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	...	Himself
Barbara Boxer	...	Herself (archive footage)
George W. Bush	...	Himself
James Chanos	...	Himself (as Jim Chanos)
Dick Cheney	...	Himself
Bill Clinton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Carol Coale	...	Herself
Gray Davis	...	Himself
Reggie Dees II	...	Young man the stripper dances in front of (as Reggie Deets II)
Joseph Dunn	...	Himself
Max Eberts	...	Himself
Peter Elkind	...	Himself
Andrew Fastow	...	Himself
David Freeman	...	Himself

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

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, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,064,421, 18 September 2005

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

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

Bethany McLean: Lou Pai left Enron with more money than anyone, because he sold all his stock after he divorced his wife to marry his stripper girlfriend who was having his child.

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

References Body Heat (1981)

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Soundtracks

God's Away on Business
Written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan
Jalma Music
Performed by Tom Waits
Courtesy of Anti/Epitaph Records

User Reviews

This movie is a must-see

The documentary "The Smartest Guys in the Room" is based on the excellent book by Bethany McClean and Peter Elkind. If you work for an American corporation, have ever owned stock in a corporation, or have mutual funds, you must see this movie. It gives a clear eyed view of what can happen in our society when greed really is considered good. The movie accomplishes what few in this genre have done: It is informative and also entertaining. Some of this is due to the behavior of Enron executives. For example, one frequented strip clubs every night and made his staff come along. Naturally that requires video of strippers. Some of the most damning video is from Enron execs themselves. They never dreamt they would be caught. Hubris gone wild. Go see this movie. Take friends with you. You will be glad you did. First rate film all around.