Product: The Insider [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 5.0
Super!
The Insider is Russell Crowe's precursor to the Gladiator. Watching Crowe in Insider and the Gladiator is a true display of the brilliance of this young actor. The Insider brings you two of the best actors in history in Al Pacino, my selection for the #4 spot of best actors of all time. (Crowe, although still needing more films under his belt, comes in at #20.) The Insider shows how corporate profit out weight the well-being of the people. Knowing their product (tobacco) is habit forming and deadly, the giants use everything within their means to crush and discredit the informer and attempt to control the media. As a member of the media, it is embarrassing to see how CBS coward under pressure only to have Bergman and Wigand push harder to do the honorable thing. They will bring the evidence to the public. The Insider is well written and the acting from all including Christopher Plummer is fantastic. The script and Michael Mann's direction is great, no surprise it received 7 Academy Award nominations including best picture. This movie is a keepsake, not since Heat and the Godfather have moviegoers had the opportunity to see two of the best actors in film together.