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MOVIES / ON DVD / ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

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Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)

97%
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91%
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97 %
Reviews Counted: 114 Fresh: 111  Rotten:3 Average Rating: 8.1/10
 
Consensus: A concise, entertaining documentary about the spectacular failure of Enron. A concise, entertaining documentary about the spectacular failure of Enron. more
 
Rated: 15
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Theatrical Release: 28-04-2006
Synopsis:
This searing examination of the Enron accounting scandal reveals the psychology of greed and corporate corruption that facilitated the company's rise to power and also its fall. When Enron went bankrupt in 2001, the principals walked away millionaires--but later faced legal proceedings... [More]
This searing examination of the Enron accounting scandal reveals the psychology of greed and corporate corruption that facilitated the company's rise to power and also its fall. When Enron went bankrupt in 2001, the principals walked away millionaires--but later faced legal proceedings and jail sentences. Meanwhile, many employees and investors were left with nothing, not even their 401k retirement savings. Shedding light on the new economy of the 1990s when predictions and book-cooking flourished without actual profits, the film shows how it was not Enron alone but a network of bankers, traders, and accountants who turned a blind eye to the company's clearly suspicious numbers. CEO Ken Lay and top dogs Jeff Skilling and Andy Fastow give candid interviews that illustrate their skill at deflecting hard questions and egotistically boasting about the company's success. In one of the company's cold and calculated moves--which caused the California power outages, and lead to the ousting of governor Gray Davis--Enron employees are shown laughing at forest fires. Unbelievable footage of employees reveals unbridled greed, lust for risk-taking, and guiltless cheating, all while thinking they could never be caught. Finally, a few brave whistle-blowers stepped forward, including Bethany McLean, author of the Enron novel upon which this film is based, who wrote an article in Fortune magazine calling the company's bluff. A remarkable documentary which packages the events of the scandal into a cohesive story, this is one film not to miss. This film screened in the 2005 SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. [Less]

Genre: Education/General Interest

Director: Alex Gibney
Screenwriter: Alex Gibney
Producer: Joana Vicente, Jason Kliot

DVD Info

Release:

Feb 9, 2008

[DVD Details]

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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01/27/07 05:06 AM
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
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05/06/06 04:03 AM
BBC
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05/06/06 04:03 AM
Empire Magazine
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05/06/06 04:03 AM
Joe Utichi
FilmFocus
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05/06/06 04:03 AM
Philip French
Observer [UK]
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02/09/06 03:17 AM
Time Out
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Besides its essential historical importance, the film is filled with telling, chilling, gripping details.

Full Review | Comment
05/13/05 12:56 AM
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

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Full Review | Comment
11/01/07 03:15 AM
David Ansen
Newsweek
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08/16/07 03:16 AM
Trevor Johnston
Time Out New York
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A fun and demoralizing roller-coaster ride that will whet appetites for the Lay and Skilling debut in court as The Most Nervous Guys in the Room.

Full Review | Comment
03/01/07 03:45 AM
Doris Toumarkine
Film Journal International
N/R

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05/26/06 03:17 AM
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
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05/12/06 03:16 AM
Ken Tucker
New York Magazine
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goes a long way to explain exactly why Enron imploded

Full Review | Comment
01/31/06 09:46 PM
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews
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Fascinante do início ao fim, expõe o caso Enron e todas as suas complexas implicações de maneira didática e bem-humorada, funcionando, ainda, como um fantástico estudo sobre a natureza humana.

| Comment
01/04/06 09:37 PM
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
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The Emperor Has No Energy

Full Review | Comment
12/28/05 07:05 AM
S. James Wegg
JWR
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An expose on how greed, pride, and self-preservation instincts goad ambitious people to the outer capacities of deception and immoral behavior.

Full Review | Comment
12/23/05 06:31 PM
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies
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Powerful on many levels at once, Enron couldn’t be more necessary as we wade into the muck of a second Bush term.

Full Review | Comment
12/06/05 08:04 PM
Peter Hanson
Film Threat
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Enron… is a film of tragic proportions; it sheds light on the venal humanity that led to more than a giant corporate fall – a human tragedy.

Full Review | Comment
10/06/05 04:25 AM
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
N/R

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09/26/05 03:16 AM
Onion AV Club
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The mordant documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room cleverly deconstructs the men who reminded us of the dark side of the American dream.

Full Review | Comment
07/29/05 03:57 AM
Lester Pimentel
PopMatters
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