Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
A sharply entertaining documentary crime story about Enron’s spectacular collapse and the network of ambition, deception, and institutional complicity behind it.
Overview
A corporate giant's downfall reveals the dark side of ambition and greed.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- incisive
- angry
- political discussion
- business study
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a concise, informative, and highly entertaining investigation of Enron's spectacular corporate failure.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film traces Enron's collapse through executive decisions, accounting practices, market manipulation, and institutional complicity.
The documentary details Enron's manipulation of California's deregulated electricity market for corporate gain.
Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling, Lou Pai, and Andy Fastow are presented through their contrasting personalities, ambitions, and roles in the scandal.
Company videos, recordings, interviews, and public appearances create a contrast between Enron's polished image and its fraudulent practices.
Films like Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, and why
The Corporation
investigative documentary treatment of corporate corruption, institutional complicity, and financial misconduct
Inside Job
chronological examination of economic collapse through corporate decisions, deregulation, and systemic failure
The Big Short
entertaining nonfiction account of powerful institutions, deception, and public consequences
The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley
character-driven financial scandal documentary with an accusatory, sharply analytical tone
Movie Details
- Director
- Alex Gibney
- Release Date
- 2005-04-22
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (307)
Cast
- Peter Coyote
- John Beard
- Jim Chanos
- Dick Cheney
- Carol Coale
- Gray Davis
- Reggie Dees II
- Joseph Dunn
- Max Eberts
- Peter Elkind
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Dox Amazon Channel, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room about?
- A sharply entertaining documentary crime story about Enron’s spectacular collapse and the network of ambition, deception, and institutional complicity behind it.
- What is Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room as mild.
- What did critics think of Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a concise, informative, and highly entertaining investigation of Enron's spectacular corporate failure.
- Which films are like Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room?
- Films with a similar feel include The Corporation, Inside Job, The Big Short, and The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley.
- How long is Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room?
- Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room runs 110 minutes.
- Where can I watch Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room?
- In United States, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Dox Amazon Channel, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel.
