X
- 2014
- R
- RADiUS-TWC
- 1 h 54 m
- 2014
- R
- RADiUS-TWC
- 1 h 54 m
Summary In January 2013, filmmaker Laura Poitras was in the process of constructing a film about abuses of national security in post-9/11 America when she started receiving encrypted e-mails from someone identifying himself as “citizen four,” who was ready to blow the whistle on the massive covert surveillance programs run by the NSA and other i...
Directed By: Laura Poitras
- 2014
- R
- RADiUS-TWC
- 1 h 54 m
- 2014
- R
- RADiUS-TWC
- 1 h 54 m
Citizenfour
7.6
Where to Watch
Summary In January 2013, filmmaker Laura Poitras was in the process of constructing a film about abuses of national security in post-9/11 America when she started receiving encrypted e-mails from someone identifying himself as “citizen four,” who was ready to blow the whistle on the massive covert surveillance programs run by the NSA and other i...
Directed By: Laura Poitras
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 38 Critic Reviews
88
97% Positive
37 Reviews
37 Reviews
3% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 38 Critic Reviews
88
97% Positive
37 Reviews
37 Reviews
3% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The message of the movie is as clear as Siberian ice: Whether you’re a Tea Partier, an Occupier or just an ordinary Joe, you might be the next citizen who’s stranded in limbo.
And there lies the greatest flaw with Citzenfour and Snowden himself. Despite the film’s virtues, we’re no closer to understanding Snowden than we were a year ago when this saga began.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 161 User Ratings
7.6
80% Positive
129 Ratings
129 Ratings
11% Mixed
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
9% Negative
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 161 User Ratings
7.6
80% Positive
129 Ratings
129 Ratings
11% Mixed
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
9% Negative
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
Basically a must-watch movie for everyone who cares about privacy. this should be shown in schools, maybe cut into main important bits but definitely shown so that kids of today and adults of tomorrow value their privacy and freedom. (also I don't get why there are negative reviews for such an important film)
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Citizenfour is one of my favorite documentaries. Laura Poitras masterfully frames the subject matter like a political thriller. The scary thing is that this is a true political thriller with no traces of fiction. This documentary also serves as a beautifully crafted character study of Edward Snowden, who we get to watch during the most vulnerable moments of his entire life. Anyone who is interested in politics, privacy, security, or just interesting people needs to give Citizenfour a watch. It will keep you on the edge of your seat.
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The larger point in Citizenfour is that dictatorships have always relied on the massive gathering of information in order to control their populations. In this brave new cyber world, it is all too easy for democracies to cross the line, too.
For all its brio, the film is overcautious about pointing fingers.
The hotel scenes go on a tad long, but what holds us is that we’re right in the room as history is being made — with the guy, the actual guy, soon to be notorious all over the world.
Snowden proves surprisingly sympathetic. His intentions appear to have no subtext, but sadly neither does the doc; the irony of an infodump approach to mass surveillance goes disappointingly unexploited.
Simply the true story about the first and maybe biggest hero of the 21st century! A must see for everyone who is interesting for the topics of freedom and human rights. Snowden is a world hero and I am as German shamed that the german government didn't give him asylum - of course, because she is sill involved in hurting the rights of german (and foreign) people. In the year 2018 even more lies, surveillance and criminal activities by the german government -> wikipedia: "NSA Untersuchungsausschuss". Also shame on Angela Merkel as puppet of the Obama government! My highest respect for this young american guy, Edward Snowden! Truly a hero!
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The subject matter is important, so I'm keeping my rating in the upper part of the "yellow" section. But as someone who followed the Snowden case closely (and was more fanatically interested in it than any of my friends), I was surprised how boring the film is. Honestly, Glenn Greenwald's book was 10 times as suspenseful, interesting and relevant. Definitely worth reading: "No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State."
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The majority of my real job is editing people talking and the maximum length of my videos is usually 2 minutes. This doc is almost 2 hours and I could have easily edited it down to a tight hour or an interesting 90 minutes. The most extraordinary thing about this film is the footage of Edward Snowden in a Hong Kong hotel, as he prepares for the release of the famous NSA documents. Filmmaker Laura Poitras offers an absorbing glimpse into the man and his motives. Unfortunately, in an attempt to add miniscule moments of insight (which they usually didn't) and arty cinematic touches (which they usually weren't) almost every shot is held too long and the details are just dull. Even with the ominous drone in the soundtrack, the potential tension never materializes. Poitras' exclusive peek is fascinating, but she could have used a more judicious hand in the edit.
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Apparently I'm not the target audience for this film, and by target audience, I mean those who have learned virtually nothing about Ed Snow and his revelations over the last year or two. For me, the film was flat-out boring for much of its length. Sure, it's cool seeing Ed's facial reactions as the news is breaking, and it's interesting to hear his thought process while instructing the journalists about the vast quantities of intel that he's provided them. What we've got here is an interesting story and a very mediocre to poor documentary telling you that story. And that's just not good enough. You can't just mail this stuff in.
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At the beginning of Edward Snowdon's interview he says that American media is too much focused on personalities rather than stories. "This is nog about me" he says. Well, maybe he should have stick with this and never have taken place before the camera because this documentary is the boring to death. I know the content is very important but here we have a story that utterly fails in visualization. Citizenfour won an Oscar. It becomes very clear that the Academy is angry at the Obama administration about the lack op privacy for citizens. The award is politics. I hate that! An award should be won for craftsmanship in storytelling and visuals and not for bashing the government.
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Production Company
Praxis Films,
Participant,
HBO Documentary Films
Release Date Oct 24, 2014
Duration 1 h 54 m
Rating R
Genres
Tagline Witness the event that changed history: The Edward Snowden revelations.
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Cinema Eye Honors Awards, US
• 5 Wins & 7 Nominations
Primetime Emmy Awards
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
