The film stars Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, Bruce McGill, Diane Venora and Michael Gambon.

Although not a box-office success, The Insider received acclaim from critics, who praised Crowe's portrayal of Wigand and Mann's direction.

CBS producer Lowell Bergman convinces the founder of Hezbollah, Sheikh Fadlallah, to grant an interview to Mike Wallace for 60 Minutes.

Wallace and Bergman firmly stand their ground against the Sheikh's armed and hostile bodyguards, who attempt to intimidate and disrupt their interview preparations.

Although Wigand apparently possesses very damaging information, he hesitates to reveal anything, fearing that it will jeopardize his severance package from Brown & Williamson.

He convinces the Journal's editor to delay publication and assign journalists to investigate the dossier, claiming that it falsely quotes its sources.

Hewitt accuses Bergman of betraying CBS, but finds that Wallace now agrees that bowing to corporate pressure was a mistake.

[4] The Insider is adapted from "The Man Who Knew Too Much", an influential article on tobacco industry whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand, written by journalist Marie Brenner for the May 1996 issue of Vanity Fair.

[6] The Insider was released in 1,809 theaters on November 5, 1999, where it grossed a total of $6,712,361 on its opening weekend and ranked fourth in the country for that time period.

The website's critical consensus reads: "Intelligent, compelling, and packed with strong performances, The Insider is a potent corporate thriller.

Employing a big canvas, a huge cast of superb character actors and his always exquisite eye for composition, he's made the kind of current-events epic that Hollywood has largely abandoned to TV—and shows us how movies can do it better.

"[13] In her review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin praised Russell Crowe as "a subtle powerhouse in his wrenching evocation of Wigand, takes on the thick, stolid look of the man he portrays", and felt that it was "by far Mann's most fully realized and enthralling work".

"[15] Rolling Stone magazine's Peter Travers wrote, "With its dynamite performances, strafing wit and dramatic provocation, The Insider offers Mann at his best—blood up, unsanitized, and unbowed.

"[16] Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B" rating, and felt that it was "a good but far from great movie because it presents truth telling in America as far more imperiled than it is".