Too Big to Fail - June 12, 2012

[MichaelR]

Too Big to Fail Blu-ray review

[shstrang98]

Unbelievable that this finally made it to bluray. If only BBC's "Last Days of Lehman Brothers" could be purchased on bluray I would be even happier.

[impetus]

I noticed that the slipcover is weird in that it doesn't cover the entire case. It's cut a bit short such that it basically covers the artwork portion of the case but leaves the top (the blue plastic header) exposed.

Is this cheap half-assed production job?

OR...

...a completely brilliant visual gag because the small slipcover fails to cover the case. Like big corporations, not "too big to fail"?

[Yankees0222]

Originally Posted by impetus

I noticed that the slipcover is weird in that it doesn't cover the entire case. It's cut a bit short such that it basically covers the artwork portion of the case but leaves the top (the blue plastic header) exposed.

Is this cheap half-assed production job?

OR...

...a completely brilliant visual gag because the small slipcover fails to cover the case. Like big corporations, not "too big to fail"?

That's just how HBO does slip covers. The slip for Eastbound and Down is the same. No brilliant thought went into it.

Maybe they are just going for the UK look

[cheld]

Originally Posted by shstrang98

Unbelievable that this finally made it to bluray.

Not really, it's an entirely sanitized version of events. "Inside Job" was much more even-handed. If I recall correctly TBTF make only a single, offhand reference to Paulson's having been Goldman Sachs' CEO. And the scenes of the meetings with Congress were insulting.

Hopefully for the prequel, which shows how we got to 2008, they'll get Matt Taibbi and Ron Paul to write the screenplay, and then for the sequel, showing how Paulson/Geithner/Bernanke have made things much worse, they bring in ZeroHedge, TickerGuy, Mish and Reggie Middleton, with a dose of Nigel Farage for the European perspective.

[MichaelR]

Originally Posted by cheld

If I recall correctly TBTF make only a single, offhand reference to Paulson's having been Goldman Sachs' CEO.

I guess it depends on what you mean by "offhand". SEC Commissioner Cox makes a semi-serious joke about how everyone at the Treasury Department comes from Goldman, and Asst. Sec. Davis launches into her standard defense, noting that Paulson sold all his interests in Goldman before taking the job as Secretary. Then she catches herself and apologizes, saying they're all very sensitive about the Goldman connection.

The scene takes place at an airfield where Paulson has chartered a plane on his personal credit card, because he's in a hurry. And there are other references to his former position at Goldman.

[cheld]

Originally Posted by MichaelR

I guess it depends on what you mean by "offhand". SEC Commissioner Cox makes a semi-serious joke about how everyone at the Treasury Department comes from Goldman, and Asst. Sec. Davis launches into her standard defense, noting that Paulson sold all his interests in Goldman before taking the job as Secretary. Then she catches herself and apologizes, saying they're all very sensitive about the Goldman connection.

The scene takes place at an airfield where Paulson has chartered a plane on his personal credit card, because he's in a hurry. And there are other references to his former position at Goldman.

Yeah I thought I remember it being in an airfield.

Anyway, the film makes little-to-no mention of the multiple infractions and crimes committed by the IBs even before the crisis became front page news. Goldman alone was fined and/or implicated for laddering, spinning, commodities manipulation, naked shorting and more. The "housing bubble" was a smokescreen.

[MichaelR]

Originally Posted by cheld

Yeah I thought I remember it being in an airfield..

So you remembered the airfield, but forgot the film's extensive discussion of Paulson's Goldman ties? Maybe we should redefine "sanitized".

Originally Posted by cheld

The "housing bubble" was a smokescreen.

We have nothing more to discuss.

[blurayisnice]

Is this OOP?