Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room 

Corporate audio and videotapes tell the inside story of the scandal involving one company's manipulation of California's energy supply and its, and how its executives wrung a billion dollars out of the resulting crisis.

Director:

Alex Gibney

Writers:

Bethany McLean (book), Peter Elkind (book)

Stars:

Kenneth Lay, Peter Coyote, John Beard

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Peter Coyote	...	Narrator
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Beard	...	Self
Barbara Boxer	...	Self (archive footage)
George W. Bush	...	Self
James Chanos	...	Self (as Jim Chanos)
Dick Cheney	...	Self
Bill Clinton	...	Self (archive footage)
Carol Coale	...	Self
Gray Davis	...	Self
Reggie Dees II	...	Young man the stripper dances in front of (as Reggie Deets II)
Joseph Dunn	...	Self
Max Eberts	...	Self
Peter Elkind	...	Self
Andrew Fastow	...	Self
David Freeman	...	Self

Storyline

Based on the best-selling book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, a multidimensional study of one of the biggest business scandals in American history. The chronicle takes a look at one of the greatest corporate disasters in history, in which top executives from the 7th largest company in this country walked away with over one billion dollars, leaving investors and employees with nothing. The film features insider accounts and rare corporate audio and video tapes that reveal colossal personal excesses of the Enron hierarchy and the utter moral vacuum that posed as corporate philosophy. The human drama that unfolds within Enron's walls resembles a Greek tragedy and produces a domino effect that could shape the face of our economy and ethical code for years to come.

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Plot Keywords:

california | accounting | suicide | president | manipulation | 

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Taglines:

It's Just Business

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Genres:

Documentary

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

Among the protesters who disrupt the meeting with Jeff Skilling at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club is Marla Ruzicka, who was killed on 16 April 2005 in Iraq by a suicide bomber. She founded CIVIC (Campaign for Innocent Victims of Conflict) which worked to help the victims of the war in Iraq and she was a former Global Exchange activist.

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Quotes

Kenneth Lay: [Enron Executive Officer Ken Lay holds a meeting of investors after shady financial dealings of the company have recently been revealed] We're down to questions, and I've got a few of 'em here... I would like to know if you are on crack... If so, that would explain a lot, if not, you may want to start because it's going to be a long time before we trust you again.

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Crazy Credits

Special thanks includes "all the `Deep Throats' - you know who you are!"

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Connections

References Get Smart (1965)

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Soundtracks

California
Written by Alex Greenwald (as Alexander Greenwald), Jason Schwartzman, Sam Farrar,
Darren Robinson and Jacques Brautbar
Flying Saucer Fuel Music/Beaucoup Bucks/Johnny Rebel Music/I Like Music/Shaggstar Publishing Co.
Performed by Phantom Planet
Courtesy of Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Licensing

User Reviews

Boys gone amok

I just saw this movie at Talk Cinema in Philadelphia. It was an excellent depiction of hubris and greed. The clips of Ken Lay et all were self serving and only seemed to intensify their greed. I would have liked more exploration in to the ties with the Bush Dynasty but that said it was an interesting intense film. Definitely one that I would be happy to recommend. There is one critique I would make is that although the film touched on the many lives that were ruined by the Enron Scandle,it did not give them a real human face.

In the eighties we called people like the Enron Executives "Masters of the Universe." Now we can call at as we see it, Over grown former nerds with no morality and no conscience.

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 2005 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Enron: Rise and Fall

Filming Locations:

Houston, Texas, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$76,639, 24 April 2005

Gross USA:

$4,064,421

Company Credits

Production Co:

HDNet Films, Jigsaw Productions, 2929 Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1