Educational Media Reviews Online

The Big Lie is a docudrama that depicts a reenactment of a major court case in Australia, where Rolah McCabe, a terminally ill lung cancer victim is suing British American Tobacco for manipulating information related to the health consequences of smoking. Other cast members include McCabe's attorney, Peter Gordon; Frederick Gulson, a former legal counsel for the tobacco company; and Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, a nicotine addiction specialist and former tobacco company employee (all played by actors). At first, McCabe wins her lawsuit, but then it is overturned by an appellate court. The docudrama includes statements by the participants regarding their opinions related to the drama. As an aside, Russell Crowe played the part of Jeffrey Wigand in the movie The Insider.

The Tobacco Conspiracy goes behind the scenes, documenting the last five decades of misinformation and negligence related to the tobacco industry's attempts to win court battles related to the connections between addiction, smoking, and cancer. There are many shocking images throughout, as the investigation uncovers many of the political corruption and economic power battles that go on behind the scenes in this struggle. Produced in Canada, the film is in French with English subtitles. It is a gripping and engrossing film that brings to the surface the battle between corporate greed and profit, and the public good.

These two films provide an interesting perspective on the tobacco industry. Whereas The Big Lie is a more personal, dramatic account of one of the major early court cases related to the links between smoking and cancer, The Tobacco Conspiracy provides the actual facts, statistics, and stories behind the scenes of how the tobacco industry has used their political and economic clout to undermine and sabotage efforts to obtain scientific and medical information related to cancer and smoking lawsuits. Two very perceptive and shocking films on this topic.