Citizenfour

2014 1h 53m EN

🙌

7.7

BANGER

★7.7TMDB · 1,451

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In June 2013, Laura Poitras and reporter Glenn Greenwald flew to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden. She brought her camera with her.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Edward Snowden
Self
Glenn Greenwald
Self
Laura Poitras
Self
William Binney
Self
Barack Obama
Self
Jacob Appelbaum
Self
Julian Assange
Self
Jeremy Scahill
Self

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Laura Poitras
Writers: Laura Poitras
Languages: English, German, Portuguese
Countries: Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 12 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, German, Portuguese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Laura Poitras, shot by Kirsten Johnson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Trent Reznor. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mathilde Bonnefoy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt4044364 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Laura Poitras directs. Kirsten Johnson behind the camera. Trent Reznor scores. Mathilde Bonnefoy cuts. Produced in Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, German, Portuguese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 12 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, German, Portuguese.
3International production across 3 countries: Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Laura Poitras, shot by Kirsten Johnson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Trent Reznor. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Mathilde Bonnefoy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt4044364 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "biography", "national security agency (nsa)", "woman director", "investigative journalism".

The technical file

Cinematography: Kirsten Johnson
Original score: Trent Reznor
Editing: Mathilde Bonnefoy
Sound: Frank Kruse
Runtime: 113 min · 1h 53m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $3,003,169
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Citizenfour (2014)

Awards

Critics' Choice Awards
Grierson Awards
Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film
Satellite Awards

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Laura Poitras

Stills · wallpapers

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Andres Gomez2015-04-16
★ 7/10
The documentary is good and the story telling is easy to follow but I felt that it was too artificially turned into a spying movie ... even when it is the closest to a real spying movie, but it doesn't have to recall fiction. In any case, I think the positive reviews and the importance of the documentary is much more because of what Snowden had to say and tell us about US' NSA, not that much about the documentary itself.

Production companies