Gordonlevitt tweeted out a picture from the set of the snowden film. The oliver stonedirected film starring joseph gordonlevitt as edward snowden takes viewers through most of snowdens adult life in a series. Both actors do their best to make these scenes connect, but some moments feel like they came out of another movie and the pair doesnt quite have the right chemistry to make them effective. What have we learned from snowden s disclosures and the debate that has followed snowden s case and many others must be examined simultaneously through a variety of frames. This makes me question the authenticity of the rest of the movie. Snowden is a 2016 biographical thriller film directed by oliver stone and written by stone and kieran fitzgerald. What a former nsa deputy director thinks of the snowden movie. Conspicuously absent from the debate is the nsa itself. With bryan cranston, diane lane, helen mirren, louis c. Now comes a drama from a filmmaker known for dramatizing the vietnam war and the. While viewpoints will differ on snowden himself and whether he put the safety of americans in jeopardy, the general viewpoint and worldview of snowden the movie. The biggest compliment that can be given to it is that it makes one of the biggest news stories of the decade more accessible. Snowden was employed by the nsa in 20 and went to journalists in 20. This isnt trivial because sometimes a historical subject figure will disparage the accuracy of a movie.
Snowden is a 2016 biographical spy thriller film directed by oliver stone and written by stone and kieran fitzgerald, based on the books the snowden files by luke harding and time of the octopus by anatoly kucherena. Edward snowden says oliver stone film pretty accurate. Snowden himself said that the movie is pretty accurate. The nsas illegal surveillance techniques are leaked to the public by one of the agencys employees, edward snowden, in the form of thousands of classified documents distributed to the press. Snowden uncomfortable with the accuracy of joseph gordonlevitts portrayal of him in new oliver stone film the nsa whistleblower also makes an appearance at the end of the movie, which. Snowden official trailer hd open road films youtube. Stone has always been a tendentious writer but he was once a terrific director. Naturally, someone asked snowden how accurate the movie was compared to what actually happened in his life, and according to indiewires liz shannon miller, he said, in terms of the actual issues. I knew enough to spot dozens of historical and technical inaccuracies while watching the film. Using snowden s sessions with poitras, greenwald and, eventually, guardian reporter ewen macaskill tom wilkinson as a framing device, the film takes us in. Regardless of any inaccuracies the overall premise that these events were happening makes for a very entertaining and thought provoking movie. A leaky narrative snowden fails to give moviegoers the whole.
Snowden, the politicallycharged, pulsepounding thriller starring joseph gordonlevitt and shailene woodley, reveals the incredible untold personal story of edward snowden. Watch haunting first trailer for oliver stones snowden film. Oliver stones snowden there has already been a highprofile documentary about edward snowden. The cube he uses is a newer rubiks tiled speedcube, as evidenced by the small slots on the center caps. Here we meet corbin obrian, snowdens cia recruiter, instructor. It could make a fantastic film, so lets hope the full movie has more to offer than this early.
Mills is aware of snowdens nsa plot and is in danger right alongside her boyfriend. Soon after his army washout, snowden is undergoing an intensive polygraph and interviewing for a position with the central intelligence agency. Oliver stones snowden, a quiet, crisply drawn portrait of the worlds most celebrated whistleblower, belongs to a curious subgenre of movies about very recent historical events. The film portrays snowden who was only looking out for the best interest of his country, and by country he meant the people and not the government. Snowden movie preposterous, says former nsa deputy director. Snowden boasts a thrilling factbased tale and a solid lead performance from joseph gordonlevitt, even if director oliver stone saps the story of some of its impact by playing it safe. Former nsa deputy director chris inglis weighs in on new edward snowden movie you can probably guess what a former deputy director of the national security agency thinks of. Stone achieved prominence as writer and director of the war drama platoon 1986, which won academy awards for best director and best picture. The film keeps returning to those scenes in hong kong, but most of it consists of flashbacks that begin in 2004, when the 20yearold snowden tried to enlist in special forces but was sidelined by. To some, the alleged nsa leaker is a hero for putting himself at risk by exposing the u. Edward snowden went from obscurity to an internationally known figure overnight because of whistleblowing activities that could have him on the run for life. But in oliver stones story of the man behind the biggest leaks in recent history, it is only apt. A masterfullycrafted fairytale last night, a handful of people and i watched the premier of oliver stones latest film, snowden, a biopic about nsa whistle blower edward snowden.
You can thank oliver stones sensationalized 1991 movie. But as with many stone movies that are based on real events, the director took multiple. Snowden uses a rubiks cube to smuggle a microsd card out of a secure nsa facility. The new movie snowden opened nationwide this weekend and paints him as a hero. As with many oliver stone movies, snowden can be rife with inaccuracies that serve to build the narrative mr. Snowden 2016 cast and crew disillusioned with the intelligence community, top contractor edward snowden joseph gordonlevitt leaves his job at the national security agency. Stones film falters with the relationship drama involving snowden and shailene woodleys lindsay mills.
The snowden of the film comes off as extremely humble and mildmannered. Based on the books the snowden files by luke harding and time of the octopus by anatoly kucherena, the film stars joseph gordonlevitt as edward snowden, a central intelligence agency cia subcontractor and whistleblower who copied and leaked highly classified information from the. You can thank oliver stones sensationalized 1991 movie for the jfk document release president john f. In snowden, mills is played by acclaimed actress shailene woodley. Here are a few ways the snowden movie exaggerates snowden s story.
Much has already been written about the new snowden movie directed by oliver stone and its inaccuracies and exaggerations. To be clear, the movie is not supposed to be a documentary or definitive account of snowden s life, but i hoped, nevertheless, it would shed at least some light on a younger version of the exnsa. A former nsa deputy director weighs in on snowden npr. Chris inglis claims oliver stones film wildly misrepresents agency and says edward snowden. Edward snowden film, biography, cybersecurity, hacking. The film claims that the deputy director of the nsa who is given a fictitious name in the movie was so impressed by snowdens acumen that he. Snowden movie preposterous, says former nsa deputy.
Snowden is not a perfect movie, but it is a good movie. Chris inglis claims oliver stones film wildly misrepresents agency and says edward snowdens jason bournestyle role is grossly. Oliver stones snowden will definitely have people talking, since the movie is a biopic about the life of one of todays most polarizing figures. Despite a fine performance from joseph gordonlevitt, oliver stones take.
Edward snowden says that oliver stones dramatization of his story is a pretty accurate portrayal. Oliver stones fastpaced and largescale but narrowfocus biopic of edward snowden covers the neardecade between 2004, when snowden played, or. Snowden doesnt take party sides, especially since the spying started under the bush administration and continued under obama. The script is based on the books the snowden files. Snowden movie preposterous, says former nsa deputy director this article is more than 3 years old.
Snowden movie is plenty of fiction mixed with fact. Snowdens bias is blatantbut gordonlevitt makes its. William oliver stone born september 15, 1946 is an american film director, producer, and writer stone won an academy award for best adapted screenplay as writer of midnight express 1978, and wrote the gangster movie scarface 1983. Snowden, the politicallycharged, pulsepounding thriller starring joseph gordonlevitt and shailene woodley, reveals the incredible untold personal story of edward snowden, the polarizing figure. The one thing that most stands out in the new film snowden is not the return of oliver stone to the directors chair in a controversial film about american history. Snowden s story is a momentous and complicated one caked in ethical quandaries and controversy. Joseph gordonlevitts snowden voice was praised by the. K in 1947, dalton trumbo was hollywoods top screenwriter, until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs. Edward snowden is the subject of oliver stones new movie, snowden, which premieres in theaters on sep. Oliver stones latest film, snowden, is a dramatized version of the life of edward snowden, the nsa whistleblower who revealed the global extent of u. The movie was ridiculous, with banal lines and terrible acting. Oliver stones snowden looks like the greatest technothriller ever perhaps unsurprisingly, this trailer feels exciting but lacks technical accuracy.
Snowden movie trailer joseph hordonlevitt, shailene. The movie has some fairly graphic sexual material, including a sex scene, topless photos on a computer screen, and pole dancing. The film shows snowden meeting with poitras, as well as journalists glenn greenwald and ewen macaskill, in early june 20. Oliver stones snowden looks like the greatest techno. The film stars an ensemble cast that includes joseph gordonlevitt as the. The new oliver stone film, snowden, promises to tell the true story of. Parents need to know that snowden is director oliver stones biopic about edward snowden joseph gordonlevitt, who leaked classified information in 20 proving that the u.
The applause for snowden at the end was beyond absurd. However, the hype does underscore two persistent vulnerabilities. The inside story of the worlds most wanted man by luke harding and time of the octopus by anatoly kucherena. With joseph gordonlevitt, shailene woodley, melissa leo, zachary quinto. Snowden is a necessary, if uninteresting, story theblaze. Apparently, the reallife snowden agrees, as he has spent the past few days retweeting tidbits about accurate scenes in the film and in fact, he argues that the film confirms inaccuracies in. Snowden illegally gathered a large amount of sensitive information by using the login id and passwords of as many as 25 of his coworkers which he obtained under the guise of performing checks for technical problems. The purchase, stone has admitted, was a means of getting access to snowden.