Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
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The inside story behind the most infamous corporate fraud of all time - the Enron scandal - has been brought to light in a fascinating documentary. In the year 2001, Enron was ranked as the sixth largest corporation in the world, but before the year was out, the company was rocked by scandal and filed for bankruptcy. Millions of people lost their life savings, and thousands of employees lost their jobs. A suspenseful, darkly comic and ultimately tragic behind-the-scenes story of one of history's greatest business scandals.
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Rated:
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[ M ]
MODERATE COARSE LANGUAGE, MODERATE SEXUAL REFERENCES, ADULT THEME
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Cinema release:
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13 Oct 2005
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Director:
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Alex Gibney
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Running time:
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105 mins
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Stars:
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Ken Lay
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Links:
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Official Site
IMDb
Rotten Tomatoes
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What we say
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Enron doco begs us to 'Ask Why'
The Enron scandal is a story so grand that not even the most creative writers in Hollywood could script it.
Between 1985 and 2000, energy company Enron grew to become the seventh largest company in America. CEO Kenneth Lay, along with his right-hand man Jeff Skilling, convinced the market that Enron was bringing in massive profits and stock prices soared as a result.
In 2001, Enron declared bankruptcy and one of the biggest frauds in economic history was exposed - Lay and his team of executives had simply 'made up' the company's profit figures, pocketing millions in the process and finally leaving thousands of employees and shareholders without a cent.
Based on the best-selling book by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" provides a detailed chronicle of the scandal that captured the attention of the world.
Director Alex Gibney uses file records, interviews with industry experts and former employees, company audio and videotapes to piece together a harrowing story of corporate greed. "Enron" plays out like a horror movie.
Like Michael Moore's documentaries "Bowling for Columbine" and "Fahrenheit 9/11", Gibney's film is laced with black comedy. This is a one-sided account, but given the subject matter it is hard to see a counter-argument.
"Enron" is wonderfully directed; Gibney structures the wealth of information into a digestible format so that audiences who know nothing about the economy or the Enron scandal can still follow the chain of events.
The film's pop soundtrack, including Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man", Matt Hauser's "The Ship is Sinking" and Marilyn Manson's "Sweet Dreams", add a tongue-in-cheek flavour to proceedings.
"Enron" builds to a tense and infuriating climax as company traders manipulate the California energy crisis of 2000, knowingly extracting hundreds of millions of dollars out of the crippled state.
This is one of the year's must-see documentaries. Gibney identifies the irony in Enron's advertising slogan "Ask Why" and begs audiences to question authority so that he won't have to make a sequel.
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What you say
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Add a review
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What you say
Terrifying! Scarier than Texas Chainsaw Massacre!
If a man goes out one day, buys a gun and shoots someone he spends the rest of his life in jail.
If a man creates a corporate empire based on lies and deceit, ruining the lives of hundreds of thousands of small time investors to engourge his own wealth, he runs the risk of losing his job.
I followed the Enron collapse in the news and never heard about some of the amazing events depicted in this film. The film highlights the full level of morally criminal conduct by so many businesses to cover up Enron's failings for thier own financial gain it truly is astounding.
Serious
Melbourne, VIC
9 Oct 2005
Chilling warning for corporate Australia
Even if you know next to nothing about the Enron scandal, you will be drawn into this tale of greed and corruption.
Alex Gibney has managed to access an astonishing array of material that gives us an insider's view into a tale of unquenchable lust for wealth and power. A lust displayed not only by the two main players but many others at all levels of the corporate structure. I viewed this with a group of hardened industry professionals and I heard more than the occasional audible gasp of disbelief.
This film is fascinating and horrifying at the same time. The audio of the traders' telephone conversations as they take Californian power plants off-line and the footage of the empty Enron offices post-collapse, are just some of the lasting memories you will take away from the film. They may also trigger some thoughts about your own place in corporate Australia, be it as an investor or end user, or as part of the infrastructure.
This film does not tell the whole story by any means, and doesn't pretend to do so, but it is a start.
Even if you're not into documentaries, think about seeing this one. Scarier than your average gory horror flick... because this is the real thing.
Bella
Sydney, NSW
25 Sep 2005
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