The Crime of the Century

"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.

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.

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.

Definitely eye opening as I take my Xanax and have a cocktail. It's the sad truth we're all escaping something.

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.