The Crime of the Century (TV Mini Series 2021) Poster

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8/10
A Must Watch
born-giantsfan13 May 2021
This is a must watch to better understand the inner working of "big pharma", big bushiness' relationship with our government leaders that continuously sell themselves to the highest bidder, and the dramatic negative impact this relationship has on the US citizens.

Not a lot of the information here is new knowledge having been reported on in the past by others, but this well done documentary puts it together in a way that clearly draws the line between greed and the ruin of many lives in this country.

As someone in a family affected by the opioid epidemic and had read much on the topic, there were even a few eye opening moments during the 2 episodes for me. In our family it started with Oxy being prescribed for simple back pain, something that a much less addictive pain killer would have addressed. This is exactly the wrong doing that has been called out. Oxy and other opioids have a place in medicine, but the over subscribing for mild ailments is what led many housewives, teenagers, etc to become addicted. The pushing of the drug by Purdue and others drug companies, the blatant skirting of regulations by the distributors, and lack of controls at pharmacies (even large corporate ones like CVS) allowed the epidemic to grow faster than any possible containment.

Why only 8 stars then? Because the second episode, in m opinion, spent too much time with some of the characters that were involved in the problem and almost reached a point where it seemed like they were trying to make us feel sorry for some of those that were "caught up" in the selling and pushing of an addictive drug that caused the deaths of so many. That part was a little too much for me.

That said the 2 part series is a must watch.
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8/10
Sure to make your blood boil in disgust (if not despair)
paul-allaer11 May 2021
"The Crime of the Century" (2021 release; 2 parts totaling 230 min.) is a new documentary taking a look at the opioids crisis that has devastated this country. Part 1 (112 min.) takes a look in particular at Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, a company owned by the Sackler family, and how it went about 'persuading' doctors to lavishly prescribe the opioid to anyone needing it or not. The film makers in particular take a close look at the shady business practices and culture that prevails in the company to come up with any and all idea or scheme to outright mislead the outside world, including doctors, about the addictive nature of this opioid.

Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from Oscar winning director Alex Gibney. GIbney has been a man on a mission these last couple of years. In 2019 he directed 2 documentaries ("The Inventor: Out For Blood in Silicon Valley:, "Citizen K") and in 2020 he directed no less than 3 ("Crazy, Not Insane", "Agents of Chaos", and "Totally Under Control"), and frankly each one of them makes for a must-see film. Now comes this devastating look at how one company literally engulfed this country in a health crisis the likes of which we haven't seen in a long time. Frankly, as I was watching this, the only comparison that I could think of is how Big Tobacco cigarette manufacturers in the 1950s and 60s deceived and outright lied to the public at large about the additive nature of smoking, not to mention the deadly nature and consequences of it. "The Crime of the Century" does exactly the same as it relates to Big Pharma opioids, killing hundreds of thousands and ravaging entire communities along the way. There have been many books and films about this subject matter already, but none of them have brought it with the clarity and convincing nature (to the extent that anyone needs convincing about it...) than what Gibney and his team have done here. This movie will enrage you and make your blood boil in utter disgust, if not despair.. And what about the accountability of Purdue Pharma President Richard Sackler? Just watch...

Part 1 of "The Crime of the Century" premiered tonight (Monday 5/10) on HBO and is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming devices. Part 2 will debut tomorrow (Tuesday 5/11) and I can't wait to check that out as well. If you want to get enlightened about the origins of the opioid crisis or you simple are in the mood for an investigative documentary at its very best, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.
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10/10
Brilliant Expose of Corrupt US Culture
goody-4234115 June 2021
Outstanding investigative journalism concerning the deliberate poisoning of US public by a greedy corporate system and the blind eye approach of corrupt government politicians.

If you want to know exactly what is rotten in the USA, then watch this documentary. Truly outstanding.
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10/10
Horrifying
seebecrun12 May 2021
I was left stunned by this documentary. I'm going to watch it again so I can absorb more now that I'm over my initial shock at the greed and lack of humanity in the people involved. I would love to see a follow-up documentary about how it affected individuals lives. This had some of that but I would like to see more. Well done HBO. The way you weaved this story together was amazing. We had some idea of this problem but really knew nothing. Thank you for bringing so much light to this horrific problem. Kudos to the small town doctors that tried to sound off the alarm bell. There's a lot of shame to go around, all for a damn buck.
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10/10
PHENOMINAL
emilygdacosta12 May 2021
This was one of the best written, directed, researched, engaged, and overall impeccable documentary I've seen in a long time!! Absolutely watch it but make sure you aren't already angry or stressed or anxious before watching this doc, itll just make it worse.
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9/10
Lots of blame to go around
emilio-7-29817220 May 2021
In a scene in the second installment of this two-part documentary, the filmmakers follow DEA agents as they raid the house of a man in Lubbock, Texas whom they believe was selling large quantities of fentanyl. That man is eventually arrested and convicted and given a lengthy prison sentence. The arrest, however, is just one part of a much larger story that begins before the raid and continues long after the man begins his sentence.

It starts with the overdose death of a young woman. The investigation into her death and scores of other fentanyl-related deaths leads to an unassuming computer repairman named Caleb Lanier. As much as you'd like to see this man pay for the many deaths that resulted from his actions, you come to realize that he is just another addict. He is a family man whose wife knows nothing about his addiction or his connection to the fentanyl deaths. Caleb Lanier pays the price for his actions. The same can't be said about the pharmaceutical executives, politicians, doctors, sales reps, and pharmacists whose greed and lax oversight led to the epidemic.

The filmmakers trace the origins of the opioid epidemic to a single company - Purdue Pharma. Their success is largely the result of the intervention from an FDA insider who paves the way for the company to introduce OxyContin as an all-purpose pain reliever with a low chance of addiction. Once the company has the blessing of the FDA, they are off and running using bribes, deceptive advertising, and other deceitful tactics to get physicians to over-subscribe the medication.

Other unscrupulous companies such as Insys use similar tactics to introduce even more addictive drugs to an unsuspecting population. Add to this mix a lack of common-sense regulations, politicians who promote bills written by lawyers representing the pharmaceutical companies, all while accepting large campaign donations, and you have the ingredients for a full-scale epidemic that is still causing pain and suffering.

Except for John Kapoor, the CEO of Insys, none of the big Pharma executives receive jail time. They get off scot-free with their billions in sales, leaving behind a trail of destruction and suffering.

As with any good story, there are heroes and villains. The heroes are people like former DEA official Joe Rannazzisi, who tried unsuccessfully to draw attention to the flaws in the bill proposed by Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). The villains are those who turned a blind eye to what was going on because the money was just too good.
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10/10
Mass Murderers Get Slap on the Wrist Because They're Wealthy and Powerful
lenihersh27 June 2021
Is the true title of this exacting complex account of the crimes perpetrated by the Sackler family, Kapoor and others in murdering over half 1 million Americans. They knew there was a statistical certainty that their highly addictive poison would slaughter a certain percentage of users. But they didn't care because they had yachts to buy and museums to put their name on. Business as usual.
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10/10
Extremely Informative and Terrifying!
romanseight23 May 2021
This is the best documentary I have ever seen, and the implications are exponential! I recommend watching it more than once, and taking notes. There is a lot to unpack, so to speak!
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6/10
Interesting, but way too long
droopyn24 September 2021
The topic is nice and interesting for a documentary.

However, I don't understand why it was shot in a 2x2-hour format.

Honestly, 1h30 would have been enough...as you simply don't have material and data for that much (4-hour).

My grade: 5 points for the content 1 point for Michael Jackson who did great music and who was an addict.
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9/10
Fraud, lies and corruption bring in the opinion d crisis
stan_c11 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Episode One of Crime of the Century focuses on OxyContin manufacture Perdue. Without any evidence of the safety of the drug or that it's appropriate for anyone other than terminally ill cancer patients, Perdue works with an FDA staff member to get FDA approval that should never have been given. This corrupt approval paves the way to teams of Perdue sales people to span out and convince doctors to prescribe the drug for pain, not just to terminally ill cancer patients, but to teens and adults with minor pain.

Some of the doctors are totally corrupt, giving prescriptions on demand for any drug. Some of the doctors appear duped by the sales pitches. And when people get addicted, Pharma comes up witch the term "pseudo-addiction." The patients aren't addicted, they claim. They just have a lot of pain and they need more of the drug. Insane.

Once people start taking the drug, they become addicted and often move on to heroin. Blame them for the problem? They were sold on the false premise the drug was safe and virtually non-addicting.

The politicians get involved on the side of Pharma, weakening the laws to protect the public. More become addicted and die.

Settlements don't stop anything and amount to slaps on the wrists.

Rudy Giuliani is even involved hired by, you guessed it, Pharma, to defend its big lie.

Episode Two focus on Insys Therapeutics and the bribes and corruption that occurred there to push their product on the market.

This documentary is forceful, well documented and expertly produced. It will educate and possibly make you sick.
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7/10
Corruption is such a charged word. Democracies prefer lobbying.
tonosov-5123813 November 2023
I think I wouldn't really regard this documentary as anything compelling if not for the second part, where the curtain lifts and you're being shown how all the drugs get peddled on the industrial level, along with the wonderful inner workings of the American system allowing them to do it. Making the poor DEA a butt of the joke yet again, as if they don't have enough problems catching smugglers across the border for almost fifty years, they can't even hold it off on their own territory anymore.

The insistence that Americans are apparently so receptive to pharma marketing that they got gaslighted within a decade into thinking that they need to gulp ten painkillers a day because they got neck plate surgery is well illustrated, even if I still think personal responsibility should be emphasized much more than this documentary allows itself to profess. Something more than just shaking fists at Sacklers, unless you just want to get high without consequences. It also doesn't really demonstrate how a drug brought into public consciousness in the 1990s resulted in an epidemic in mid-2010, skyrocketing overdoses into the absolute stratosphere and putting every other drug to shame. Recreational abuse is a more likely pretext, compounded by fentanyl. And really, fentanyl just made it all irrelevant in the long run. Harp on the big pharma all you want; you can't compete with cartels working with Chinese.
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3/10
Unnecessarily long
garlandsmith16 May 2021
Unnecessarily long, repetitive, one-sided and full of personal opinions.

Please note: this is not a comment on the opioid crisis, just a comment on this documentary.
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9/10
Eye opening
drdeirdremiller30 May 2021
Definitely eye opening as I take my Xanax and have a cocktail. It's the sad truth we're all escaping something.
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10/10
Gibney Exemplifies 'Documentarian'
His bent tends to be a little leftist on occasion; he's a product of the area he dwells- but that aside, if you can see past his need to subtly infuse political agencies, you'll find there's little not to find entrancing in most his films.

This is no exception- many of us could see this blight coming, but few were willing to offer anything resembling pushback. It's quite easy to Monday morning quarterback this after the scourge descends, but quite another to be sounding warning bells and going against pharmaceutical companies, doctors, clinics, etc.

Well worth watching, even though you'll likely find yourself outraged and indignant. Perhaps the next catastrophic moment can be avoided.
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10/10
Honestly, I wish it was longer
katlaurief19 October 2021
Absolutely fascinating (and terrifying)!! I was completely hooked. I've watched plenty of documentaries that I felt were padding their run time, but if anything Crime of the Century could be longer! The scope of information and the multitude of people involved (from the people impacted, to the sales teams, to the DEA) more than fill the runtime with a wild mix of perspectives. I was enthralled!!!
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10/10
Why are Giuliani and/or Trump in every single doc about greed and corruption in America?
Opinate22 May 2021
A: Because they are in it deep.

It is not surprising that Rudy Giuliani shows up as the guy who is defending these evil companies and helping them get away with the poisoning of America for big profit. I wonder if Americans will ever open their eyes and see that the 'dream' they have been sold is a pack of lies. Other countries do not have a business model of selling out their people for the profit of a few scummy criminals.

I love so many American (people, not companies) and it is so difficult to watch these kind, loyal people be duped and killed for profit.
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8/10
I was exhausted at pt 1 but part 2 was even more revelatory!
phlbrq5829 November 2022
I think the low scores are for this being too long. I just dont think they stuck around. Part 1 covers familiar territory covered in Dopesick along with earlier Doc productions. At end of 1, I couldn't imagine what 2 had left to cover. Part 2 covers the detail on distributors and pharma companies imitating Purdue biz model and tactics. It was news for me the doc gets into SEC companies having boiler rooms dedicated to defrauding insurance companies and the intricacies of seducing and bribing medical professionals is detailed here where other sources merely reference.

Without sensationalism Gibney documents a big, depressing account of irresponsible corporate greed and their minion supplicants. Drug dependecy moves to a white, mainstream, population thanks to sophisticated, deceitful marketing. Big, big story.

Profiteers blame it on the moral weakness of its victims. Spit in your hand, swish the pill in spittle , remove the time release coating, Rush Limbaugh taught me that (sorta).

FWIW, 2010-13 i worked in many rural areas VA-ME and kept seeing front page overdose stories, spikes in rates, narcan for cops, etc.
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10/10
Spot On!
lhatf22 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I managed a physician's office during this era. This documentary is 100% spot on. The pharmaceutical representatives that came into the office every day were worse than snake-oil sales people. Big Pharma would send the hottest women, the hottest men, then they would compliment you over and over and over again all while you were getting your free lunch paid for by, you guessed it, Big Pharma. The women looked like prostitutes, and the men like GQ guys. They tried so hard to be your best friend. Then they would set up sponsored, FREE steak and lobster dinners with unlimited cocktails at the best restaurants, as long as someone spoke about the efficacy of the drug they were marketing for five minutes. Let's not even talk about the "free" box-seat tickets they tried to bribe you with. Thank goodness we saw through their BS.

What a sick industry.
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10/10
Shocking
artshaman13 July 2021
Everything I thought I knew about this was just the TIP of the ICEBERG !!!

Shameful. 😥
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1/10
Four Hours of What?
kmr-2230819 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Stating the obvious for four hours??? Why?? To hear themselves talk and see themselves on screen, it seemed to me. There was just nothing else here, but filmmaker ego.

People and companies have always and will always exploit others and situations. The poor, pitiful me I've been shnookered by a pharma premise here is that the addict gets to blame the luxury of being an addict on their dealer. And the taxpayer gets to finance it all AND the Narcan to keep them alive. Who's the real victim here?
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10/10
Exposing corrupt pharma and politicians
seiwonlee10 July 2022
I loved the show because it's an incredible documentary, but also I'm saddened that greedy sucky pharma and politicians are powerfully controlling the narrative as they fill their pockets with profits made from people dying from the horrific opioid crisis. I really do hope these guys get what they deserve in this life or the next. Even hell is too good for Sacklers and John Kapoor...just sheer evil.
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8/10
Not exactly the Documentary of the Century, but not far, either.
ashleyannkennedy14 May 2021
I get that the makers wanted to make this appeal to as wide a base as possible. What I don't get is how they direct us to sympathize with some of the bad guys and let slide some of the more toxic aspects of American culture. I also think some of the content could have been left out because at times it felt like they were beating a dead horse and I'm not sure the people who need to see this are going to sit through 4 hours of information.

That all being said, it is a very important work and was generally well-told and well-produced. It managed to keep (most of) my interest for the entire length. I wanted to punch my tv a lot, which is probably a good sign the makers got out of me the reaction they were looking for.

Highly recommend for anyone and everyone. This story needs to be heard so it isn't repeated, since (spoiler alert) the Sacklers mostly escaped scot free.
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10/10
He who does not know the truth is merely a fool...
tommybonn11 May 2022
...But he who knows it and calls it a lie is a criminal. (Bertolt Brecht) The documentary is certainly one of the best of the last decades. But it also weighs heavily on one. Because the truth is always hard to bear. Especially when you see that those who should be there for the people and protect them, such as doctors or the Ministry of Justice, are involved. This is a must see documentary.
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10/10
American freedom: Heroine for pain, crystal meth for kids
gqwrbjx5 February 2022
It's insane that American doctors prescribe heroine to people with any pain and crystal meth (Adderall is chemicaly the same thing) to kids with hyperactivity or ADHD. I'm so glad that here in Europe we don't have to deal with this. Anyway everyone should see this, it's a very informative and powerful documentary.
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