Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price

2005
6.8| 1h38m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 04 November 2005 Released
Producted By: Brave New Films
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.walmartmovie.com/
Info

This documentary takes the viewer on a deeply personal journey into the everyday lives of families struggling to fight Goliath. From a family business owner in the Midwest to a preacher in California, from workers in Florida to a poet in Mexico, dozens of film crews on three continents bring the intensely personal stories of an assault on families and American values.

Genre

Documentary

Watch Online

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005) is now streaming with subscription on Prime Video

Cast

Lee Scott

Director

Robert Greenwald

Production Companies

Brave New Films

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price Videos and Images
  • Top Credited Cast
  • |
  • Crew
Lee Scott as Himself - President & CEO of Wal-Mart (archive footage)

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price Audience Reviews

Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.
Lumsdal Good , But It Is Overrated By Some
Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.
Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.
dude2010 1. After 8 years of taking losses on the German market, Mal-Mart quit, closing its 90 stores in the country. Why? Not efficient enough compared to German supermarkets. Believe it or not, Mal-Mart's prices were higher and quality lower than in German supermarkets.2. Think of efficiency. If a store is more efficient than smaller stores and, thus, offers lower prices, the smaller stores should step down. Free market economy, right? Subsidizing smaller inefficient businesses by keeping Wal-Mart away is not the solution. Buy and read some books on basics of market economy. It's all about specialization. Whoever is not efficient at something, should do some other job.3. Americans are very proud of their special democracy, capitalism and freedom, but only in words. If the country belongs to you, why can't you change anything?! Corporations control the whole country without any serious regulations. Learn from some European countries. Or from Canada.3. Stop buying in Wal-Mart if you really care about your community. Is Wal-Mart forcing people to buy products in its stores? You like low prices, but don't like the consequences? Decision-making requires the sense of responsibility.4. If Wal-Mart employees don't like the company SO much, then why work there?! If you can't find any other work, then it's YOUR problem. Can't find any work in local community - look in other cities/places/states. Grow up. Think in advance of a proper education, professional skills and future.5. Watch the South Park episode on Wal-Mart.6. The scene in China is irrelevant, just because 99% of all companies in China work EXACTLY the same way.
freakfire-1 Well, this movie did fail to be entertaining in many areas but it did hit on some key notes. Yes, they do drive down wages, although providing more jobs. That is a catch-22.Some people have commented they have good wages. That is not the case as they don't pay too much higher than the minimum wage in most areas and fail to check on immigration status. I even know times they fail to check AGE status, hiring underage workers and failing to catch their real age.As far as not being able to move of the 'food chain' in the store, that is also generally correct for the most part. The only way to make a good wage there is if you enter the Assistant Manager program and they can ship to several different areas.The film notes times when they have been turned down recently. However, several of those cities listed near the end of the film have come back and accepted Wal-Marts to be built.This film shows the downsides to this corporation. Wal-Mart goes for the cheapest in many ways and avoiding paying higher wages. But if you get down to it, other businesses (like minerals, etc) that also pay low wages to keep the cost down, so Wal-Mart isn't the only one, just the biggest one.Overall, its not that even handed, but it does make the public more aware of its bad side. "C"
jrstl I don't and never have worked for Wal-Mart, but do enjoy the 20-30% savings per year by shopping there.If the unions of the U.S. didn't front the money for this "documentary", they should have. Show me any Company with 10% of Wal-Marts 2 million employees, I'll find you lots of disgruntled and dissatisfied ex-employees.When Wal-mart opens in a small town, or a populated area, other retailers are definitely hurt. Not just the Ma & Pa's, but Sears, K-Mart, successful grocery store chains, etc. It's not Wal-Marts fault! They're a business that has done business better than their competitors, big and small. It's why people shop there and make them the largest retailer in the world.When Wal-Mart stops doing it better than everyone else, their sales will drop, their stock will drop, they will lose money. When that day comes, Companies that take Wal-Marts business will grow quicker, have lot's of disgruntled employees, have many suits filed against them.This documentary is a slap in the face to the United States and what makes this country as great as we are. The United States is built on capitalism, we like to make money, we like to do things better than anyone else. Wal-Mart is a stock held publicly traded Company, with checks and balances, government regulation,etc. Watching this "documentary", you'd think Satin started and runs this Company.Obviously I'm in the great minority of posters on this "documentary", but someone had to say it.
bogiehead1 Trust me, I work there; they have---if you can believe it---gotten WORSE for the workers. They recently (within the last 2 months) changed our dress code---no hats (not so bad), everybody has to wear a blue clone shirt (a little bit worse), no more vests (so we have find other ways to carry the tools required for our job), and, just a couple days ago, no radios on the floor, which have been allowed ever since I started working there over 2 years ago. Also, within the last 2 months (this is the worst), they have decided we need to be to be timed on how long long it takes the stockers to work their freight. I mean, c'mon already, this is WAL_MART---not Ford Motor Company!!! If you want me to do piece work, then pay me piece work rate, not less than $10 an hour. Yup, Wal*Mart's lowering prices, alright---lowering the price they pay their employees (oops, sorry---ASSOCIATES).