Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9632 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-03-07
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 144 minutes

Synopsis
THE CORPORATION is a well-organised and deeply fascinating documentary about the growing prominence of large global businesses, and the way that their decisions are impacting the world. The film shows how corporations have ballooned in size and power since the industrial revolution, and explains the laws and loopholes that allow them to remain nearly unaccountable for their actions. If they break a law, they are willing to admit guilt and pay the fine, because the profits outweigh the penalties. Therefore, they continue to cause serious environmental problems by dumping waste into rivers and oceans and by depleting natural resources, resulting in irreversible damage to the earth which also poses a serious threat to human life. Beyond environmental issues, the film shows how corporations exploit underpaid labourers in third world countries, violate basic human rights, make deals with foreign countries who are known enemies of the US, and in some instances perpetuate fascist regimes. Valuable, informative talking-head commentary comes from a diverse group including Ray Anderson, CEO of carpet manufacturer Interface; Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, former chairman of Royal Dutch Shell; Dr. Vandana Shiva, feminist and ecologist; Milton Friedman, Nobel prize-winning economist; Marc Barry, corporate spy; Joe Badaracco, professor of business ethics at Harvard; and activists Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, and Michael Moore. Providing useful references to major news stories that illustrate various corporate developments, and good information about how the system works, THE CORPORATION empowers viewers and shows them that they can realistically enact change. For that reason, this documentary makes real progress, encouraging viewers to take the world's future into their own hands and away from corporations whose sole interest is profit.

Customer Reviews

Fuel for your OWN thought
I found this documentary extremely interesting - though I have to admit that I came to it a little biased (in favour of its views). I do (predictably) disagree with the one-star review below - but not for the reasons that reviewer probably expected.

I actually agree with that reviewer that this documentary has its faults - it may be a little long to hold the attention of the casual viewer for example, and so as with so many excellent documentaries, it runs the risk of being viewed largely by people who already occupy the extremes of the debate. In addition, voices in opposition to its premise are scarce, and so, as with Farenheit 9/11, it may be dismissed as unduly unbalanced.

However, I believe this skew is (at least partially) a reaction to the fact that we hear such views quite rarely in the mainstream media (for reasons which are obvious even before viewing the film!) - almost as if the documentarists are cramming as much material into their window of opportunity as they can.

My main point - which is also my point of disagreement with the one-star reviewer - is that I think it's a little misguided to disregard this documentary out of hand, regardless of whether you agree with its style or approach. OK it is definitely not impartial, but I'd hope that no-one just swallows ANY documentary's argument whole. Surely the point of watching such things is to use the objective information it provides to feed and refine your own opinion? Because of this, and because I think "The Corporation" communicates a lot of objective info I may not otherwise have had access to, I still rate it as highly important viewing - "silly" or not.

Sober and damning
First of all, it must be written that The Corporation is not a simplistic or hysterical anti-big business rant. Indeed, one of the key individuals interviewed is a passionate Chief Executive Officer of one of the U. S.'s largest carpet manufacturing companies. What The Corporation is, is a calm, articulate investigation of the origins and development of a very peculiar form of trading organisation.

The Corporation is assembled from archive footage of old and more contemporary news films plus interviews with a diverse range of people, from CEOs to women working in sweatshops in Latin America. Of particular note are the interviews with professors Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn, who are as thoughtful as ever.

This documentary is an excellent overview of how big business shapes the world in which we live and has input from conflicting perspectives. It covers how brand name clothing is made by slave labour, to biotech companies attempting to copyright and privatise parts of the human genome.

The extras feature a great deal of interviews that never made the final cut, sorted by subject matter and interviewee.

Alongside the likes of Bus 174, Supersize Me, Fahrenheit 9/11 and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, The Corporation is at the forefront of cinema quality documentaries.

Excellent, informative documentary on corporate control.
This is a documentary describing the origin, history, motivation and some inner machinations of "the corporation", that profiteering, money hungry and powerful institution that has been permitted to pervade so many aspects of life for rich and poor alike. The psychology of the corporation is explored, comparing the pathological pursuit of profit to clinically pathological individuals. This is a fair comparison because in the US large corporations derive many of their rights from legislature permitting them to act as "individuals". The documentary is also packed with interviews with prominent campaigners trying to raise awareness of the way that corporations function, their negative influences (sweatshop labour, agressive marketing aimed at children, pollution and sustainability, etc). Amongst these are Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein and Michael Moore, Elaine Bernard (although the documentary doesn't revolve around them). Case studies in the documentary involve the actions of IBM during the holocaust of WWII, Pfizer's privatization of security in small town America, Monsanto's RBGH (bovine growth hormone) scandal in US milk products as well as the attrocities arising from their product Agent Orange being sprayed in Vietnam, Shell's exploitation of the Niger delta, and FOX's attempted cover up of the truth over Monsanto's RBGH scandal.

It is worth noting that this is far from a documentary only focusing on the negative aspects of corporate control. A significant portion of the film is dedicated to bringing success stories from around the world of people reclaiming natural resources, spreading awareness, and pushing back the all-dominating corporation towards responsibility. Some of the stories, such as the struggle of the people of Cochabamba, Bolivia against the Bechtel Corporation of San Francisco (who sought to privatize and thereby control the public water supply) are inspirational. There is also an interview with Ray Anderson, CEO of the largest manufacturer of carpets in the world, and his vision for a more sustainable manufacturing industry, inspired by his realisation that a company exploiting the environment merely to make profit is nothing but a "plunderer".

The documentary discusses and reinforces many of the concerns that are becoming more prominent in the public eye. And although the well evidenced indictments about the horrible reality of the control and power that large corporations have leave one resigned, the last section of the documentary offers much support and encouragement. It stresses the possibility that democracy and freedom for people is a viable alternative, if people get up and do something about it.

The box actually contains two DVD discs, one with the main feature and some additional bonus material and interviews, and the other disc which contains ample information regarding how the issues raised can be addressed, where to go, who to contact and how to start going about dismantling the corporate dictatorship that we find ourselves in the midst of.
This is an extremely enlightening documentary and I would readily recommend it to one and all. It is very difficult, I think, for anyone not to learn something from it.