About this episode
The episode discusses Michael Mann's film THE INSIDER and its themes related to the tobacco industry and media.
Even in the famous glut of great movies that came out in 1999, Michael Mann’s THE INSIDER stands out because it works as a great legal thriller/biopic and as something much sadder and more compelling. Jeff Wigand (Russell Crowe) is a poindexter sitting on a story that could take down the third-largest tobacco company in the U.S., and Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) is the 60 Minutes producer who wants to help him get it out there. Abbie believes it’s Mann’s best (just wait ‘til she sees THIEF (1981)!) both because of its mealy newsiness and for much more textural reasons. It’s one of Mann’s last films before his jump to digital, giving him the perfect opportunity to use the beautiful tones of celluloid to close the frame around each scene, creating an increasingly claustrophobic atmosphere as the intersecting forces of Big Tobacco, government, media consolidation, government, and the court of public opinion constrict around Wigand’s masculinity, autonomy, and very life. Find Abbie… On Bluesky On Letterboxd On Trylove episodes about DRIVE ANGRY (2011), WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005), THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999), TOUCH OF EVIL (1958), THE TRAIN (1964), MOULIN ROUGE! (2001), PHANTOM THREAD…
People in this episode
Host: Trylove
Guest: Abbie Phelps
Topics covered
- legal thriller
- biopic
- tobacco industry
- media
- government
- 1999 films
Keywords
- THE INSIDER
- Michael Mann
- Russell Crowe
- Al Pacino
- legal thriller
- biopic
- 1999 films
- tobacco
- media
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: 60 Minutes, Big Tobacco, ICE
Books & works: THE INSIDER, THIEF, DRIVE ANGRY, WAR OF THE WORLDS, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, TOUCH OF EVIL, THE TRAIN, MOULIN ROUGE!, PHANTOM THREAD, STAR WARS
Places: Minnesota, Mpls
More episodes of Trylove
- Episode 386: SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004) with Emma Youndtsmith · June 9, 2026 · 2h 6m
- Episode 385: DRAGNET GIRL (1933) · June 2, 2026 · 1h 10m
- Episode 384: THE BALLAD OF NARAYAMA (1958) · May 26, 2026 · 1h 50m
- Episode 383: SANSHO THE BAILIFF (1954) · May 19, 2026 · 1h 50m
- Episode 382: A HEN IN THE WIND (1948) · May 12, 2026 · 1h 36m
- Episode 381: FAMILY PLOT (1976) · May 5, 2026 · 1h 25m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Trylove podcast page.