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 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.

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.

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.

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!