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| Kristin Davis – Best known as the "Madam" to countless investment bankers, Davis was convicted of promoting prostitution and served 4 months on Riker's Island. |
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| Daniel Alpert – Founding Managing Director of Westwood Capital with more than 30 years of investment banking experience, and a frequent commentator on economic policy and financial regulation. |
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| Eliot Spitzer – Lawyer and former politician. He served as the 54th Governor of New York (Democrat) from January 2007 until his resignation on March 17, 2008. Prior to being elected governor, Spitzer served as New York State Attorney General. While serving as attorney general, Spitzer initiated a series of major lawsuits against all of the major U.S. investment banks, alleging fraud in their handling of stock recommendations, which resulted in settlements totaling $1.4 billion. |
Reviews
You don't have to know the difference between a credit default swap and a collateralized debt obligation to feel enraged anew by "Inside Job," Charles Ferguson's thorough dissection of the country's economic collapse of 2008.
As he did with his first documentary, the Oscar-nominated "No End in Sight," Ferguson takes an unwieldy topic and makes it accessible -- regardless of whether viewers are already well-versed in it or can't stand to follow every development. But that 2007 film was more specific: a meticulously researched look at the U.S. occupation of Iraq. "Inside Job" is about a financial crisis that has touched every American's life and reverberated around the world. Ferguson's reach likewise is global, featuring stories, footage and expert interviews from Iceland, France, Singapore and points in between.
Still, it's a daunting topic, but with the help of user-friendly graphics and Matt Damon's narration, Ferguson breaks down the meltdown into digestible terms without ever condescending. At the same time, he's managed to make a potentially dry, headache-inducing subject cinematic: "Inside Job" is gorgeous to look at, shiny and crisp with gleaming cinematography. His title sequence, featuring aerial shots of the Manhattan skyline with Peter Gabriel's "Big Time" blaring behind them, starts things out on a catchy, splashy note. (And come to think of it, his opening isn't too dissimilar from the start of Oliver Stone's timely sequel, "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.") At the end, though, the image of the Statue of Liberty is a little facile, especially compared to all the complex ideas and discussions that preceded it.
By Christy Lemire, from Associated Press
What happened?
What hit us?
How did things go so horribly wrong?
You have questions, "Inside Job" has answers. After watching Charles Ferguson's powerhouse documentary about the global economic crisis, you will more than understand what went down — you will be thunderstruck and boiling with rage.
For this smart and confident film, thick with useful information conveyed with cinematic verve, lays out in comprehensive but always understandable detail the argument that the meltdown of 2008 was no unfortunate accident. Rather, the film posits, it was the result of an out-of-control finance industry that took unethical advantage of decades of deregulation. It's enough to make you want to keep your money in a mattress.
By Kenneth Turan, from Los Angeles Times
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