A documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall.A documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall.A documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
18K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Alex Gibney
- Bethany McLean(book "The Smartest Guys in the Room - The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron")
- Peter Elkind(book "The Smartest Guys in the Room - The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron")
- Stars
- John Beard
- Tim Belden(archive footage)
- Barbara Boxer(archive footage)
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Alex Gibney
- Bethany McLean(book "The Smartest Guys in the Room - The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron")
- Peter Elkind(book "The Smartest Guys in the Room - The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron")
- Stars
- John Beard
- Tim Belden(archive footage)
- Barbara Boxer(archive footage)
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 3 wins & 11 nominations total
Videos1
Tim Belden
- Selfas Self
- (archive footage)
Barbara Boxer
- Selfas Self
- (archive footage)
George W. Bush
- Selfas Self
- (archive footage)
Bill Clinton
- Selfas Self
- (archive footage)
Andrew Fastow
- Selfas Self
- (archive footage)
- Director
- Writers
- Alex Gibney
- Bethany McLean(book "The Smartest Guys in the Room - The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron")
- Peter Elkind(book "The Smartest Guys in the Room - The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron")
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
Enron dives from the seventh largest US company to bankruptcy in less than a year in this tale told chronologically. The emphasis is on human drama, from suicide to 20,000 people sacked: the personalities of Ken Lay (with Falwellesque rectitude), Jeff Skilling (he of big ideas), Lou Pai (gone with $250 M), and Andy Fastow (the dark prince) dominate. Along the way, we watch Enron game California's deregulated electricity market, get a free pass from Arthur Andersen (which okays the dubious mark-to-market accounting), use greed to manipulate banks and brokerages (Merrill Lynch fires the analyst who questions Enron's rise), and hear from both Presidents Bush what great guys these are. —<jhailey@hotmail.com>
- Taglines
- It's just business.
- Genres
- Certificate
- R
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaAmong the protesters who disrupt the meeting with Jeff Skilling at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club is Marla Ruzicka. The former Global Exchange activist founded CIVIC (Campaign for Innocent Victims of Conflict), which worked to help the victims of the war in Iraq. She died in Iraq on April 16, 2005, the victim of a suicide bombing.
- Quotes
Jeffrey Skilling: Oh I can't help myself. You know what the difference between the state of California and Titanic? And this is being webcast, and I know I'm going to regret this - at least when the Titanic went down, the lights were on.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Independent Lens: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
Top review
corporate fraud reigns supreme
When Enron filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2001, it was a shock to most Americans. But as "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" shows, it shouldn't have been. The documentary, narrated by Peter Coyote, traces the energy giant's origins - including CEO Ken Lay's childhood - to its rise as one of the largest corporations in the United States.
What's really interesting is the intricacy of Enron's actions around the world, and how it pulled off all its shenanigans (aided, of course, by Kenny Boy's contributions to George W. Bush's first presidential campaign). Among Enron's more vicious acts was its manipulation of California's electricity in summer, 2001, and how Arnold Schwarzenegger let the company off the hook. Not to mention that Enron's collapse was accompanied by Lay's draining of the employees' retirement.
Enron's downfall - followed over the next year by the implosions of Adelphia, WorldCom and Tyco - just goes to show the dangers of letting corporations run rampant. The whole way through, the documentary manages to be funny, just at the sight of what Enron was doing, abetted by Arthur Andersen.
All in all, I definitely recommend "E:TSGITR".
PS: In "Bowling for Columbine", Michael Moore proposed a TV show called "Corporate Cops" (based on "Cops!"), in which people like Ken Lay would get strip-searched.
What's really interesting is the intricacy of Enron's actions around the world, and how it pulled off all its shenanigans (aided, of course, by Kenny Boy's contributions to George W. Bush's first presidential campaign). Among Enron's more vicious acts was its manipulation of California's electricity in summer, 2001, and how Arnold Schwarzenegger let the company off the hook. Not to mention that Enron's collapse was accompanied by Lay's draining of the employees' retirement.
Enron's downfall - followed over the next year by the implosions of Adelphia, WorldCom and Tyco - just goes to show the dangers of letting corporations run rampant. The whole way through, the documentary manages to be funny, just at the sight of what Enron was doing, abetted by Arthur Andersen.
All in all, I definitely recommend "E:TSGITR".
PS: In "Bowling for Columbine", Michael Moore proposed a TV show called "Corporate Cops" (based on "Cops!"), in which people like Ken Lay would get strip-searched.
helpful•100
- lee_eisenberg
- Jan 19, 2010
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Enron: Những Kẻ Láu Cá
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,071,700
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $76,639
- Apr 24, 2005
- Gross worldwide
- $4,854,164
- Runtime1 hour 50 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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What is the Spanish language plot outline for Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)?
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