Rating: R (language)
Length: 157 minutes

Widescreen 2.35:1 Color (Anamorphic)

ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1
FRENCH: Dolby Digital 5.1

English

Dr. Jeffrey Wigand (Crowe) is fired from his executive position at a major cigarette company when he refuses to go along with corporate policy. He is offered a nice severance package but also has to sign confidentiality agreement which, if he talks, nullifies his severance package and could put him in legal difficulties. When "60 Minutes" producer Lowell Bergman (Pacino) contacts him looking for some help in translating some documents he has, they form a friendship that leads to Wigand's willingness to "spill the beans" on his ex-employer. This movie takes you through the rollercoaster ride he experienced once that decision was made.

Even though the movie is 2.5 hours long, it doesn't feel that way. The acting, especially Crowe and Pacino, were top notch. Crowe put in a performance equal to the one he did in "A Beautiful Mind" and I can't remember seeing Pacino play such a "reserved" role in a movie, pretty much taking the back seat to Crowe. This movie will certainly catch your attention from the beginning and hold it until the very end.

Truth. There was a disclaimer at the end of the movie that briefly stated that some of the movie was fictionalized for dramatic effect. Even their Official Website has the following disclaimer: ALTHOUGH THE FILM "THE INSIDER" IS BASED ON A TRUE STORY, CERTAIN EVENTS DEPICTED IN THE FILM HAVE BEEN FICTIONALIZED FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT. It doesn’t say what events but finding articles on the Internet concerning this is not difficult. Obviously the cigarette company, CBS and Mike Wallace dispute their portrayal in the movie; like there's a lot of integrity with any of them.

• Production Featurette - Audio Commentary with Al Pacino and Russell Crowe
• Inside A Scene
• Theatrical Trailer

This is a great film that will hold your attention from start to finish. If the film had consisted of more truth and less "fictionalized dramatization" it would have rightfully deserved much higher praise.

Michael Mann   [Collateral, Heat, The Last of the Mohicans, Miami Vice]

Lindsay Crouse - Sharon Tiller

[Slap Shot]

Russell Crowe - Dr. Jeffrey Wigand

[A Beautiful Mind, American Gangster, Gladiator, L.A. Confidential, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, The Quick and the Dead (1995), Romper Stomper]

Hallie Kate Eisenberg - Barbara Wigand

Colm Feore - Richard Scruggs

[Chronicles of Riddock, Face/Off, Paycheck]

Michael Gambon - Thomas Sandefur

[Charlotte Gray, Gosford Park, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Sleepy Hollow]

Gina Gershon - Helen Caperelli

[Bound, Driven, Face/Off, Showgirls]

Philip Baker Hall - Don Hewitt

[Dogville, Magnolia, The Sum of All Fears, The Talented Mr. Ripley, You Kill Me]

Debi Mazar - Debbie De Luca

[Batman Forever, Be Cool]

Bruce McGill - Ron Motley

[Animal House, Collateral, The Last Boy Scout, Matchstick Men, The Sum of all Fears]

Al Pacino - Lowell Bergman

[Donnie Brasco, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Godfather Part III, Heat, Insomia, Scarface]

Christopher Plummer - Mike Wallace

[A Beautiful Mind, Battle of Britain, Dracula 2000, The Fall of the Roman Empire, National Treasure, Twelve Monkeys]

Lynne Thigpen - Mrs. Williams

[Anger Management]

Stephen Tobolowsky - Eric Kluster

[Basic Instinct, Memento, Mississippi Burning, Single White Female]

Rip Torn - John Scanlon

[The Beastmaster, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Men in Black, Men in Black II]

Diane Venora - Liane Wigand

[Heat]