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... Read allThe 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.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.
- Awards
- 4 wins & 7 nominations
Ken Thomas
- Warrenton Gate Guard
- (as Kenneth Thomas)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTo make sure the screenplay was not hacked or leaked, Oliver Stone wrote the script on a single computer with no Internet connection.
- GoofsDespite being portrayed as an extremely skilled hacker, Snowden uses drag-and-drop to copy the files to his microSD card in the Hawaii NSA base, exposing himself to being found due to the tens of file copy dialogs that pop up on the screen. Any sort of power user, let alone a hacker, would have used the command line, and would have minimized the window so it wouldn't stay visible on the screen.
- Quotes
Edward Snowden: Terrorism is just an excuse.
- SoundtracksSecret Downloading
Written and Produced by Craig Armstrong
Programming by Craig Armstrong and Scott Fraser
Remixed by Boys Noize
Additional Production and Programming by Boys Noize (as Alex Ridha)
Featured review
Great thriller kindasorta based on true events
Oliver Stone isn't known for his faithfulness to historical fact. That dynamic remains true in SNOWDEN, an excellent and entertaining, if fictionalized, thriller. Viewers who understand and accept that each side of this particular moral and political dilemma will not receive equally fair consideration in a Stone film will be entertained in spite of the whitewashing of relevant facts.
This movie lacks the nuance necessary to illustrate adequately that good people can do the wrong things for the right reasons on both sides of the ideological equation. Snowden was right: The U. S. government was engaging in criminal acts under the guise of national security. That's made clear in the film.
What isn't made clear is the seriousness of Snowden's crime when he took it upon himself to release unilaterally highly sensitive, classified information that put the U. S. and its agents at grave risk rather than blow the whistle through proper channels first.
Both Snowden and the government were wrong. Both deserve to suffer appropriate consequences. Nevertheless, Snowden is portrayed as wholly good and the U. S. government as wholly bad. Thinking people know things are never that simple, and had complex realities been acknowledged, it would have made for a better and more interesting film.
The movie itself is a gem! Well written, well directed, and well acted, with a stellar performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It's a highly entertaining film and well worth the watch. But if you're looking for a history lesson, this isn't it.
This movie lacks the nuance necessary to illustrate adequately that good people can do the wrong things for the right reasons on both sides of the ideological equation. Snowden was right: The U. S. government was engaging in criminal acts under the guise of national security. That's made clear in the film.
What isn't made clear is the seriousness of Snowden's crime when he took it upon himself to release unilaterally highly sensitive, classified information that put the U. S. and its agents at grave risk rather than blow the whistle through proper channels first.
Both Snowden and the government were wrong. Both deserve to suffer appropriate consequences. Nevertheless, Snowden is portrayed as wholly good and the U. S. government as wholly bad. Thinking people know things are never that simple, and had complex realities been acknowledged, it would have made for a better and more interesting film.
The movie itself is a gem! Well written, well directed, and well acted, with a stellar performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It's a highly entertaining film and well worth the watch. But if you're looking for a history lesson, this isn't it.
helpful•82
- vandeman-scott
- Nov 4, 2020
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- The Snowden Files
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $40,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $21,587,519
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $8,000,058
- Sep 18, 2016
- Gross worldwide
- $37,357,216
- Runtime2 hours 14 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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