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Year One
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Insider, The
EMAILPRINTBuena Vista Pictures

Universal acclaim
Based on 34 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 15 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller
Written by:
Marie Brenner (article The Man Who Knew Too Much)
Eric Roth
Michael Mann
Directed by: Michael Mann
Release Date:
Theatrical: November 5, 1999
DVD: April 11, 2000
Running Time: 160 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for language
Starring Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, and Diane Venora
This is the true story of Jeffrey Wigand (Crowe), the tobacco executive-turned-whistleblower and his relationship with "60 Minutes" producer Lowell Bergman (Pacino).
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Ali Collateral Heat Manhunter Miami Vice Public Enemies
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
With it's dynamite performances, strafing wit and dramatic provocation, The Insider offers Mann at his best -- blood up, unsanitized and unbowed.
Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
A marvelous ensemble cast and all the visceral impact and moment-to-moment tension of a fine thriller, together with the distinctive visual style of an art film.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Excellent acting, a stirring screenplay, and crisply intelligent directing make this fact-based movie a great human drama as well as a riveting and revealing look at crucially important social issues.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
It's a terrific movie -- intelligent, magnificently acted, highly compelling as a thriller, and downright scary in its implications for the corporate-run world of the new millennium.
Read Full Review >Slate David Edelstein
A big, overlong, and rather unwieldy piece of storytelling, but the story it has to tell is so vital that it cuts through all the dramaturgical muddiness. It's a terrific muckraking melodrama--it will get people fuming.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Manohla Dargis
Has the glorious look and immaculate technique we expect from Mann, along with a wealth of superb secondary performances.
Read Full Review >Newsweek David Ansen
Reveals a chilling reality: how hard it is to tell a simple truth when big business doesn't want it told.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
A well-orchestrated nightmare that keeps you on edge until the very end.
Read Full Review >Mr. Showbiz Richard T. Jameson
For two hours and 35 minutes it is absolutely riveting.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Janet Maslin
Is still sleek, gripping entertainment with a raw-nerved, changeable camera style that helps to amplify its meaning.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Corliss
The viewer almost has to be a journalist--or a good editor--to sniff out the meat under all the fat.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
A dead-on tale of corporate power, courage, cowardice and how we live.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
Almost cagily creating understated drama from high-stakes reality.
Read Full Review >USA Today Mike Clark
At its best, hard-hitting grown-up cinema (rare these days) and a movie blessed with a villain (Big Tobacco) for which all gloves can be removed and heaved into the next county.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
This is a first-class muckraking melodrama: an admirable picture.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
A big, bold movie that gets at undeniable truths about the way no one, no matter how powerful, is immune from manipulation.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
Earnest, smart, handsome, well-acted and made with mastery.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson
The final product is great populist entertainment and may even leave audiences with a feeling of comfort, however fleeting, in the knowledge that corrupt corporations don't always win
Read Full Review >TNT RoughCut Tom Cappello
Overall, a solid piece of film that not only entertains but also educates.
Read Full Review >New York Post Jonathan Foreman
A beautifully shot, well-acted movie that manages to make a complicated, real-life story without much drama feel like a thriller.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday
Tells an important story about a story that might never have been told at all.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Few American directors drive this wedge between mind and gut as masterfully as Michael Mann.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
Pacino and Crowe are at their best, but the supporting cast also shines.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
A good but far from great movie because it portrays truth telling in America as far more imperiled than it is.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris
A meticulously assembled dramatization of a grossly controversial moment in TV history.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
An exciting dramatization of the strange events that marked the turning of the legal tide against Big Tobacco, and a particularly dark moment in the annals of CBS News.
Read Full Review >Film.com Sean Means
The insider's view of celebrity in The Insider grabs the spotlight from the real story of Wigand's courage.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Jay Carr
A big, dark juggernaut of a movie about a big, dark juggernaut of a subject.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
It's all a little too polished, a little too smug to be ranked up there as one of the great journalism films.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 15 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Sean K. gave it a10:
My all time favorite film. Mann truly has crafted a masterpiece so brisk bold and utterly electrifying. Pacino and Crowe both give great oscar winning potrayles especially Pacino. The film serves you the truth raw and tantalizing. The plot is one of the most intelligent of our generation giving all the characters a slick and open world to work in. I would highly reccommend this to everyone especially fans of Manns work.
Pat C. gave it a6:
Good show, but takes itself too seriously. It is not possible to dehumanize tobacco companies without disrespecting their customers. Philip Seymor Hoffman would have been better in the role played by Russell Crowe, who was made up to look like, yup, Philip Seymor Hoffman.
Marcus D. gave it an8:
Great performances by Pacino, Crowe, and Venora. Great cinematography, sound, editing, and score. Poorly paced down the stretch.
M Stylez gave it a10:
Genius.
Emery M. gave it a10:
One of the most socially and politcally important films of the last decade. It is a "twofer;" a scathing expose of the tobacco industry and of the media industry. A must see for any thinking person.
W Ross gave it a9:
Brilliant movie. Definately Mann's best movie to date. One of Pacino's best performance in years. Jon C, why don't you go home and watch "Bringing up Baby", you dolt.
J. Ryan G. gave it a9:
An intense, wholly satisfying exercise in empathy and investigation.
