X
- 2013
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 2 h 4 m
- 2013
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 2 h 4 m
Summary In 2009 Alex Gibney was hired to make a film about Lance Armstrong's comeback to cycling. The project was shelved when the doping scandal erupted, and re-opened after Armstrong's confession. [Sony Pictures Classics]
Directed By: Alex Gibney
Written By: Alex Gibney
- 2013
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 2 h 4 m
- 2013
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 2 h 4 m
The Armstrong Lie
67
7.5
Where to Watch
Summary In 2009 Alex Gibney was hired to make a film about Lance Armstrong's comeback to cycling. The project was shelved when the doping scandal erupted, and re-opened after Armstrong's confession. [Sony Pictures Classics]
Directed By: Alex Gibney
Written By: Alex Gibney
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 37 Critic Reviews
67
76% Positive
28 Reviews
28 Reviews
24% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 37 Critic Reviews
67
76% Positive
28 Reviews
28 Reviews
24% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
To use a phrase from the film, The Armstrong Lie is a "myth-buster." It's wholly necessary, brilliantly executed, and a complete bummer.
What will take your breath away is how viciously Armstrong crushed and humiliated anyone who dared to make allegations against him, and that includes former teammates he’d doped with.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 11 User Ratings
7.5
73% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
27% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 11 User Ratings
7.5
73% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
27% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Here is another excellent documentary from Alex Gibney, focusing on one of our era's most fascinating morality tales. I saw another film that was much harsher in its assessment of the great cyclist and cheater Lance Armstong. Gibney had a lot of access to his subject, and his viewpoint is more nuanced. We can see that Armstrong is a complicated man, and that while he clearly lied and connived and meted out revenge to some, he was also a positive presence in many people's lives, and he has done some wonderful charity work. Also, it is important to remember that while Lance was admittedly using banned substances and practices, so was pretty much every other cyclist - they really were all doing it. The film sets out to cover his 2009 attempt at a Tour de France comeback, and ends up doing that and a lot more. As always with Gibney's work, there is some great footage and excellent interviews to take in.
Report
A riveting film from documentary film maker Alex Gibney about 7 times Tour De France winner Lance Armstrong. What started out as a celebration of the man and his achievements became something else entirely when mid production it was revealed that Armstrong had used body enhancing drugs to assist him to those triumphs. The man himself comes over as a paradox, charismatic on one hand, but also Machiavellian and self serving. His life has certainly been eventful, what with his bout with cancer, and one does get a sense that he feels a deep sorrow about the lie that not only crushed him, but also affected the lives of many others. The film pertinently points out that even though his 7 championships were won with the help of drugs, this was in an era when the whole sport was tarnished in this way. It's also interesting to be privy to other smaller corruptions that were taking place on the track, with intense rivalries not just between other teams and individuals, but also between team mates! This is what documentary film making should be all about. It is both Informative and compelling.
Report
Gibney even convinced Armstrong to sit down for one final interview in May. In it, he comes off as somewhat contrite but also victimized, as if he were being single out for something everyone does.
If Gibney was looking for contrition, though, he didn't find it. Armstrong is candid about his doping and his legendary belligerence with the press. But he's confessing, not apologizing. And that "maybe not," mumbled to Oprah, is about as equivocal as he gets — on or off camera.
The Armstrong Lie is thorough, fair and thoughtful. It may not, however, close the book on the scandal.
Given Armstrong’s squirminess on the couch, you’ll wish this profile had traded a portion of its deep background for a little in-the-moment boldness.
There’s so much more to this story — as any number of articles about the people he wronged attest — but this time, Gibney never really gets in gear.
The Armstrong Lie is an allegorical tale of America. Lance Armstrong exhibits phenomenal athletic greatness and Machiavellian villainy. With the complicity of the media, Armstrong shrewdly sells the beautiful lie because that's what people want to believe meanwhile abusing power crushing the weak in order to perpetuate fairy tale. Gibney is a consummate story teller and provides insight into the complex relationships of big money corporate sports in an age of moral relativism.
Report
Cycling and dope and a dude lying through his teeth... on film.
This had me so disliking the person that the mere watching of it further was becoming increasingly difficult. A fabulously made documentary that shows hypocrisy of the highest order.
Report
Just a movie to convince us that we should forgive Armstrong even though he used performance enhancement drugs and lied about it over and over and over. If you want to get a glimpse of arrogance, watch Armstrong in this documentary.
Report
Production Company
Jigsaw Productions,
Matt Tolmach Productions,
The Kennedy/Marshall Company
Release Date Nov 8, 2013
Duration 2 h 4 m
Rating R
Genres
Tagline On October 22, 2012 Lance Armstrong was stripped of the 7 Tour de France titles he won from 1999-2005.
Awards
Golden Trailer Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Port Hueneme International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
London Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
