actor! I will be looking for more good things to come from Mr. Plummer- he has made me a fan!

This movie is as put together as it can get. The cinematography, direction, etc. give this film power. There are no lulls- you remain firmly entrenched in the plot throughout this movie. The sets, the tone, the music, it all blends together like a great cup of coffee- warm and enjoyable. Michael Mann reels you in, and does not let go. He takes you on a wild ride- your heart races, your eyes tear, your palms sweat, and you squirm in your seat. He does his job, and he does it well- he MOVES you.

This story of one former tobacco scientist taking on big tobacco in an effort to bring awareness of health hazzards to the general public via television, will go down as a modern-day classic. The "behind-the-scenes" look at TV production, and more specifically, "60 Minutes", gives the general viewer an idea of not only how much time is spent producing a 15-minute segment for network TV, but shows the consequences on a man's life for being brave enough to care. I applaud Jeffrey Weigand, a hero to America. I also applaud the makers of "The Insider" , for having the courage, stamina, and awe-inspiring vision to bring this film to life.

An Intense and Disturbing Look At Contemporary Society
This movie is riveting, engaging, and extremely well done. The performances by Crowe, Pacino, and Plummer are especially sharp and on edge, and the direction by Mann is,as always, simply superb. From the opening frames illustrating the cache, access and raw power a TV program like Sixty Minutes offers its producers and stars to the immediately introduced suspenseful counterpoint of Philip Wigand as a man caught in a terrible moral dilemma, this movie is absolutely terrific.

While one relates to Russell Crowe's superb depiction (truly an Oscar-caliber performance) as the man who almost singlehandedly eventually breaks the back of the tobacco conglomerates, I found myself also captivated by Al Pacino's performance with a thoughtful and emotional coda as a smart and street savvy TV producer skating hellbent for leather over the dangerous edges between his personal morality and the seductive but corrupting pressures of a super-competitive and absolutely testosterone-crazy TV program. Likewise, Christopher Plummer's interpretation of Mike Wallace as an egotistical and morally obtuse dilletante who perhaps has stayed at the party overlong is a joy to observe. If it is at all accurate, maybe it's time to finally retire, Mike!

This is a movie that explores the way in which all the powers that be seem to be growing deaf, dumb, and blind to the rights and needs of the individuals in the society, as Wigand finds out quite quickly, to his despair. He finds himself compromised no matter which way he turns, and in an absolutely riveting scene played to the hilt, decides to do what's morally right regardless of the personal consequences. This seemed to be one of the quiet messages imbedded in the movie, that we all need to be more moral and have more intergrity in how we approach ourselves, each other, and the world at large. Amen to that, brother Mann.

Nice to see such extraordinary every-day heroism depicted and lauded on the silver screen. of course, life is never so simple as when it is most complex, and this movie certainly deals with some very controversial issues in an engaging, provocative, and thoughtful story we all can enjoy and learn from. This is a serious, disturbing, and dramatic movie I want to own and pull off the shelf periodically to watch and think about. I think you'll appreciate it too.

A Terrific Picture
"The Insider" is by far, the best motion picture of1999. It focuses on the lives of Dr. Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe),vice president in charge of research for Brown & Williamson Tobacco, and Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino), a veteran producer for the much-respected "60 Minutes" CBS news magazine. Recently fired from his cushy 6 figure job, Wigand soon faces the dilemma of whether or not to violate his confidentiality agreement and expose the disturbing truth about cigarettes, or to keep silent and protect his family. Bergman, meanwhile, must try to coax the story out of Wigand, while protecting him and sidestepping legal snaffus which arrise and fighting to get his piece aired. "The Insider" features top-notch performances from its cast, top to bottom, particularly from Crowe, as the brave yet terrified Wigand. Director Michael Mann keeps the story moving and keeps his audience interested throughout- not an easy task for a 3 hour movie. What really enhanced my enjoyment of this movie was the terrific hand-held cinematography by Dante Spinotti. His camera is often perched over Wigand's shoulder, and we as an audience feel as if we are right there with him as he franticly searches for the answers. I suppose a lot of people avoided this movie at the box office due to its length and its subject matter-and its their loss. If you like the movies with explosions and gunfights then rent something else. If you like an engrossing, thought-provoking movie with terrific performances, then "The Insider" is the movie for you.