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Miniseries – The Crime of the Century

Play trailer 2:31 Poster for Miniseries – The Crime of the Century May 2021 Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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95% Tomatometer 19 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Whistleblowers, insiders, newly leaked documents, behind-the-scenes access to investigations and exclusive interviews offer insights into Big Pharma, political operatives and governmental regulations that affected distribution of synthetic opiates.
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The Crime of the Century — Miniseries

The Crime of the Century — Miniseries

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Critics Consensus

Difficult, but necessary, The Crime of the Century interrogates the origins of the opioid crisis, raising big questions that will likely leave viewers wondering why something hasn't been done about this sooner.

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Critics Reviews

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Christy Lemire FilmWeek (LAist) 05/13/2021
Only Alex Gibney can get his arms around the behemoth that is the opioid crisis in America... It will open your eyes and make you angry. Go to Full Review
Saloni Gajjar AV Club 05/11/2021
B+
The Crime Of The Century isn't about the victims of the opioid crisis but the villains of this situation, offering a much-needed look into how intense marketing pushes and fraudulent insurance claims helped cause this chaos in the first place. Go to Full Review
Daniel Fienberg The Hollywood Reporter 05/11/2021
The Crime of the Century is good instead of great, which could be the lede to many Alex Gibney documentary reviews. Go to Full Review
Sarah Knight Adamson Sarah's Backstage Pass 06/09/2021
4/4
An excellent series be prepared to be angry, vindicated, and relieved. I highly recommend that you view both parts as the information you'll gain is noteworthy. Go to Full Review
Glenn Dunks The Film Experience 05/29/2021
Naturally, it all comes down to capitalistic greed. You probably didn't need me-or Gibney for that matter-to tell you that. But it does bear repeating. And over its four-hour runtime there are certainly plenty of opportunities to do so. Go to Full Review
Rich Cline Shadows on the Wall 05/20/2021
4/5
Expertly shot and edited, the longer format allows Gibney to include eye-opening details that keep the film entertaining and emotionally powerful. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Martin B @MB12345474 Jun 20 Extraordinarily well put together. This documentary gives a clear, fair and factual account of how the Sackler family committed mass murder and bought off elected officials. The corruption of the US government is shown to get even worse as elected officials are bribed to enable the fentanyl crisis. The film also shows that medical doctors can also be serial killers but exempt from criminality when protected by supplier companies that bribe US lawmakers (ex. Lynn Webster). See more Nawt W @RT94004908 12/30/2023 The insistence that Americans are apparently so receptive to pharma marketing that they got gaslighted within a decade into thinking that they need to gulp ten painkillers a day because they got neck plate surgery is well illustrated, even if I still think personal responsibility should be emphasized much more than this documentary allows itself to profess. See more Maine C @RT42364095 08/30/2023 The perpetrators of the opioid epidemic are not faceless criminals in China or Mexico. They are the profiteers of US Big Pharma. All 3 branches of US government are complicit. Where are all the politician's who want to put drug dealers on death's row while Kapoor got away with only 5 1/2 years and delayed the start of his sentence. See more 07/28/2022 This is the sort of thing that makes you angry. It roughly tracks with what I'd read elsewhere. Another of many examples of greed and companies buying the regulators in Congress or affecting the staffing or policies of a government agency whose purpose is to regulate or prevent whatever it is that they're trying to do. It could have been told in half the time. The basic facts of who did what are what's important. To get the points across, audience doesn't need to see lots of minutes of video of sting operations or individual conversations that are similar to others. See more 09/02/2021 Great dive into the weeds of the American opioid crisis. Needs a Season 2 followup that tracks the legal and political developments. See more 05/21/2021 Las investigaciones de Gibney son increíbles, impresionantes e impactantes. Esta investigación sobre la epidemia de opioides, que ha matado millones de personas en EUA, deja ver como el opio (heroína) se a comercializado en ese país (y muchos otros) de forma "legal", en forma de oxicodona, y ha arrasado millones de vidas con el visto bueno del gobierno y bajo el mando de la farmacéutica Purdue, de la familia Sackler, que se tapó en billete con este veneno (y se sigue tapando). Impresionante trabajo que deja ver de nuevo el nivel de corrupción global en que vivimos y lo podrido de las farmacéuticas. See more Read all reviews
The Crime of the Century — Miniseries

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Episodes

Episode 1 Aired May 10, 2021 Part One Examining the inner workings at Purdue Pharma and the FDA, as well as the campaign to redefine pain and its treatment. Details Episode 2 Aired May 11, 2021 Part Two Mass marketing of synthetic opioids; connections between drug manufacturers and government policy; examining promotional materials. Details
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Season Info

Director
Alex Gibney
Executive Producer
Nancy Abraham, Aaron Fishman, Lisa Heller, Todd Hoffman, Stacey Offman, Richard Perello
Network
HBO
Rating
TV-MA
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date
May 10, 2021