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.

Seth Gordon (director of the wonderful King of Kong) helms the picture's introduction and transitional segments, and he jumps right in (like a cannonball into a swimming pool) with a captivating segment on the comparative sale prices of the homes that real estate agents sell for others, and the prices they get when they sell their own. The sequence grabs us because the material is inherently interesting, and entertainingly presented, but also because Levitt and Dubner are so good together in their two-man interviews; they've got the rhythm and compatibility of a good comedy team. Most importantly, the section sets up the film's overriding theme: "If you can figure out what people's incentives are, you've got a good chance of figuring out how they're gonna behave."

The next segment, "A Roshanda By Any Other Name," is directed by Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), and deals in some intriguing ideas regarding causality in parenthood--specifically in relation to ethnic naming patterns. How does something as basic (and, for most, uncontrollable) as our very name affect our lot in life? Spurlock talks to scholars and average folks on the street (too many of them, frankly), and while the section is agreeable enough, it feels like quite an intellectual downshift compared to what precedes and follows it. Spurlock's visual playbook and narration are awfully cutesy, and he also makes the key mistake of not using the authors in his piece (he's the only director who leaves them out). As usual, even off-camera, Spurlock is the main character in his work.

Alex Gibney (Casino Jack and the United States of Money) directs the next segment, "Pure Corruption," which examines the strange outbreak of "match rigging" in the world of sumo wrestling. But the sequence is about more than that--Gibney is interested in the disparity between the surface and the truth, widening the scope of the story to include the recent financial meltdown, another instance of an institution's survival depending upon absolute deception. The sequence is complex, smart, and all but hypnotic; it draws unexpected connections and thought-provoking conclusions.

"It's Not Always a Wonderful Life" is directed by Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight), who works here in a knockout style that merges minimalist animation with news footage. He takes a look at the 1990s crime drop, first debunking the most oft-repeated causes of that decline, then using the contrary example of the rise in Romanian crime to arrive at a shocking but absolutely logical conclusion. It's a tremendous thesis (one that prompted understandable controversy in the book--I'll not disclose it here, since the reveal in the film is one of its finest moments), brilliantly presented.

The final section, "Can a Ninth Grader Be Bribed to Succeed?", is helmed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp) and delves into the issue of incentives by documenting a University of Chicago "economic experiment" in which 900 Chicago Heights freshmen were offered the chance to win $50 per month for bringing their grades up to a C level. The filmmakers find two somewhat engaging subjects and track their progress; this section is a touch slight, but it has an undeniably entertaining component and some potent ideas percolating beneath its surface.

Video:

Freakonomics benefits greatly from its HD release, since it is a great deal more stylized and visually impressive than the average documentary. The MPEG-4 AVC transfer is bright, crisp, and nicely saturated, vividly rendering the suprisingly picturesque images (from the lush greens of the Harvard campus to the deep blacks of the tightly-shot sumo footage to the clear blue sky of Urail's walk home). Grain is present but not ovedone, though there is some minor compression noise from place to place.

The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is similarly impressive--and complex. As with most documentaries, the bulk of the sound is center-based interviews and voice-over tracks. But the lively score plinks enjoyably in the surround channels, and environmental effects are nicely spread as well--office sounds, street noise, the smashing glass and sirens in the Jarecki segment.

English SDH and Spanish subtitles are also included.

Commentaries galore on this release. Chris Romano, Dan O'Meara, and Chad Troutwine contribute a Producers' Audio Commentary that runs the duration of the film; it's interesting (particularly when they discuss the legalities of the opening credit sequence), but the real treat is the Directors' Audio Commentaries. Each segment of the film can be accessed individually to hear each filmmaker (or filmmaking team) and their insights on their participation--all of which are worth checking out.

The fourteen "Additional Interviews with Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner" (37:43 total) are a must-see for fans of the film (or the books). These two-man interviews--which appear to be outtakes from the Gordon-directed wraparounds--delve deeper into the theories presented into the film, and the Freakonomics worldview in general.

"HD-Net: A Look at Freakonomics" (4:46) is a short promotional featurette, combining clips from the film with red carpet interviews with the directors. "Freakonomics Books" is a text-only ad for the books; trailers for additional Magnolia releases are also included.

The disc is also BD-Live compatible.

Of course, as with any multi-part, multiple-filmmaker project, there is a tendency to focus on whose segment you liked most and least (for the record: the Jarecki, and the Spurlock). Freakonomics is, as these projects often are, somewhat uneven. But it is consistently, enjoyably fascinating--as a film both about Levitt and Dubner, and about their ideas. Most of the segments highlight the authors to some degree; more than that, most have, at some point or another, Levitt speaking the movie's refrain: "I looked at the data..." By the end, it's almost like a laugh line, a running joke. You think one thing, you have one perception, but then you look at the data, and your whole position changes. Most movies don't do a lot of perception-shifting. Freakonomics, whatever its flaws, is brainy, fast-paced, intelligent fun.

Jason lives in New York. He holds an MA in Cultural Reporting and Criticism from NYU.