Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

"It’s Just Business."

May 20 2005 R 1h 50m
Biography, Documentary, History

A documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall.

Plot

Enron dives from the seventh largest US company to bankruptcy in less than a year in this tale told chronologically. The emphasis is on human drama, from suicide to 20,000 people sacked: the personalities of Ken Lay (with Falwellesque rectitude), Jeff Skilling (he of big ideas), Lou Pai (gone with $250 M), and Andy Fastow (the dark prince) dominate. Along the way, we watch Enron game California's deregulated electricity market, get a free pass from Arthur Andersen (which okays the dubious mark-to-market accounting), use greed to manipulate banks and brokerages (Merrill Lynch fires the analyst who questions Enron's rise), and hear from both Presidents Bush what great guys these are.

Written by

Alex Gibney, Bethany McLean, Peter Elkind

Directed by

Alex Gibney

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

2929 Productions

Languages

English

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 3 wins & 11 nominations total

Scores
# of Votes
20,605
Average Rating
7.6 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA