Product: The Insider [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 5.0
Stylish And Intelligent As Well As Thrilling.
Michael Mann, one of the finest of American directors, brings to the screen an important story with "The Insider." This is a film I would compare to Oliver Stone's "JFK." Al Pacino and Russell Crowe give incredible performances. The writing, cinematography and the entire structure of the film are exquisite. Mann and his co-writer, Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) expertly take a simple 60 Minutes news story and turn it into a thrilling story. Mann adds a Hitchcockian feel to the atmosphere, a certain tense paranoia. "The Insider" is extremely effective because it's also a great parable on the dangers of telling the truth when a large entity does not want that certain truth to be known. Who cares about dramatic license? It's what the film says that counts. "The Insider" is suprerior to Mann's previous work, "Heat," which is the best cop thriller I have ever seen. This is an important, exquisite work.