The Wizard of Lies

TV-MA

2017

2 hr. 13 min.

Drama

Crime

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List

73%

52 Reviews

Tomatometer

64%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In 2008, stockbroker, investment adviser and financier Bernie Madoff made headlines around the world when he was arrested for perpetrating perhaps the largest financial fraud in U.S. history.

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Watch The Wizard of Lies with a subscription on Max, rent on Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Prime Video, Apple TV.

Critics Consensus

The Wizard of Lies doesn't really shed much new light on its fact-based story, but thanks to solid direction and a talented cast, it still proves consistently watchable.

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Hatsuhito S

メディアはおおよそクソだし、それを信じる社会の人間どももクソということ。ポンジスキームも大量に蔓延っているし日本だと合法、それに近しいが検挙されない儲けについてはメディアも指摘しない。マドフだけ注目され祭り上げられるのは、いかに人類がお祭り好きで感情で動く生き物のままであるかということ、と同時に社会がくすんだ正義を受け入れてしまっているということ。

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/05/23

Full Review

Michael W

This crime movie was great. Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hank Azaria, Alessandro Nivola, Nathan Darrow, and the rest of the cast did a great job in this movie. This true story about Bernie Madoff, the criminal mastermind behind the biggest Ponzi scheme in history was dramatic, depressing, and tragic. It's about facing the consequences for the horrible decisions you've made and making your family suffer in the process. What Bernie Madoff did was downright evil. He absolutely has no shame, respect, or remorse. He deserves to be punished for his sins. If you're an HBO Max member, you should watch this movie sometime. It'll make you realize who you should trust with your money.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/04/23

Full Review

Danielle P

The Netflix docuseries (2023) tells a much better and engaging story. IMO, this movie placed emphasis on the wrong parts.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Oren K

The 2016 mini-series "Madoff" with Richard Dreyfus is SO much better. This one is fine, but pretty shallow and not very revealing. Dreyfuss plays Madoff completely differently from DeNiro, and in my opinion, much better.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/22/22

Full Review

Audience Member

Touching film drama that takes an interesting angle focusing on the destruction that Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme caused within in his own family. Excellent acting performances by Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer. Regarding the fraud itself, it raises more questions than it answers and shows the complete lack of oversight from the regulating authorities.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Late R

‘The Wizard of Lies' is obviously determined to make Bernie Madoff look like, in Mark Baum's immortal words, an incredibly big piece of s**t; a manipulative, self-absorbed sociopath, a point that it hammers home with the final, slightly heavy-handed bit of dialogue and lingering shot. It desperately wants to be an intriguing character study, and with Robert De Niro at the helm and Michelle Pfeiffer in support – both do fantastic work and carry the film on their backs -- it probably should have been. However, after all is said and done, there's no getting around how incredibly dry and disappointingly uninteresting it is considering who's involved.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/03/22

Full Review

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Barry Levinson

Director

Robert De Niro

Bernie Madoff

Michelle Pfeiffer

Ruth Madoff

Alessandro Nivola

Mark Madoff

Nathan Darrow

Andrew Madoff

Kristen Connolly

Stephanie Madoff

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The Wizard of Lies: Trailer 1

2:26

Wizard of Lies: Behind the Scenes - There is no Innocent Explanation

2:32

The Wizard of Lies: Teaser Trailer 1

1:00

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Gwen Ihnat

AV Club

At the end of the film, we might have a better understanding of how this giant Ponzi scheme unfolded, but we still have no idea why it happened-a significant shortcoming for an HBO movie with this kind of pedigree.

Rated: B-

Jul 20, 2020

Full Review

Chuck Barney

San Jose Mercury News

It should come as no surprise that, through it all, De Niro's Madoff remains an enigma - an android-like con man prone to blank stares and remorseless, matter-of-fact statements when questioned about his reprehensible actions.

Jul 20, 2020

Full Review

Michael Hogan

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Pfeiffer stole the show as Madoff's wife Ruth, nervously chain-smoking her way through a scandal she naively knew nothing about.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 20, 2020

Full Review

David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

The most damning thing one can say is that The Wizard of Lies does not raise genuinely troubling questions about the existing social order.

Feb 11, 2021

Full Review

Bruce R. Miller

Sioux City Journal

Like Ron Howard in "A Beautiful Mind" or "Genius," Levinson does whatever he can to make a static story pop to life.

Jul 20, 2020

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...an uneven yet sporadically engrossing drama from a first-class filmmaker.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 22, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

In 2008, stockbroker, investment adviser and financier Bernie Madoff made headlines around the world when he was arrested for perpetrating perhaps the largest financial fraud in U.S. history.

Director: Barry Levinson
Executive Producer: Robert De Niro, Barry Levinson, Jane Rosenthal, Berry Welsh
Screenwriter: Sam Levinson, John Burnham Schwartz, Samuel Baum
Production Co: Home Box Office (HBO), Tribeca Productions
Rating: TV-MA (L)
Genre: Drama, Crime
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 23, 2017
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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