{"id":10132,"date":"2015-08-20T05:00:02","date_gmt":"2015-08-20T12:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=10132"},"modified":"2015-08-20T23:14:20","modified_gmt":"2015-08-21T06:14:20","slug":"review-citizenfour-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2015\/08\/review-citizenfour-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Citizenfour BD + Screen Caps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Citizenfour<\/em><\/strong> reveals and covers a subject Americans should and need to know about but I suspect many, a fair number in the millennial generation, might not take too seriously and maybe even assumes or accepts the government is spying on them. In any case, the subject matter is one thing, this documentary is another.<\/p>\n

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Citizenfour<\/span>
\n(2014)<\/strong><\/p>\n


\nREVIEW NAVIGATION<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe Movie<\/a> | Special Features<\/a> | Video Quality<\/a> | Audio Quality<\/a> | Overall<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Documentary
\nAnchor Bay | R \u2013 113 min. \u2013 $26.99 | August 25, 2015<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n <\/b>MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Laura Poitras
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>N\/A
\nCast: <\/strong>N\/A<\/p>\n

DISC INFO:
\n<\/u>Features: <\/strong>Interviews, Deleted Scenes
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>No
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>1<\/p>\n

Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 1.78
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH, Spanish
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>41.1 GB
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n


\n** Click Here to Purchase Citizenfour<\/em> on Blu-ray from Amazon.com<\/a><\/strong> **<\/p>\n

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THE MOVIE<\/strong> \u2013 3.25\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Synopsis: Citizenfour<\/em><\/strong> is a real life international thriller that unfolds by the minute. With unprecedented access, this behind-the-scenes chronicle follows award-winning director Laura Poitras (My Country, My Country<\/em>) and journalist Glenn Greenwald\u2019s remarkable encounters with whistleblower Edward Snowden in a hotel room in Hong Kong, as he hands over classified documents that provide evidence of mass indiscriminate and illegal invasions of privacy by the National Security Agency (NSA).<\/p>\n

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Quick Hit Review:<\/strong> First let me acknowledge the subject matter of governmental spying on its citizens is an important topic and one that unfortunately I doubt many know or sadly care about as the masses tend to sign over their privacy in exchange for the latest iPhone or other technologies that makes their lives easier. That being said, as important of a subject that it is, Citizenfour<\/em><\/strong> doesn\u2019t exactly do it any justice. It\u2019s a dry and often dull experience and even as someone interested in the players like Edward Snowden and to a lesser extent Glenn Greenwald, I found it tough to sit through. I don\u2019t know if this is Poitras\u2019s style having never seen her previous works but I would think an hour long, straight-forward PBS-like documentary would\u2019ve sufficed and probably would\u2019ve made for an interesting viewing.<\/p>\n

My criticisms set aside, however, Citizenfour<\/em><\/strong> is still essential viewing if only to open the eyes to those who want to learn more about the subject beyond what has been portrayed in the media which more often than not has a political agenda one way or the other, though interestingly, battle lines are drawn and makes for strange bedfellows. So, in spite that it\u2019s not as tight of a film as I\u2019d like, it\u2019s still worth at the very least a rental.<\/p>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 3.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Deleted Scenes (13:55; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 Three \u201cscenes\u201d, if you will, of Snowden interview footage, were cut down.<\/p>\n

New York Times Timestalks with Laura Poitras, Glenn Greenwald, Edward Snowden and David Carr (1:00:02; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 This is an interview forum put on by the NYT where the participants answer questions from the moderator.<\/p>\n

Film Society of Lincoln Center Q&A (28:22; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 Here director Laura Poitras answers questions from moderator Dennis Lim.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Program\u201d \u2013 A New York Times Op-Doc by Laura Poitras (8:36; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013This mini-doc, made for the NYT, focuses on the NSA and the mega data farm being built in Utah as well as interview another whistle-blower.<\/p>\n

Previews<\/strong> \u2013 The Hunting Ground<\/em>, The Unknown Known<\/em>, Great Invisible<\/em><\/p>\n

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VIDEO \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Anchor Bay releases Citizenfour<\/em><\/strong> on Blu-ray shown in its original 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfer. The picture is a bit hard to gauge if only because of the style used with digital cameras and the like. Detail is decent at least and colors appear to be balanced enough but hardly have a pop. For the kind of film this is, it\u2019s a perfectly fine transfer, but nothing more.
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AUDIO \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On a similar note, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is on the limited side showcasing the dialogue well enough but that\u2019s about it where the front and, especially, rear channels are utilized all that much. This could\u2019ve easily been a stereo track and accomplished the same results.<\/p>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 3.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Overall, Citizenfour<\/em><\/strong> reveals and covers a subject Americans should and need to know about but I suspect many, a fair number in the millennial generation, might not take too seriously and maybe even assumes or accepts the government is spying on them. In any case, the subject matter is one thing, this documentary is another. For myself, it never was gripping and even taking into account Laura Poitras more low key, even slow burn, approach didn\u2019t quite do it. Still, this is a documentary still worth checking out.
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Published: <\/strong>08\/20\/2015<\/p>\n

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Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers<\/strong>.
\nThese are only here to give an idea of the movie\u2019s video quality and may not be truly representative of it.<\/p>\n