“We are in the nicotine delivery business”

Nowadays, it’s no secret that cigarettes are bad for you and are addictive. In reality, this information was only confirmed to the public about 15+ years ago. The story as to how it happened is just as interesting than the secret that was being kept.

The movie is directed by Michael Mann and he’s done such excellent films as Heat and Collateral. Eric Roth and Michael Mann adapted the screenplay from a Vanity Fair article called “The Man Who Knew Too Much” by Marie Brenner. The film stars Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, and Diane Venora. Like most of Mann’s films, he puts together a cast that deliver such a powerful performance, there really aren’t many better choices than this.

In the mid-90s, Jeffrey Wigand (Crowe) was fired from his position at Brown & Williamson and hasn’t told his wife (Venora) yet. Unfortuanly for him, she first finds out when she finds his office things in his car outside of their beautiful Louisville home. In California, Lowell Bergman (Pacino), who is the producer for 60 minutes, is in charge of gathering the information for segments of the show. He works with the journalist Mike Wallace (Plummer) and brings the ideas for the show to him with a team for review. Bergman was sent an anonymous package full of documents about the tobacco giant, Philip Morris. He needs to find someone who can break down the information for the average person to understand so his friend at the FDA suggests Wigand. After he finally convinces him to meet at a Hotel in Louisville, Wigand agrees to help but he explains that he can’t talk about anything but the files because of his confidentiality agreement from his previous employer. Soon after, Wigand is asked back into the office of his old employer to sign an more concrete agreement and he feels that Bergman has revealed him as a source. Bergman tells him to that he needs to trust him and assures him that he would never betray him. Bergman has this sneaky suspicion that there is more to Wegand’s story than he’s letting on and he wants to know what it is.

Wigand goes on to explain that he feels the seven CEO s of Big Tobacco have purged themselves to congress about whether they knew that nicotine is addictive or not. Just while talking it through, that’s when he decides that he needs to drop the dime on the companies. After that, the Wigand family’s life takes a turn.

I don’t want to go into more depth than that and ruin the story that unfolds. These were “Ordinary people under extraordinary pressure” and they were getting bombarded from all directions. There were really no limits as to how far the big companies were willing to go to try and bury the story.

The video transfer is in 1080p AVC and it shows. The detailing is sharp in every frame regardless of the lighting changes from scene to scene. For example, in a scene when Pacino’s character is in his home in sunlight, the transfer is so rich with details, the dust in the air is clearly visible. The film goes from the middle-east to the southern states with all types of different weather conditions. With that, the coloring is completely natural and the contrasting is spot on throughout. Michael Mann changes his filmning style and their filters with the mood of the scene. I only mention this because the remaster was done with such care, I really have no big complaints worth mentioning. The release completely impressed me and it’s definitely par with blu-ray standards.

The sound is DTS-HD Master Audio and its nicely done for a drama. It’s a 5.1 channel track that uses every channel well most of the time. There is some nice bass with the score and certain sound effects but obviously nothing over the top with there being to action or explosions. The rear speakers in particular really have a wonderful depth during the music and some of the weather scenes but falls a little short during your average scene. Almost as if the track goes down to a mono speakers. Overall, the audio isn’t a blemish on the release or a reason not to watch it.

There is only one special feature on the release and it’s not what I was hoping to get. The film has such an interesting true story that I was hoping to see more about the real players involved or even the original 60 minutes broadcast. It really is a let down to have very little in supplements about a case that changed an industry.

Supplements
Commentary with Al Pacino and Russell Crowe- this is a feature length commentary with the two stars of the film.

Inside a scene- this is a brief featurette about the actors playing the people, the directors speaks a little and they show the real people that were involved.

Original Theatrical Trailer

Edition Ratings
Rated R

Disc Details
1999 157 mins

Region
Region Free

Video Resolution
1080p AVC

Audio
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles
English SDH
French
Spanish

This is an superb film and it didn’t disappointment me in the slightest. I only regret never seeing this film before now and it’s nominations in 1999 were well deserved. The film completely draws you in with the excellent story telling and incredible acting. On the other hand, I’m also glad that the release was done so well or, for me anyway, it may have taken away from the film. What can I say? I’m a sucker for HD. With that being said, there are so many reasons why I recommend picking this up if you’re a Pacino or Crowe fan, you like Michael Mann, or just love a good drama. It’s worth getting and make sure it’s on blu-ray.

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