When economist Steven D. Levitt and journalist Stephen J. Dubner teamed up to write the 2005 book Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, the results were astonishing -- a New York Times bestseller, the book sold over four million copies and became a genuine intellectual phenomenon. But the book--an exploration of economic theory in unexpected spheres -- wouldn't seem a likely candidate for film adaptation. The makers of Freakonomics hit on an ingenious approach: get six filmmakers to create an omnibus documentary, each segment tackling a different section of the book. The results are, for the most part, exhilaratingly smart and engaging, a sly and entertaining look at some very heavy stuff.
DVD9 | NTSC 16:9 | 01:33:06 | 5.90 Gb + 3% rec
Language: English
Subtitles: Espanol
Genre: Documentary
Directors: Heidi Ewing, Alex Gibney, Seth Gordon, Rachel Grady, Eugene Jarecki, Morgan Spurlock
Country: USA
Extras:
*Audio commentary by producers Chris Romano, Dan O'Meara, and Chad Troutwine
*Scene-specific audio commentary:
-- “Introduction” by Seth Gordon
-- “Parenting” by Seth Gordon
-- “A Roshanda by Any Other Name” by Morgan Spurlock and co-writer Jeremy Chilnick
-- “Cheating” by Seth Gordon
-- “Pure Corruption” by Alex Gibney
-- “Cause & Effect” by Seth Gordon
-- “It’s Not Always a Wonderful Life” by Eugene Jarecki
-- “Incentives” by Seth Gordon
-- “Can a 9th Grader be Bribed to Succeed?” by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
-- “So Now What?” by Seth Gordon
*14-part interview with “Freakonomics” authors (37:43):
-- What is “Freakonomics”?
-- Are we biased?
-- How do we pick our topics?
-- The incentives of daycare
-- The Bagel Man.
-- The incentives of hand washing
-- The broken windows theory
-- Correlation vs. causality
-- How to be a good parent
-- How to find a good doctor
-- Does money win elections?
-- Debunking conventional wisdom.
-- Swimming Pools vs. Guns
-- Are we cynics?
*“HDNet: A Look at ‘Freakonomics’” featurette (4:46)
*“Freakonomic Books” text feature (3 pages)
*Bonus trailers for:
-- “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer” (2:01)
-- “All Good Things” (2:21)
-- “Night Catches Us” (2:28)
-- “Monsters” (1:42)
-- “HDNet” spot (1:00)
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