Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room DVD, 2005

This fascinating film concerns Enron, the infamous American energy corporation that went bankrupt in spectacular fashion amidst such incredible tales of wrong-doing that it called into question the ethics and working practices of all corporate America. Things started well for them - Enron's success came from riding the tidal wave of money that followed the deregulation of the natural gas industry in America. But by the end they were so desperate to keep their golden-goose/runaway-train a-running that they turned to deliberately causing black-outs across California to drive up electricity prices, eventually costing California $30 billion and voting Mr Schwarzenegger into office.
What makes the film work so unexpectedly well is that it focuses on the people, and crucially the bosses who ran Enron, creating a human story of greed and pride. The film also goes beyond simply guiding the viewer though the events, concepts and creative accountancy (all of which it does very well). It also looks at the reasons why so many people colluded in this massive fraud, which involved hundreds of people and many major banks.

Dan Hunter on 11th August 2006
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