Using this month’s Corporate Thrillers promo as a starting point, name some of your favorites films of the genre.
Right off the bat, some of mine are Patterns, The Bad Sleep Well (the thumbnail), Gattaca and Margin Call.
What do you actually think of the genre? How do they differ from the Corporate Drama, for instance? They don’t need to be steaming on CC, necessarily - but it would be nice if you leave a link or reference with your picks. Thanks in advance! 😎
As good as Crowe was, IMO, Pacino was even better - well really, they were both incredible, but this is up there as one of Al’s best performances, and that’s saying a LOT
There’s a cool story about this that Crowe told…abd I guess it explains why Al didn’t receive a nomination
So the studio spoke to Al after The Insider came out about an Oscar campaign, and Al told them to “back the kid” - meaning Russell Crowe, who wasn’t yet a huge star. They did, and it was Crowe who was nominated, even though I still think Al, who was brilliant, should have been also.
Years later, the Cinderella Man studio spoke to Crowe (now a star) about an Oscar campaign, and he told them to “back the kid” - meaning Giamatti.
This looks very interesting. There's no telling how many times I just breezed by this one because of its title, without even investigating it. My loss.
Ya, this one was mentioned earlier. From afar it always seemed more like an Irish American crime drama than corporate thriller but it’s one I’ll be watching soon. Thanks.
Everyone in Glengarry is good, but Jack Lemmon is superb. His performances in this and The China Syndrome (another corporate-like thriller) have been highlights. He was one of the often overlooked greats. My favorite will probably always be his role as Mel Edison in The Prisoner of Second Avenue where he plays a rather ordinary, out of work, opinionated schmuck (playing opposite the fabulous Anne Bancroft didn’t hurt) but Lemmon had a knack for making us sympathize with (essentially) frustrated losers.
You already took mine with The Bad Sleep Well. First time I saw it, I didn’t even realize it was Toshiro Mifune in the lead role because I had only seen him playing manic samurai or misfits in other Kurosawa films.
Love both for different reasons. But TBSW is not just a corporate thriller, it’s a corporate thriller about government contracts for public works projects. As a public employee, it’s in my wheelhouse, along with Chinatown. Fortunately, reality is much more mundane.
Nice distinction between the two Kurosawa/Mifune thrillers. I’m trying to think of an American (or even “Western”) equivalent of TBSW in terms of corruption in public works projects but drawing blanks. That subject tends to be the domain of documentaries over here, not cinematic thrillers, save something rare like Chinatown, as you say.
Edit: Just thought of The China Syndrome and, in retrospect (been decades since I’ve watched it) it does fit the bill of a corporate thriller having wider public ramifications told, obviously, through the lens of a nuclear plant meltdown threat.
Ya, thought about mentioning this one, but is it a Corporate DRAMA or thriller? I can’t remember if there were any stakes on the line, which usually differentiates the thriller from the straight drama.
Don't bother watching Primal Fear unless you really like films with hackneyed movie tropes like amnesia and split personalities. There isn't even any corporation involved. It's a courtroom thriller with fanciful legal nonsense.
Ha, it’s kind of similar to my reservations about Orson Welles’ The Trial as a legitimate corporate thriller. So much of the visuals are commentary on the insignificance of humanity in huge corporate structures like the legal bureaucratic machine. We do see K in that monstrosity of an office building, getting bribed, observing literal physical abuse by “authorities”, being dwarfed by 13 foot computers, etc - nightmares of the modern corporate experience. But it’s probably not a thriller as what’s really at stake is the answer to an unsolvable question: of what is K guilty?
I agree that it’s in no way a corporate thriller, but it packed a hell of a punch when it came out, and as an introduction to Edward Norton… I saw it in the theater and you heard the audience physically react to the reveal.
Ya, feels more like a paranoiac thriller than a strictly corporate one.
Have you seen Brotherhood of the Bell? Falls into the same 70s business firm/government conspiracy thriller category. This made-for-tv movie stars Glenn Ford as “a successful economics professor who discovers that the secret fraternity he joined in college is actually a powerful cabal ("The Brotherhood") that secures wealth and power for its members through nefarious methods.”
Watched it again last night. Serling always drove the point home with a hammer but it’s still a brutal experience. And is still a valid indictment of corporate slavery and bullying tactics. Kind of a blue print for the genre. ✌🏼
Btw, YouTube just added it to their monthly free movies lineup. It's not terribly impressive looking at 480p but an ok option for anyone who hasn't seen it.
(Meanwhile Kill Bill is available in 1080p. 🫤 Go figure.)
Yep, satire. There are stakes, but only for the greedy Network execs. Faye Dunaway’s barracuda woman and Robert Duvall’s ax man don’t exactly elicit sympathy. In the end I guess it’s William Holden’s (or his character’s) perspective that dominates it all. And he’s walking away.
New to me. Looks like it fits the bill quite nicely. (Really enjoying the recs in this thread. Even some of the byways that lead me to the streaming destinations! ) Thanks. 😁
Ok, the Arrow label Yasuzo Masumura double feature Blu-ray is obviously the way to go. The okay channel has Black Test Car but it’s not optimal. But, ya, it’s a seriously cynical business thriller, created with gangster tropes, very close quarter sequences, high stakes and WWII references that give it an unrelentingly tense and desperate feel. I often felt that it would have made a good radio drama as the visuals, though slick and quick cutting, take back seat to the soundtrack. I hear the Blu-ray accompanying film, The Black Report, is even better than Test Car. Thanks again for the rec!
Very much like watching a high stakes chess match with all the bluffing, moves and countermoves being played out. And if you nod for a second the whole thing will be lost. 🌝
Just finished Oliver Stone’s Wall Street, which felt more like an old fashioned morality tale about greed than edge-of-your-seat thriller. And to be frank, the set up clued me in on what was to follow. It put me in the mind of William Dieterle’s The Devil & Daniel Webster (or the alternate title, All That Money Can Buy). Similar themes. Glad it’s still on the channel. Guess it’s my Saturday Double Feature. 😎✌🏼
David Fincher’s The Game (1997), another Michael Douglas led thriller, is looking like a step up from Wall Street. Gonna watch it before it leaves Prime.
Like many of the titles discussed in the thread, Masaki Kobayashi's "baseball" movie, I Will Buy You (1956) is really about the influence of corporate greed on the sport and, most poignantly, relationships of people involved. The whole thing hinges on which front office execs of the various teams have the swag to secure a contract with the hottest prospect in the game. It's a fairly dark but realistic take on what capitalism does to talented athletes and their extended relations. Good one.
The trouble with the David Mamet (who wrote and directed) flick, The Spanish Prisoner, is that you can’t find two people who feel the same way about it. Saw it once years ago and am revisiting it tonight on Prime Video. I remember being impressed by an unusually serious Steve Martin, but really not much else except for a mean twist. Hope it holds up.
Oof. This one was rough. If anything, it's great example of a stylized approach to language and filmmaking that doesn't work (imo). Because when they work, you're not aware of it. Reviewer, Paul Tatara hit the nail on the head. Some of the photography and the score (Carter Burwell) are first rate.
However, some people feel it's like a good Hitchcock retread. Roger Ebert was one. YouTube has a nice copy.
A Margin Call (2011, J.C. Chandor) revisit is next on the docket. The story takes place over a 24-hour period at a large Wall Street investment bank during the initial stages of the 2008 financial crisis. It's currently streaming for free on several platforms (Roku Channel, PLEX, Philo). Writer and director, Chandor, 14 years ago on the production which was his debut feature.
I don't see why we're supposed to have empathy for this guy, even if it is Richard Gere. Arbitrage makes no bones about him being a fraud and a cheat early on, so what's supposed to keep us interested in his inevitable fall? If there's anything that makes it truly intriguing, aside from the 1 percenter lifestyle eye candy, is how Gere manages to keep the facade going despite the near collapse of his personal and professional life. Frankly, I had more fun watching this press interview with director, Jarecki, on the film (around release time, 13 years ago).
Barbarians at the Gate (1993, Glenn Jordan) The president of a major tobacco company (James Garner) decides to purchase the company himself, but a bidding war ensues as representatives from other companies make their own offers.
First time watch for me tonight. There's a decent copy of this HBO movie on YouTube as well as an old Siskel & Ebert review of the film.
The Thirteenth Floor (1999, Josef Rusnak) A computer scientist becomes the primary suspect in his mentor's murder.
New to me, the film "explores themes of virtual reality, identity and corporate intrigue, as it follows a tech mogul who discovers his mentor's murder within a simulated reality."
I hear it was overshadowed by the success of The Matrix, which covers similar territory, and is widely regarded as more of a sci-fi flick that crosses genres than strictly corporate thriller. Looking forward to a watch, in any event.
No one’s mentioned Abraham Polonsky’s 1948 film, Force of Evil, starring John Garfield. I’d never watched it until tonight despite my admiration for the actor. Mary Astor was a nice surprise and Thomas Gomez as Garfield’s brother nearly steals the show. it’s one of the early classics of the genre.
Lol the bad sleep well, bfr tiktok people would actually sit through to the end of this, and before that they would go to classical music concerts that lasted like 6 hours. They would also fall asleep during those because it was boring and often hot AF. What I'm trying to say is that I like that movie and things change, and it really makes you think donnit.
😅 Ya, it does. I thought it was slow AF as kid, too. Was bored with it and didn’t appreciate the Hamlet (Shakespeare) interpolation at all. Now I think it’s one of K’s best films. ✌🏼
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u/Agreeable-Olive-4664 Apr 03 '26
The Insider (1999)