Watching The Insider , I felt every bit of heartache and insane frustration that Wigand experienced. Expertly using the camera, Mann effectively pulls the audience into the madness of the situation, making the audience quickly develop a real sense of connection with the character. Wigand is not the indestructible renegade painted so frequently in movies. Quite simply, the visual presentation of The Insider on DVD is of reference quality. There is not one trace of distracting compression artifacting, giving a very smooth and consistent visual experience.
Black levels are outstanding and the shadow delineation is impressive.
The interior scenes are accurate and easy to watch, which is important to this film as so much of it happens in dark interiors. Color fidelity is also excellent, as is picture detail. Great care was obviously taken with the mastering of this transfer, and the picture is exactly as I remember it theatrically, with an intentionally dark look and an occasional blue-cast. Voices are the most important aspect of the soundtrack and they are portrayed very intelligibly, even during the most enraged outbursts by the characters. Subtle background ambience is nicely dispersed throughout the listening environment during bustling restaurant and busy city street scenes.