Citizenfour (2014)

A documentarian and a reporter travel to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden.

Director:

Laura Poitras

Stars:

Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald, William Binney

Won 1 Oscar. Another 43 wins & 37 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Edward Snowden	...	Self
Glenn Greenwald	...	Self
William Binney	...	Self
Jacob Appelbaum	...	Self
Ewen MacAskill	...	Self
Jeremy Scahill	...	Self
M. Margaret McKeown	...	Self - Judge
Kevin Bankston	...	Self - attorney representing Carolyn Jewel
Harry Pregerson	...	Self - Judge
H. Thomas Byron	...	Self - Government Representative
Michael Daly Hawkins	...	Self - Judge
Jonathan Man	...	Self - Human Rights Lawyer
Robert Tibbo	...	Self - Human Rights Lawyer (voice)
José Casado	...	Self
Roberto Kaz	...	Self (as Robert Kaz)

Storyline

In January 2013, Laura Poitras started receiving anonymous encrypted e-mails from "CITIZENFOUR," who claimed to have evidence of illegal covert surveillance programs run by the NSA in collaboration with other intelligence agencies worldwide. Five months later, she and reporters Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill flew to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with the man who turned out to be Edward Snowden. She brought her camera with her. The resulting film is history unfolding before our eyes.

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Plot Keywords:

mass surveillance | corrupt government | government surveillance | nsa | edward snowden | 

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Taglines:

Witness the event that changed history: The Edward Snowden revelations.

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Laura Poitras edited the film in Germany after flying directly there from Hong Kong with the Snowden footage, to prevent the FBI from showing up with a search warrant for her hard drives.

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Goofs

In the second CNN item (friday, 53'), the Hebrew characters on the mobile phone in the background aren't censored in the first two shots. Afterwards the background has changed to only leave Latin characters on the dial pad.

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Quotes

TITLE CARD]: William Binney is asked to testify as an expert witness.

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Connections

References Citizen Kane (1941)

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Soundtracks

20 Ghosts III
Performed by Nine Inch Nails
Written by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Courtesy of The Null Corporation
Engineered by Chris Holmes

User Reviews

Snowden is a hero.

This documentary has it all. The narrative is compelling, but honest to the reality it portrays. The work on the documentary began before the Snowden files started leaking, and it gives you an unprecedented look into how it all came about. It gives you an understanding of who Edward Snowden is and why he did what he did. He was not just some guy who stumbled over something he realized that someone else might find useful. He knew exactly what he had, and what to do about it.

And not only this: The documentary manages to convey the significance of the leak. What power the information held, and just how bad the NSA is.

The only negative thing I can say about it is that it opens a bit slow, and the technical aspects of it might scare of some viewers.

It's amazing that this is the world we live in. Snowden is a hero.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Germany UK

Language:

English Portuguese German

Release Date:

28 November 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Citizenfour

Filming Locations:

Room 1014, Mira Hotel, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$126,321, 26 October 2014

Gross USA:

$2,800,870

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,780,692

Company Credits

Production Co:

Praxis Films, Participant, HBO Documentary Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1