The Insider (1999)

[Guestx]

I've been going back through Michael Mann's filmography and tonight I got to The Insider.

This is a fucking good film. In fact, while Heat is held up as as the pinnacle of Mann's creative powers, I think that The Insider is just as good of a film as Heat is. Very different obviously, but just as well crafted and as interesting.

Russell Crowe, Al Pacino and Christopher Plummer all kill it, and regarding Pacino specifically it reminds you that there really was a time when the guy was a damn fine actor and didn't just seem to be going through the motions.

I have long had a personal interest in the news business, and I still DVR 60 Minutes every week and do my best to get around to watching it, so for me it had an extra bit of oomph that it might lack for some people. I guess if this film was made today the storyline might raise some eyebrows--especially if you discount the fact that it's based on a true story--since 60 Minutes has lost considerable cultural cachet in the past couple of decades, but in 1999 it still made sense that someone could appear on a popular TV newsmagazine like that and have a huge impact.

Anyone have thoughts on this film? @Peteyandjia and @Secret Agent, where are you guys at with this one?

 

[BisexualMMA]

...and regarding Pacino specifically it reminds you that there really was a time when the guy was a damn fine actor and didn't just seem to be going through the motions.

Hopefully you don't have to start your filmography with The Insider to come to this conclusion about Al Pacino. This film came after 25+ years of some of the best acting the world has ever seen.

 

[Guestx]

Hopefully you don't have to start your filmography with The Insider to come to this conclusion about Al Pacino. This film came after 25+ years of some of the best acting the world has ever seen.

Well we've talked about this before. I would say The Insider and Any Given Sunday kind of represent the end of an era, as it was soon after that he seemed to just be showing up for a paycheck. Or maybe it's that he made poor choices regarding the films he chose to appear in, I'm not sure exactly which it is. Or maybe some of both.

You have any other thoughts on The Insider?

 

[Fluffernutter]

My favorite part of the Insider is the fact that a guy with decades of work as a chemist for a cooperation, he was able to retire and become a teacher.

I'd like to see more retired professionals as teachers.

 

[BisexualMMA]

Well we've talked about this before. I would say The Insider and Any Given Sunday kind of represent the end of an era, as it was soon after that he seemed to just be showing up for a paycheck. Or maybe it's that he made poor choices regarding the films he chose to appear in, I'm not sure exactly which it is. Or maybe some of both.

You have any other thoughts on The Insider?

Not really, but Pacino has actually been putting some effort in with character movies like Manglehorn or real-life stories like You Don't Know Jack. I have reasonably high hopes for Paterno.

Yeah, he farts out garbage like Misconduct for the easy buck, but he does still take on projects that make him work.

 

[Guestx]

Not really, but Pacino has actually been putting some effort in with character movies like Manglehorn or real-life stories like You Don't Know Jack. I have reasonably high hopes for Paterno.

Yeah, he farts out garbage like Misconduct for the easy buck, but he does still take on projects that make him work.

What do you think about The Insider as a Michael Mann movie?

I think that, similar to Last of the Mohicans, of all his films it is one that has some of the least obvious fingerprints. I can still see it a bit in the way he frames certain shots, especially his use of close-ups where he gets right up in someone's fucking face, which he loves to do for some reason, but all in all it doesn't really feel like a Michael Mann movie to me.

 

[BisexualMMA]

What do you think about The Insider as a Michael Mann movie?

I think that, similar to Last of the Mohicans, of all his films it is one that has some of the least obvious fingerprints. I can still see it a bit in the way he frames certain shots, especially his use of close-ups where he gets right up in someone's fucking face, which he loves to do for some reason, but all in all it doesn't really feel like a Michael Mann movie to me.

I saw it almost 20 years ago. Still, I usually retain details better than I do with this film. I'll agree that it doesn't really fit the Heat / Collateral / Miami Vice motif in terms of style, but I would need to revisit it to talk intelligently about it.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

yes but how does it compare to his role as Lips Manlis in Dick Tracy?

 

[ThulsaDooom]

Great movie. Infuriating at times because of what people in power get away with and/or are too scared to do the right thing.

I'd like to see more retired professionals as teachers.

As long as they actually give a shit about education as opposed to a large number of my professors who were former professionals in their field and couldn't teach at all.

 

[splendica]

I remember watching it back in the day and thinking it was good . . . But I can't remember it for the life of me. Doh!

 

[Peteyandjia]

Really good movie, not in my top 5 of his work. I'm probably due for a revisit on this one though, haven't seen it in a zillion years.

War Michael Mann Actual Film Films

 

[Coconut Joe]

I've been going back through Michael Mann's filmography and tonight I got to The Insider.

This is a fucking good film. In fact, while Heat is held up as as the pinnacle of Mann's creative powers, I think that The Insider is just as good of a film as Heat is. Very different obviously, but just as well crafted and as interesting.

Russell Crowe, Al Pacino and Christopher Plummer all kill it, and regarding Pacino specifically it reminds you that there really was a time when the guy was a damn fine actor and didn't just seem to be going through the motions.

I have long had a personal interest in the news business, and I still DVR 60 Minutes every week and do my best to get around to watching it, so for me it had an extra bit of oomph that it might lack for some people. I guess if this film was made today the storyline might raise some eyebrows--especially if you discount the fact that it's based on a true story--since 60 Minutes has lost considerable cultural cachet in the past couple of decades, but in 1999 it still made sense that someone could appear on a popular TV newsmagazine like that and have a huge impact.

Anyone have thoughts on this film? @Peteyandjia and @Secret Agent, where are you guys at with this one?

The Insider: 6/10

 

[weich]

I saw it for the first time last year. I think it's a really good movie. It's not particularly entertaining though so I don't think I'll watch too many times but I'm glad it was made.

 

[minute bull]

I think Jeffrey Wigand and Lowell Bergman stand as Mann's noblest characters. They're both exceptional at what they do and what they do is controlled by greater antagonistic forces that fuck them over. Unlike most Mann men what they do isn't holding guns nor is it dealing with the mythical underbelly of Mann's blue and black universe. Another departure from Mann's poetic-yet-grounded-in-reality optics takes place at Wigand's lowest point and CGI takes over his morose perspective. Because there are no guns and, well, no direct physical conflict -- the pressures and adversity get to showcased artsily-fartsily. This surreal perspective may seem out-of-place for a Mann stylization, but MANHUNTER does the same thing except without CGI. He usually uses external set-pieces to mirror internal struggles, but it's not beyond him to turn an abstract eye.

Everyone's wearing a huge-ass suit tho.

 

[Guestx]

I saw it for the first time last year. I think it's a really good movie. It's not particularly entertaining though so I don't think I'll watch too many times but I'm glad it was made.

Can you explain "not particularly entertaining"? I was locked in and attentive from start to finish and not a lot of movies are able to do that.

 

[Anung Un Rama]

Love this movie. Probably my favorite genre (investigative journalism) after interracial midget gangbang.

 

[Guestx]

Love this movie. Probably my favorite genre (investigative journalism) after interracial midget gangbang.

LOL

@ufcfan4 and I were just recently discussing films that involve investigative journalism and that make the research process look interesting. We talked about Spotlight and Zodiac, for instance.

What movies can you add to that list?

 

[Jack Reacheround]

Yeah, this is a great film. I remember seeing it on hbo a long time ago, having never heard of it, and really enjoying it.

 

[volodya]

LOL

@ufcfan4 and I were just recently discussing films that involve investigative journalism and that make the research process look interesting. We talked about Spotlight and Zodiac, for instance.

What movies can you add to that list?

I really enjoy the pelican brief

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

Hopefully you don't have to start your filmography with The Insider to come to this conclusion about Al Pacino. This film came after 25+ years of some of the best acting the world has ever seen.

Scent of a Woman came out in 92