Snowden (2016)

The NSA's illegal surveillance techniques are leaked to the public by one of the agency's employees, Edward Snowden, in the form of thousands of classified documents distributed to the press.

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writers:

Kieran Fitzgerald (screenplay by), Oliver Stone (screenplay by)

Stars:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo

4 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Melissa Leo	...	Laura Poitras
Zachary Quinto	...	Glenn Greenwald
Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Edward Snowden
Jaymes Butler	...	Drill Sergeant
Robert Firth	...	Dr. Stillwell
Rachel Handshaw	...	CIA Polygraph Adminstrator
Christian Contreras	...	CIA Psychologist
Parker Sawyers	...	CIA Interviewer
Rhys Ifans	...	Corbin O'Brian
Ken Thomas	...	Warrenton Gate Guard (as Kenneth Thomas)
Nicolas Cage	...	Hank Forrester
Michael Benz	...	CIA Student
Shailene Woodley	...	Lindsay Mills
Tom Wilkinson	...	Ewen MacAskill
Joely Richardson	...	Janine Gibson

Storyline

SNOWDEN stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and is written and directed by Oliver Stone. The script is based on the books The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World's Most Wanted Man by Luke Harding and Time of the Octopus by Anatoly Kucherena.

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Plot Keywords:

internet | mass surveillance | nsa | whistleblower | journalism | 

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Taglines:

Soldier Traitor Spy Hero Hacker Patriot

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexuality/nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

In real life, Oliver Stone met with Laura Poitras to discuss their respective films on Edward Snowden (the filming of Poitras' documentary is depicted in Snowden). According to Poitras, Stone suggested to her that the documentary be released after the feature film, even though the documentary was completed first, because he believed the feature would reach a wider audience. Poitras claimed she took offense to that and did not meet with Stone again.

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Goofs

After showing the Geneva landscape with the water-jet, then all the part on the street has nothing to do with Geneva but from another EU country (probably Italy, France or an Eastern EU country). Very strange to indicate Geneva and then showcase another inner city. Indeed, you'll see Snowden on the scooter:

• crossing a bridge that does not look like any bridge in Geneva;
• none of main street for cars are paved in Geneva;
• none of the advertisement in Geneva are made in tubular display panel (the one you see written Elizabeth ad).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Glenn Greenwald: [sitting under a big green balloon alligator] So?
Laura Poitras: This is the only alligator.
Glenn Greenwald: Four minutes past. We walk in one minute. He was clear on that.
Laura Poitras: He's coming.
Glenn Greenwald: No, he is too young to have that kind of access.
Glenn Greenwald: [to Snowden as he walks up] Uh, what time does the restaurant open?
Edward Snowden: Noon. But the food is a bit too spicy. This way...

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Connections

Referenced in On Cinema: 'Snowden' and 'Bridget Jones's Baby' (2016)

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Soundtracks

Easy Flow
Written by Jonathan Plant, Xyco and Jewell Kennedy
Courtesy of APM Music

User Reviews

Riveting! Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives an Oscar-worthy performance.

The great director who's not afraid to tackle matters of war, conspiracy and controversial American political issues, has returned. Only this time, Oliver Stone has upgraded his latest film's look and tone to make it seem more digitally advanced, which is fine because it fits the story of Edward Snowden and we're living in this day and age where every millennial's favorite series happens to be "Mr. Robot." SNOWDEN, as you've guessed it, is a thriller about the whistleblower and former intelligence contractor, Edward Snowden, played in this film by the talented Joseph Gordon-Levitt. "Divergent" star, Shailene Woodley plays his girlfriend, Lindsay Mills, who stays by his side through his ordeals of working for the government due to his patriotism while at the same time feeling conflicted about how the government runs its methods in the name of national security. This film dramatizes the events that led Snowden to becoming one of the most wanted men in the world.

First, I have to give praises to Joseph Gordon-Levitt who I think went above and beyond in not only capturing Edward Snowden's mannerism and the way he speaks but my goodness, Gordon-Levitt's performance in this film is so calculating and precise, you can see his brains constantly work itself out, just by looking at him. And Shailene Woodley gives her most mature performance yet, because this film is more than just about the whole surveillance controversy, it's also about how that negatively affects Snowden & Mills relationship and I think it's fairly handled, both aspects don't take away or diminish each other's importance in the process.

When it comes to the film's dramatizing the U.S. and British global surveillance program, I'm sure there'll be questions as to how authentic the portrayal is, as far as the headquarters are concerned, for example, some may see it as a bit too much like a Bond villain's secret lair, but you'll be entertained by some of the visual effects that the film applies to showcase hacking and how one person can connect to another person and to another person and what's most fascinating about it is that there's a programmer watching the whole thing the entire time.

So SNOWDEN is essentially part conspiracy thriller, part relationship drama, and to a certain extent, part heist. Overall, I think it's a riveting film that keeps you engaged and more importantly gets you thinking, which I think is the goal of Oliver Stone's movies. Does the film lean one way in that it paints Edward Snowden as a hero? I think so, but not in a way that intentionally judges those who at the end still think of him as a traitor. SNOWDEN might cause audiences to become more paranoid or it might cause audiences to start supporting any effort to hold our government accountable. The jury's still out.

-- Rama's Screen --

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Instagram

Country:

UK France Germany USA

Language:

English American Sign Language Russian

Release Date:

16 September 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Snowden

Filming Locations:

Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,000,058, 18 September 2016

Gross USA:

$21,587,519

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$37,357,216

Company Credits

Production Co:

Endgame Entertainment, Vendian Entertainment, KrautPack Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1