Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Theatrical Release: Apr 22, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $3,886,956
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... 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. [More]
Genre: Education/General Interest
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
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.
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.
An expose on how greed, pride, and self-preservation instincts goad ambitious people to the outer capacities of deception and immoral behavior.
Powerful on many levels at once, Enron couldn’t be more necessary as we wade into the muck of a second Bush term.
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.
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.
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