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The Spider's Web: Britain's Second Empire

  • TV Movie
  • 2017
  • TV-PG
  • 1h 20m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
The Spider's Web: Britain's Second Empire (2017)
Documentary

How Britain transformed from an imperial power to a financial power.How Britain transformed from an imperial power to a financial power.How Britain transformed from an imperial power to a financial power.

  • Director
    • Michael Oswald
  • Writer
    • Michael Oswald
  • Stars
    • Joel Benjamin
    • Peter Cain
    • John Christensen
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    1.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Michael Oswald
    • Writer
      • Michael Oswald
    • Stars
      • Joel Benjamin
      • Peter Cain
      • John Christensen
    • 8User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Top cast15

    Edit
    Joel Benjamin
    • Self
    Peter Cain
    • Self
    John Christensen
    • Self
    Alex Cobham
    • Self
    Paul Gilbert
    • Self
    Michael Hudson
    • Self
    Eva Joly
    • Self
    Paula Edda Klein
    • Narrator (german)
    Ronen Palan
    • Self
    Andrew Piper
    • Narrator
    • (voice)
    Nicholas Shaxson
    • Self
    Prem Sikka
    • Self
    Susan Steed
    • Self
    Stuart Syvret
    • Self
    Attiya Waris
    • Self
    • Director
      • Michael Oswald
    • Writer
      • Michael Oswald
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews8

    7.71.1K
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    Featured reviews

    7yavoyavo

    Interesting but superficial look into the shadow financial system

    There is a shadow financial system that spans the globe, sure, everyone knows this at some level, its why we joke about off shore accounts, but why is the question they don't want to answer because the perspective is reflexively left wing. The awful truth is this is what allows us to indulge in the fiction of democracy as the flaw is once those who don't pay net taxes decide to tax those who do, it becomes theft and the productive either seek to escape or allowances are made to keep them as they hold up the system. This is why the narrative is a distortion, even in the UK, despite the claims of evasion, the rich still pay the vast majority of all taxes. The politicians and the elite juggle the laffer curve with the demands of the populous and the shadow financial network enables the lie.
    10harjinder_singh_khalsa

    Everyone needs to watch

    Why democracy is a sham. Laws to defraud the masses & keep the elite, elite.

    If you know enough about world politics & International relations, a lot that you fear about inequity & injustice will become clearer after viewing this documentary.
    10ekamanoieau

    Something We Should All See

    I was astounded by this documentary, presenting beyond a shadow of a doubt the rampant theft being perpetrated by the economic and political establishment of the UK.

    The narration, production, and music were all on point but above all this is a documentary of content, and if you wonder why so much is wrong with the world, this will provide you with a good portion of the answer.
    9siderite

    Full of novel information it shines light on how the world is run. Can't do much about it, though.

    One of the thrills of my childhood was to watch political thrillers, the French ones in particular, because they would be merciless. In the end the hero would die without accomplishing anything more than our entertainment and the death and suffering of everyone he loves. Americans like to finish with a completely unlikely happy ending (pardon the pun), but the gist of it remains the same: there is no way a normal human being can do anything about this.

    Now here comes a documentary that gave me kind of the same feeling when I am an adult, describing how the city within a city, hiding in plain sight and dealing in the shadow, controls most of the planet's finances through offshore colonies that are getting too fat to ever want to escape colonialism. And it's not a conspiracy theory documentary, either, it's just facts. Imagine little ants doing a docu about how brazenly elephants walk around the world, smashing ant hills indiscriminately and with impunity and you get the image of what this film is about. But it's extremely informative and frankly explains a lot of the behavior of politicians in countries such as the U. K. and the U. S. as well as the mechanisms that led to the current global crisis.

    You see, when you are rich and lazy, you stop producing, you just handle the money like a boss. Or like a bank. Or like old decrepit money. It's called financialization, a new step of evolution for rich countries, moving from industrialization to just shifting money about and stealing, consuming, buying and selling the resources of others. Once the supply chains are disrupted, though, they are as useful as a crusty old lord during a zombie invasion.

    Brexit makes sense now, why would a small island want to become even more insular? Because they have the money. Even stuff like the sudden aggression against China are easily explainable now. No one cares what they do to their citizens or who they invade. They do care about becoming an alternative to a virtual and hidden economic system that sustains the great powers. You learn stuff like how Africa has 5 times more resources in anonymous offshore accounts than it has international debt; they are effectively creditors for the world.

    Bottom line: a must watch and a good starting point for examining what the world is really about. Also, why you can't do anything about it.
    5arpi-2

    Serious problem but bad narrative.

    I don't deny that the the problem of tax-heavens is serious.

    I don't deny that hilarious amounts of income evade taxation.

    I don't deny the role of City od London.

    However the document is poor:
    • instead of explaining the schemes it provides repeated statements
    • instead of providing diagrams it shows same visuals from the streets
    • instead proposing solutions it just moans how bad it is.


    Summary: Boring, without intellectual depth, sighted from single perspective. Important subject that was just wasted.

    Brings more damage to the cause it was supposed to aid.

    I expected it to be eye-opener, buy just lost an hour.

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • June 12, 2022 (Norway)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Facebook
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      • 1h 20m(80 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo

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