In 2008 five-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong announced that he was coming out of retirement and was training to return to professional bicycle racing. Director Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) was intrigued by the idea of chronicling Armstrong's attempt to win the Tour de France in 2009 after a four-year absence from competitive cycling. Armstrong agreed to cooperate and he allowed Gibney unprecedented access to his training, associates, and his cycling races. The documentary project was temporarily shelved when allegations were made that Armstrong engaged in doping during the 2009 Tour de France. Armstrong's career had been plagued by doping charges for many years, but he had always succeeded in casting doubt on the accusations, even though he was never able to completely refute them. When Armstrong publicly admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he had indeed use performance-enhancing drugs, Gibney prevailed upon him to explain on camera why he had lied for all those years. The result is The Armstrong Lie, a troubling account of the illegal and unethical lengths to which a world-class athlete went in order to gain an advantage over his competitors.

Studio: Sony
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HDMA
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Other
Rating: R
Run Time: 2 Hr. 3 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray
Standard Blu-ray CaseDisc Type: BD50 (dual layer)
Region: A
Release Date: 02/11/2014
MSRP: $35.99
The Production Rating: 4/5
Video Rating: 4.5/5 3D Rating: NA
Audio Rating: 4/5
Special Features Rating: 2.5/5
Overall Rating: 4/5
Reviewed By: Richard Gallagher
Support HTF when you buy this title: