The Insider (1999)

Directed by Michael Mann. With Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, Christopher Plummer, Diane Venora. A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a "60 Minutes" expose on Big Tobacco.

The Insider is a 1999 American drama film directed by Michael Mann, from a script adapted by Eric Roth and Mann from Marie Brenner's Vanity Fair article "The Man Who Knew Too Much".

The Insider tells the true story of a man who decided to tell the world what the seven major tobacco companies knew (and concealed) about the dangers of their product. Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe) was a scientist employed in research for a tobacco firm, Brown and Williamson. Not long after he was fired by Brown and Williamson, Wigand came into contact with Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino), a producer for 60 Minutes who worked closely with journalist Mike Wallace (played here by Christopher Plummer). Bergman arranged for Wigand to be interviewed by Wallace for a 60 Minutes expose on the cigarette industry, though Wigand was still bound by a confidentiality agreement not to discuss his employment with the company. Despite Wigand's willingness to talk, CBS pulled his interview from at the last minute after Brown and Williamson threatened a multi-billion dollar lawsuit. The staff of 60 Minutes and CBS News were soon embroiled in an internal struggle over the killing of the story, and Wigand found himself the subject of lawsuits and a smear campaign, without his full story reaching the public. The Insider was directed by Michael Mann and also features Diane Venora, Philip Baker Hall, Debi Mazar, Colm Feore, and Rip Torn. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Michael Mann's "The Insider" makes a thriller and expose out of how big tobacco's long-running tissue of lies was finally exposed by investigative journalism.

Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, Christopher Plummer, Diane Venora, Philip Baker Hall, Lindsay Crouse, Debi Mazar, Stephen Tobolowsky, Colm Feore, Bruce McGill

metacritic

What Hollywood version of a true story teaches us about leadership.

The impact of a challenging story boldly tackled is diminished by serious overlength and an overriding air of self-importance in "The Insider."

Trailer for Michael Mann's film starring Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, Diane Venora, Philip Baker Hall,

The Insider (1999) op MovieMeter.nl

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The title of The Insider, which is based on a true story, has a double meaning. On the one hand, it refers to Jeffrey Wigand (Crowe), a researcher for tobacco giant Brown & Williamson who, fired for his resistance to unscrupulous efforts to enhance cigarettes’ addictiveness and i

Directed by Michael Mann. Cast: Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, Diane Venora, Philip Baker Hall, Lindsay Crouse, Debi Mazar, Stephen Tobolowsky, Colm Feore