The Film
While Oliver Stone attempted to fictionalize the world economic crisis in his film Wall Street, Money Never Sleeps, the documentary Inside Job cuts to the core. As a film it tries to get to the root of the cause, noting that greed, along with the lack of government oversight and regulation are to blame. Numerous individuals are interviewed, but as many parties refused to comment on camera, the end result still doesn't seem to be the most even take on the situation.
As a result Inside Job suggests that many parties are at fault for the economic crash - Past Presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W Bush and of course Barak Obama, as well as Wall Street insiders, bankers and even regulators - but in the end this one tries to let off the investors, as well as those who took out the loans themselves. In the end many fingers are pointed but not necessarily in all the right directions.
The Picture
As with many documentaries the picture quality varies. Some of the material is decades old, and this is a stark contrast with the more recent interviews. These modern interviews are fairly consistent, and the film makers did a good job of keeping the lighting, color and contrast level consistent. Thus the 2.35:1 presentation looks reasonably good - complemented by the use of stock footage of London, New York and other financial centers around the world. This one doesn't have a lot of eye candy, but what there is looks very good on the Blu-ray.
The Sound
The sound is also fairly good. The audio is consistent from beginning to end, and other than a few moments where a source literally "called in" for his interview the dialog is clear without any distortion or interference. The 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is overkill as other than a few musical pieces there isn't much in the way of even stereo sound. Likewise, Matt Damon does a good job narrating, but he isn't the best choice for a film of this nature.
The Extras
Much is made in the film about Wall Street bonuses, and this Blu-ray doesn't come close to having bonuses that are near that impressive. There are actually more than a few "deleted scenes" with some of the financial insiders and other experts who were interviewed included from more than an hour of cut footage, but outside the context of the film, the material is a bit hard to follow. About the most interesting aspect of including the deleted bits is to show would-be film makers how to pick and choose the best segments. It should also serve to show how easy it is to pick and choose just the right quotes to make those interviewed appear to say what you really want them to say.
The commentary with director Charles Ferguson and producer Audrey Marrs is also a bit of overkill - documentaries really don't benefit from this insight, nor do they need a making of featurette, and the one included shows why. The film should stand on its own, and seeing a making-of really doesn't shed much new light on the subject.
Final Thoughts
With the economy seemingly recovering - at least as the Dow has passed 12,000 and is riding toward 13,000 - but with much of the country still not feeling it, this film might actually hit home for many viewers. The problem is that it puts the blame on those who lost the money, and fails to note that it was still those who couldn't afford the houses they were buying that contributed toward the collapse. Worse too, with Matt Damon narrating and this film including several high profile songs including "Big Time" by Peter Gabriel, it is hard not to notice a little excess even in a film about the culture of excess.
Product Details
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