This film is a documentary about CitizenFour, better known to the public as Edward Snowden, a federal whistleblower who leaked information that revealed the government's violations on security and privacy. It depicts one on one interviews, and shows how he and a group of reporters released this information, and the dangerous situations it put them in. Overall due to the dramatic reenactments, key information, and importance to our everyday lives, this movie was both entertaining and educational and felt like you were in the interview room yourself.

I wanted to learn the story of ES and this was it. It was informative and scary. I hope that those exposed will have to be held accountable for their actions and that our elected leaders will protect American freedoms and rights, including privacy. Shame on Obama for going against his promises. As a film it was reasonably well made. It was confusing at times with who the people they were referencing are, but it still manages to get its point across. It could have been more effective, but then it probably would have had to have been more dramatized. Saw on Tubi.

One of those stories you watch and will never forget, almost like it lives in the back of your mind like a surveillance tape. Massive respect for the brave hero of out story.

It's hard to deny the film's power and it's made all the more interesting by Snowden's very distinct lack of charisma.

Along comes Edward Snowden, whose reveal in Poitras' film is one of the highlights of this low-action thriller. Snowden is obviously, as he has been most of his life, the smartest guy in the room. He has taken the first leap toward martyrdom and will leave behind his family and his country to get the word out about a vast network of global surveillance the US has helped to develop. And there is no irony when Snowden, tucked safely away in a Moscow apartment, is seen in footage taken by Poitras as a man in hiding in the safe haven of Putin's Russia.

Incredible & Important

Citizenfour (2014) is a documentary film directed by Laura Poitras, who also produced it along with Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky. It is the third and final installment of Poitras' 9/11 trilogy, following My Country, My Country (2006) and The Oath (2010). The film documents the meeting and interviews between Poitras, journalist Glenn Greenwald, and former NSA contractor Edward Snowden in Hong Kong in June 2013, where Snowden revealed his identity as the source of the leaked documents that exposed the NSA's mass surveillance programs. The film also shows the aftermath of Snowden's revelations, his escape from Hong Kong, his asylum in Russia, and the reactions of the public and the authorities. The film is a riveting and revealing account of one of the most significant whistleblowing events of our time. It shows the courage and conviction of Snowden, who risked his life and freedom to expose the truth about the US government's violation of privacy and human rights. It also shows the dedication and professionalism of Poitras and Greenwald, who worked tirelessly to verify and publish Snowden's information, while facing threats and harassment from the intelligence agencies. The film also captures the tension and suspense of the situation, as Snowden and his allies try to evade detection and capture by the US government. The film benefits from a direct and intimate access to Snowden, who appears as a calm, articulate and intelligent person who explains his motives and actions clearly and convincingly. He also shows his human side, as he expresses his fears, doubts and emotions during his ordeal. Poitras also uses her camera effectively to create a sense of urgency and authenticity, as she records the events as they unfold in real time. She also uses archival footage, surveillance images, computer graphics and voice-overs to provide context and background information for the audience. The film also features a minimalist but haunting score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross that adds to the mood and atmosphere of the film. The film is not without flaws, however. The film may be biased in favor of Snowden and his supporters, as it does not present any opposing views or arguments from the US government or its allies. The film may also be too technical or complex for some viewers, as it delves into the details and implications of the NSA's surveillance programs. The film may also be too long or repetitive for some viewers, as it covers a lot of ground and information that may already be familiar to some. Citizenfour (2014) is a powerful and important film that tells a compelling and relevant story about one of the most courageous and controversial figures of our time. It is a film that challenges and informs its viewers about the issues of privacy, security and democracy in the digital age. It is a film that deserves to be seen and discussed by anyone who cares about these issues.

Must watch for everybody

The best documentary movie ever made!

While it was interesting to see how the info Snowden releases about the NSA was broadcast to the world, it was a boring documentary. Perhaps I watched it so late that nothing was new, information-wise.

Might have waited too long to watch this one; the Snowden leaks have taken on a different identity that focuses predominantly on the discourse surrounding the whistleblower rather than the actual content that he was reporting on. It feels as if, with four years of Trump, Hong Kong protests, and the better part of a decade of human rights abuses globally, the monitoring of private data by your own government without cause has become at worst a tacitly accepted reality of society at this point, however unfortunate that may be. Poitras tracks the responses to the reveal of massive, well-developed spying operations on American citizens by their own government in compelling detail, appropriately focusing on just how unsettling and profound the implications of such a program are. All that makes it all the more disturbing that ... there really haven't been major changes in practice since. Between the story filtering out of news cycles, a lack of legal movement on the part of Snowden, and the short attention spans of most people, what was described in Citizenfour (none of which is particularly revealing for those that witnessed it live, but is well presented) has essentially become the government's modus operandi. (3.5/5)

Very informative. I like its rawness in the film-making.

It's quite remarkable seeing the Edw. Snowden story from an insider's view. No doubt Snowden felt he was doing the right thing by exposing the NSA's wholesale scraping of every American citizen's emails, voice calls and texts (not to mention what they were doing similarly around the world). There's no doubt that the world is a dangerous place where the U.S. has many enemies bent on its failure; however, at least for me, the film would have been better balanced if we, viewers, could have heard arguments from the other side as well. No doubt the U.S. position would have been self-serving, but then again so was Snowden's. On face value it's scary to contemplate the NSA's justification for doing this. On the other hand, it's also scary to consider what would happen if we weren't able to monitor the bad actors. This discussion will go on for years, no doubt, so long as there are enemies sworn to your destruction (cyber-warfare) or criminal hackers (cyber-crime) bent on stealing your resources. Still, this documentary is well-worth a view, and much thought/discussion afterwards.

A very well-made documentary about Snowden. The unedited clips gave this film something more!

Citizenfour is a one sided documentary, but it's justifiable because there's no valid argument for this level/scale of mass surveillance. I think the documentary could have been slightly shorter, but otherwise it conveyed a powerful message that needed to be made public and was an extremely interesting watch. It's crazy to think that this is real and actually happened, and it was fascinating seeing how Edward Snowden and the press handled the situation. The Snowden sections were the most enjoyable to watch, but unfortunately there were quite a few clips without him that were less engaging. This is mandatory viewing for anyone concerned about privacy. For people who aren't concerned about their privacy I say it's time to wake up.

This real-life espionage thriller with accessible immediacy is a sort of documentary that factually delivers for purposeful awareness being only little in the overall effect when it actually puts you on the spot. Before Oliver Stone's biographical "Snowden", the originated fascination is the proper introduction to Edward Snowden, whose intelligence frightens his home nation for finding out classified secrets that concerns the public's rights. The introduction and the coverage of the caused effects are only background information to those who are aware of the unfolded events, while the main entertainment value unveils the incomprehensibility and the stakes if caught that verify the documented account a more realistic, true espionage thriller. (A-)

The title Citizenfour is obviously meant to evoke Citizen Kane. They are both about a man who rose from obscurity to international notoriety, an idealist criticized for his hubris, someone whose persona came to overshadow the news he reported. Either that, or the title is a coincidence... The first quarter of the movie sets the stage for someone like Edward Snowden to go to the media. Whistle blowers had been coming forward for years about the extent of the Department of Homeland Security's mission overreach and unconstitutional surveillance on American citizens. These whistle blowers had attempted to go through the proper channels, and had their lives destroyed. The middle half of the movie documents Snowden's interviews with media outlets, the extent of his knowledge, his revelations and examines his motives. The final quarter shows the aftermath of his coming forward. My one criticism of the film is that this structure doesn't allow the filmmakers to dive into detail in any of these areas. The filmmakers appeared to have information Snowden revealed that wasn't shown in the movie, and they could have gone more into depth about the extent of government surveillance on American citizens. The information Snowden revealed was disturbing to anyone who cares about freedom. Snowden comes off as courageous. He is not the attention-seeker the government tried to smear him as. Citizenfour is the Citizen Kane of documentaries. I'll now put on my tin-foil cap.

Loved every minute of this and learned so much. Edward Snowden is a hero. He did what many of us will never get the chance to do. He stood up and exposed the truth when it would have been easier to just keep his head down. I am more afraid of my government after watching this, but will be paying closer attention and give more scrutiny to what I am being told.

"We are building the biggest weapon for oppression in the history of mankind." Edward Snowden In January of 2013 documentary film director and producer Laura Poitras received an encrypted e-mail from a stranger who called himself Citizen Four, who offered to provide insider information about illegal wiretapping practices of the US National Security Agency (NSA) and other intelligence agencies. A few months later, along with two journalists, she went to Hong Kong and met with now famous Eduard Snowden. The documents that Snowden disclosed reveal organized control over the entire world telecommunications conducted by US "Intelligence Community" in conjunction with the US Government and with cooperation of the largest information and telecommunications corporations. This documentary doesn't contain new details about NSA covert operations or information about their plans. Everything said here is already known to all who have followed this case in the media. Nevertheless, Citizenfour is extremely powerfully historical document that recorded argumentation and thought process of one of the most significant whistle-blowers of our time. This is the key importance of the Citizenfour. Here, we see Snowden as an intelligent young man, rational, precise in thought and expression, very articulate and most importantly, courageous, ethical and highly motivated. Its not coincidence that Eduard Snowden is often compared with the case of analyst Daniel Ellsberg who in 1971 handed a large internal secret Pentagon report on the war in Vietnam to the press. A man who, guided by ethical principles, decides to risk everything he has and takes a step into the unknown deserves to be hailed as a hero. Without exaggeration, we can say that whistle-blowers who are giving to the public evidences of abuses and crimes of the state and corporations are the true heroes of our time. Another impression is also very strong - that of loathing we feel in front of blatant media lies of state representatives and bureaucrats of intelligence organizations. Today, this 1000 times repeated lie didn't become the truth - it remained a lie, and those behind it are continuing to be liars. We fully understand that the world system in we live in has absolutely no legitimacy, and is primarily maintained by the bare force and fear of that force. Strongest feeling that remains after watching this film is the anxiety about the direction in which the world is going and the hope that the possibility to change that route still exists. It is not the question of the nature of the society we live in. We know it, we understand it. The real question is - what kind of society do we want to live in? And, what we are willing to do to make that society happen? Iâ(TM)d also recommend that after seeing Citizenfour you watch the talk by Laura Poitras and Jacob Appelbaum "Reconstructing narratives - transparency in the service of justice" and Appelbaumâ(TM)s lecture on the militarization of the Internet "To Protect And Infect".

This film was almost good.