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.

Director:

Michael Mann

Writers:

Marie Brenner (article), Eric Roth

Stars:

Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, Christopher Plummer

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 50 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Eisenberg	...	Barbara Wigand

Storyline

Balls-out "60 Minutes" producer Lowell Bergman sniffs a story when a former research biologist for Brown & Williamson, Jeff Wigand, won't talk to him. When the company leans hard on Wigand to honor a confidentiality agreement, he gets his back up. Trusting Bergman and despite a crumbling marriage, he goes on camera for a Mike Wallace interview and risks arrest for contempt of court. Westinghouse is negotiating to buy CBS, so CBS attorneys advise CBS News to shelve the interview and avoid a lawsuit. "60 Minutes" and CBS News bosses cave, Wigand is hung out to dry, Bergman is compromised, and the CEOs of Big Tobacco may get away with perjury. Will the truth come out?

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Plot Keywords:

whistleblower | tobacco | concision censorship | tortuous interference | watching tv | 

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Taglines:

Warning: Exposing the Truth May Be Hazardous

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese Arabic Persian

Release Date:

5 November 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

60 Minutes

Filming Locations:

Long Beach Polytechnic High School - 1600 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$68,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,712,361, 7 November 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$28,965,197, 23 April 2000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$60,289,912, 31 December 2000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Forward Pass, Blue Lion Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

157 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a scene in Bergman's office, Mike Wallace tells Lowell Bergman, "I don't plan to spend the end of my days wandering in the wilderness of National Public Radio." In reality, Bergman left CBS in 1998 (not right after the Jeffrey Wigand piece, as depicted in the movie) to work for Public Television.

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Goofs

The driver's window changes from open to closed to open again when Wigand tells his wife he's been fired and then drives off.

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Quotes

Lowell Bergman: Now are you going to go and do this thing or not?

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Alternate Versions

The TV version is actually longer than the theatrical version and was extended over two nights. The edit was supervised by director Michael Mann.

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Connections

References The Last Laugh (1924)

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Soundtracks

I'm Alone On This
Additional Score Music Composed by Graeme Revell
Orchestra Contractors: Debbi Datz-Pyle (as Debbie Datz), Patti Zimmitti
Orchestrated by Steven Scott Smalley, Tim Simonec
Published by Buena Vista Music Co. (BMI)
© 1999 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

User Reviews

Smart film making.

"The Insider" in many ways reflects the golden days of American cinematography, where every scene serves a purpose, dialogue is sharp and poignant, and characters and events remain true to their emotions and nature.

The film presents certain questions throughout its duration that are intended to invoke thought in the viewer, and at the same time explores them to unprecedented depths which are by no means native to the film industry. The story is of a quick-paced nature, and demands that the viewer pay the utmost attention to every single line and image presented; it flabbergasts in its unparallelled structure of continuity and coherence to those sentient enough.

After watching this film, it became apparent why Crowe was so reluctant to play the role of Maximus in "Gladiator" after acting the part of Jeffrey Wigand. It appears more or less as if Crowe had been this character in reality, and it really inspires to see that such a talented actor is finally beginning to enjoy the prominence that he deserves.

In the past decades, there has been a progressive decline in the number of intelligent films making it onto the market, but the success of "The Insider" will hopefully serve as a shout-out to all the film companies and directors reluctant to tread on such sensitive ground. This movie could not receive a higher recommendation!