Product: The Insider [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 5.0
The Best Picture of 1999
"The Insider" is smart, arresting film-making. The performances are just about perfect. Dante Spanotti's cinematography has a documentary feel to it. When I saw this movie, I didn't recognize Russell Crowe as Dr. Jeffery Wigand. His character was a 53-year-old tabbaco whistle-blower, with gray hair and glasses, and Crowe played him convincingly. The script is probably the high point of this movie. It knows a lot about tabbaco, TV media journalism, family, and other everyday-life things. There's real tension, dread, and accuracy in this movie. Al Pacino has done probably his best work in quite some time. As Lowell Bergman, former "60 Minutes" executive-producer, Al gives all the information we know or want to know about tabbaco. I saw this movie in theaters two times and watched it in widescreen on video. It looks better in widescreen because the camera is hand-held and gives the movie a documentary feel. For those who missed it in theaters, I have one piece of advice: rent it, then buy it. It's worth it.