The Insider (DVD)

Al Pacino plays the journalist and Russell Crowe is Jeffrey Wigand, a former executive of tobacco company, Brown & Williamson & a whistleblower. The Story Jeffrey returns home, dejected & humiliated. He has just been fired from his job. But worse is to follow when he is approached by a journalist filled with questions about a document on cigarettes & fire safety belonging to another company. He is concerned to mention a confidentiality agreement he has with his last employer, & soon his concerns are justified. Almost instantly his previous employers threaten legal action & to withdraw the ‘severance package’ of benefits he ...  Read the complete review

At one point in 'The Insider', a character summarises the events depicted in the film as "the biggest public health reform issue in U.S. history". Usually this kind of statement is considered over-the-top, but in this case, he could well be right. This is because the film focuses on former tobacco executive turned whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand, who is willing to reveal sensitive information that could cost the big tobacco companies billions of dollars in lawsuits. Not long after that famous scene where the CEOs of the 7 big tobacco companies stood up in court and denied that cigarettes are addictive, investigative reporter Lowell Bergman tracks ...  Read the complete review

note: also appears in part on The Student Room The Insider is one of those films that simply slips through the cracks not only with audiences, but with the Academy also - it was nominated for a plethora of Oscars, but didn't win a single won. What's more, these nominations were in virtually every major category - both acting, direction, writing and picture. It also boasts a massive, impressive ensemble cast, including Al Pacino (Lowell Bergman), Russell Crowe (Jeffrey Wigand), Christopher Plummer (Mike Wallace), Bruce McGill (attorney Ron Motley), Diane Venora, Michael Gambon, Philip Baker Hall (Don Hewitt), Lindsay Crouse, Gina Gershon, Debi Mazar, Rip Torn ...  Read the complete review

The Insider is a 1999 Film that tells the true story of a 1995 "60 Minutes" news expose of the Tobacco Industry, using former Tobacco company executive Jeffrey Wigand . The Plot: In the Movie's first scene we see Hezbollah militants escorting 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman ( Al Pacino ) through the streets of Lebanon to meet with the Hezbollah founder Sheikh Fadlallah, Lowell's mission is to convince him to be interviewed by 60 Minutes correspondant Mike Wallace ( Christopher Plummer ), a task that Bergman succeeds in. Meanwhile in Louisville Kentucky Tobacco Executive Jeffrey Wigand ( Russel Crowe ) is seen packing his ...  Read the complete review

Russell Crowe - from dark, brooding, powerful, noble Roman war machine to grey, haggard, flabby old business exec - you can hardly accuse the guy of being typecast. However, flawed though the character that Crowe plays in The Insider is, he's still very much on the side of the angels. The Insider is one of those films which is based on real life events and picks over the bones of the tobacco industry, highlighting the scurrilous steps big corporations took to prevent legal action being taken against them, and does so in a very earnest and sincere way, although it gets a little too earnest for my taste at times. However, it's undoubtedly ...  Read the complete review