4 Greatest Whistleblower Movies of All-time

August 17th, 2009. By AbiK

You may not agree, but these four movies put the whole concept of whistleblowing and whistleblowers on the map and they brought to life the raw nerve, courage and strength it takes to go up against a major corporation or organization. What’s really great about this list is that each is based on a real-life story. In order of date of release…

1. Serpico.

(1973) Whistleblower: Frank Serpico. The classic Al Pacino. Ok, he had a few other classics as well…Serpico is the story of an undercover cop who’s mostly on the prowl for drug dealers and pushers. Most of his cop buddies are on the take accepting money on the job. Serpico thinks this ain’t right and wants to do something about it. And so he does…

2. Silkwood.

(1983) Whistleblower: Karen Silkwood. Possibly the first movie where we appreciated that Cher could go beyond singing, “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves”. Hey, she did play quite a believable lesbian (and I won’t comment on daughter Chas’ breaking news last week). Of course, the presence of Meryl Streep usually doesn’t hurt at the box office. Streep plays Karen Silkwood who single-handly raises a red flag against Kerr-McGee in Oklahoma. It’s a nuclear plant she works at and she a number of folks she works with become contaminated by radiation…

3. The Insider.

(1999) Whistleblower: Jeffrey Wigand. First off, it’s uncanny how much Russell Crowe looks like the real Jeffrey Wigand…Second off, it’s another Pacino moment. Wigand was a research biologist for Brown & Williamson (of big tobacco fame) when he’s approached by “60 Minutes”. The news show thinks there’s something fishy going on—and they’re right. But they need to persuade Wigand to tell-all about how the tobacco industry knew full-well that cigarettes were both harmful and addictive…

4. Erin Brockovich.

(2000) Whistleblower: Erin Brockovich. Ok, aside from the chatter about Julia Roberts’ low-cut outfits and did she or didn’t she (yes, I’m referring to breast implants) this movie definitely showcased something else the real Erin Brockovich had: a set of you-know-whats. Bottom line is that while Brockovich was working for a law firm, she discovered Pacific Gas & Electric Company was buying up land contaminated by deadly toxic waste and that the company was improperly and illegally dumping and poisoning the residents in the area…

There they are, and they’re the best of the last 4 decades, at least for my money.

Tags: Whistleblowers

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