Gripping documentaries about the meltdown

Alessandra Stanley of the New York Times writes about the two documentaries — CNBC‘s “House of Cards” and “Inside the Meltdown” from PBS — that chronicle what is going on in the economy.

Stanley writes, “CNBC’s inquiry weaves together Wall Street bankers, first-time homeowners, mortgage brokers and even the mayor of a fishing town in Norway. Blame is spread far and wide, with no one culprit singled out — though Mr. Greenspan, unburdened by remorse and blithely philosophical about the inevitability of it all, indicts himself. Of the two programs this one is broader, more comprehensive and ultimately more compelling.

“Oddly enough the PBS offering is showier and more melodramatic, embellished with the kind of foreboding sound effects and stark black-and-white photographs that are a specialty of Sept. 11 films or accounts on History of the Cuban Missile Crisis. “Frontlineâ€? builds a persuasive case against Mr. Paulson but relies for the most part on secondary sources to do so: academics and reporters.

“A shot of black limousines gliding up to Capitol Hill sets the stage for one of the most dramatic moments in the narrative, the Sept. 18 meeting in which Mr. Paulson warned Congressional leaders that without a huge bailout, the financial system would melt down. Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, recalls the meeting: ‘There was literally a pause in that room where the oxygen left.'”

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