Russell Crowe may be best known for starring in Gladiator (2000), but he has a number of impressive films on his resume dating back to 1990. Notable Crowe movies from the decade include The Sum of Us (1994), The Quick and the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ (1995), and L.A. Confidential (1997), with his first and only collaboration with legendary actor Al Pacino and director Michael Mann arriving in 1999.

Pacino rose to fame in the early ’70s with The Godfather (1972) and its 1974 sequel, paving the way for a number of interesting choices in the 1980s and ’90s. After movies like Scarface (1983), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), and Scent of a Woman (1992), Pacino joined forces with Mann for Heat, the now-iconic 1995 crime thriller costarring Robert De Niro. Mann, who got his start with Thief (1981) before helming films like Manhunter (1986) and The Last of the Mohicans (1992), ᴀssembled both Crowe and Pacino for the acclaimed 1999 conspiracy thriller.

Michael Mann Encourages Audiences To Watch The Insider

The Film Was Underseen At The Time

Michael Mann thinks The Insider

is ripe for rediscovery. Based on a 1996 Vanity Fair article by Marie Brenner, “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” Mann’s 1999 film tells the true story of Jeffrey Wigand, a research chemist who comes under personal and professional attack after he agrees to participate in an exposé about Big Tobacco during a 60 Minutes interview. Crowe plays Wigand opposite Pacino as real-life CBS producer Lowell Bergman, with Christopher Plummer and Philip Baker Hall also starring. The Insider was a critical success, but disappointed at the box office.

In a recent interview with Vulture, Mann is asked to name a film of his that he wishes more audiences would watch, and he picks The Insider. Mann recalls the film being a challenge to put together both from a story and a directing perspective, but he ultimately seems happy with the results and the ideas that the story explores. Check out his answer below:

For me, it’d be The Insider. For myself, that was very challenging. It’s a tense psychological drama that takes place in two hours and 45 minutes. The ambition of it is the challenge: Can I engage and deliver the intensity that Jeffrey Wigand and Lowell Bergman lived through? In Lowell Bergman’s case, your life’s work may be trashed, and you may be excluded. In Jeffrey Wigand’s case, with the ᴀssault upon you and your family, you’re reduced to the edge of suicide.

So, it’s a psychological ᴀssault by your adversaries, and it’s a mortal threat. Both in the construction of the screenplay that Eric Roth and I wrote, but also directorially and cinematically, how was I going to bring the audience into the intensity of that experience? Naturally, it was a wonderful place to push myself into. Personally, I felt that I pushed myself onto a frontier, and I always feel that those are very healthy places to be.

What This Means For The Insider

How The Film Performed

The Insider reviews were glowing from critics. Reviews praised the film’s stellar performances and the construction of its intense corporate-thriller narrative. The Insider enjoys a strong 96% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the audience-driven Popcornmeter score coming just slightly lower at 90%. The Insider was also nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Crowe, and Best Director. It ultimately walked away empty-handed, however.

Unfortunately, the positive reception to The Insider didn’t translate to commercial success either. Reports vary, with some claiming that the film was made for $68 million, while others claim $90 million. In either case, The Insider was a box office let-down, grossing just $60 million worldwide. This marked a noticeable dip after Heat grossed $187 million, and it was followed by another disappointing result for Mann, with his next movie, Ali, also underperforming. Now, as audiences await Mann’s Heat 2, it’s clear that the director thinks The Insider is due for a comeback.

Source: Vulture