The Insider (film)
- Russell Crowe: Dr. Jeffrey Wigand
- Al Pacino: Dr. Lowell Bergman
- Christopher Plummer: Mike Wallace
- Diane Venora: Liane Wigand
- Philip Baker Hall: Don Hewitt
- Lindsay Crouse: Sharon Tiller
- Colm Feore: Richard Scruggs
- Hallie Kate Eisenberg: Barbara Wigand
Insider is an American thriller directed by Michael Mann in 1999 based on a true incident that has taken place in the early 1990s. The main characters are Russell Crowe and Al Pacino. The film is a co-production of Touchstone Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, Mann / Roth Productions, Kaitz Productions, Forward Pass and Blue Lion Entertainment, distributed by Buena Vista International. He came on 5 November 1999 in the U.S. and on 27 April 2000 in the German cinemas. The rental in Germany took over Constantin Film.
Action
The chemist Dr. Jeffrey Wigand worked for an American tobacco company in the research department. After he has expressed his superiors concerned about the use of dependence -producing additives in tobacco, he is released and resigned financially. Together with Lowell Bergman, the producer of the television program is viewed 60 Minutes, he brings - after initial reluctance - against the stubborn and sometimes criminal -looking resistance of the tobacco industry on his knowledge to the American public. Despite agreement silence and death threats he talks to 60 Minutes about his research activities in the field of additives, revealing that in cigarette production coumarin and ammonia are added to increase the addictive nature of nicotine. Its been rather quiet life is thus turned upside down and shattered his family. Also the journalistic work of Bergman at CBS gets through the explosive material from the web, since CBS and Others actions of the tobacco industry fears and the CBS - line therefore exert massive pressure on the TV magazine. Only with the help of his many contacts in the media industry and through clever stringing succeeds Bergman to publish the story.
Background
- The film is based on the statements of Dr. Jeffrey Wigand real and its contact Lowell Bergman. The controversy surrounding the 60 Minutes report, which did not allegedly pointed the actual abuses in the cigarette manufacturing in full, made headlines in 1994.
- The presentation of Dr. Jeffrey Wigand by actor Russell Crowe has been listed by the renowned U.S. film magazine Premiere in the list of 100 best depictions of film history at No. 23 out of 100 in 2006.
- The Attorney General of Mississippi, Mike Moore, plays in the film itself
Reviews
"One man alone against the U.S. tobacco industry: ' Heat' director Michael Mann rolls on a true case. Masterful thriller that the conventions of the genre - consciously disregarded in order to nevertheless almost three hours to captivate fabulous " - car chases and explosions.
" A brilliantly photographed political thriller, supported by good protagonists who renounces externalized acts of violence and its tension builds through the representation of structural violence. At the same time an impressive study of the mechanisms of manipulation of the media. "
Awards
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 1999
- Best Picture
- Best Camera
- Best Actor ( Russell Crowe )
- Best Supporting Actor ( Christopher Plummer)
Academy Awards 2000
- Nominated for: Best Picture
- Best Actor ( Russell Crowe )
- Best Director
- Best Camera
- Best Editing
- Best Sound
- Best Adapted Screenplay
Golden Globe Awards 2000
- Nominated for: Best Motion Picture - Drama
- Best Director
- Best Original Score
- Best Actor - Drama ( Russell Crowe )
- Best Screenplay
Humanitas Prize 2000
- Best Picture
Political Film Society Awards 2000
- Political Film Society Award for Democracy
- Nominated for: Political Film Society Award for Exposé
National Society of Film Critics Awards 2000
- Best Actor ( Russell Crowe )
- Best Supporting Actor ( Christopher Plummer)
Directors Guild of America Awards 2000
- Nominated for: Best Director