Citizen X (1995)

Featured Audience Ratings

• familiar s

  
  This serial-killer TV film by HBO is an incredible piece of work. It has almost all the required elements of its genre in adequate proportion. Although it takes a limited number of cinematic liberties, it's done only to heighten the effect, and it works big time. The brilliantly… More
  This serial-killer TV film by HBO is an incredible piece of work. It has almost all the required elements of its genre in adequate proportion. Although it takes a limited number of cinematic liberties, it's done only to heighten the effect, and it works big time. The brilliantly outstanding performance by Stephen Rea is one of the best performances I've ever come through. His portrayal of his character Burakov is very realistic. He literally feels life into his character. Donald Sutherland could have done better, IMHO. All in all, it's a great movie based on real events, and any fan of this genre shouldn't miss it.

• Stella D

  
  well done hbo film based on the case of ukrainian serial killer andrei chikatilo, convicted of killing 52 women and children. good cast including donald sutherland and max von sydow. stephen rea plays the investigator who followed the case for seven years despite much interference… More
  well done hbo film based on the case of ukrainian serial killer andrei chikatilo, convicted of killing 52 women and children. good cast including donald sutherland and max von sydow. stephen rea plays the investigator who followed the case for seven years despite much interference from soviet bureaucracy. patchy russian accents but very factual

• Lady D

  
  Despite this film being a true story and an horific tale, the actual film isn't one to hold your attention too well. A likeable part by Donald Sutherland (I guess you would need to be Russian to say whether the cast managed to pull the accents off well).

• El Hombre I

  
  Interesting look at a true story of a manhunt for real-life serial killer Andrei Chikatilo in a communist state. The problem was long ignored by officials citing "Serial Killing" as an epidemic that could only happen in western civilization. Oh, yeah...Stephen Rea,… More
  Interesting look at a true story of a manhunt for real-life serial killer Andrei Chikatilo in a communist state. The problem was long ignored by officials citing "Serial Killing" as an epidemic that could only happen in western civilization. Oh, yeah...Stephen Rea, Donald Sutherland and Emperor Ming von Sydow are awesome.

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic]"Citizen X" is a made for HBO movie which is based on a real story. It is 1982 in Rostov-on-Don in the former Soviet Union. A body is found by a farmer plowing his fields and brought to a local forensics expert, Viktor Burakov(Stephen Rea). Burakov… More
  [font=Century Gothic]"Citizen X" is a made for HBO movie which is based on a real story. It is 1982 in Rostov-on-Don in the former Soviet Union. A body is found by a farmer plowing his fields and brought to a local forensics expert, Viktor Burakov(Stephen Rea). Burakov sends a detective back to the scene to search for evidence. The detective along with his cohorts return with seven more bodies. Burakov's investigation is brought to the attention of the local committee headed by the wily Colonel Mikhail Fetisov(Donald Sutherland).[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]First, I have officially seen too many movies about serial killers to count(but I did like the short lived Fox series "The Inside". Go figure...) but luckily "Citizen X" spends more time examining the crumbling bureaucratic structure of the Soviet Union. In this way, I found the movie fascinating and it reminded me of the recent South Korean film "Memories of a Murder", also based on a true story. The point here being that non-free societies may not be the best place to investigate crime unless you want to beat a confession out of a suspect. [/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Sutherland and Rea are perfectly fine. Max von Sydow has a showy cameo. But I thought it was an especially wise choice not to use a name actor in the role of the murderer(don't worry. I'm not giving anything away here.). Jeffrey DeMunn plays a character who is both ordinary and frightening at the same time.[/font]

• Jeffrey M

  
  Citizen X is another excellent film by HBO, delivering a somber, atmospheric, and fact-based serial killer movie. It doesn't rely on cheap scares or cliches, rather focuses on character development, and the political realities that made this case so unique. Stephen Rea was… More
  Citizen X is another excellent film by HBO, delivering a somber, atmospheric, and fact-based serial killer movie. It doesn't rely on cheap scares or cliches, rather focuses on character development, and the political realities that made this case so unique. Stephen Rea was incredible, conveying an immense amount of emotion and depth without having to say anything.

• Bill C

  
  Like many great movies this one allows you to see the world through someone else's eyes. The visions are not colored or altered in any way you really get a sense of the challenge of Bukarov's challenge. A very tightly directed non-fiction movie, more about the evolution of… More
  Like many great movies this one allows you to see the world through someone else's eyes. The visions are not colored or altered in any way you really get a sense of the challenge of Bukarov's challenge. A very tightly directed non-fiction movie, more about the evolution of working as a police detective under the communist bureaucracy than anything else. Stephan Rea plays unpolished coroner who is thrust into the investigation of a serial killer as more of a fall guy (his ulterior motive is to get a raise and a two bedroom apartment for his family). The party leaders would rather have the murder of children continue and cover them up than acknowledge a serial killer could be created anywhere except decadent western societies. The only person in Rea's side is Donald Sutherland a polished coronel who knows his way through the system. The unlikely pair over the period of years develop mutual respect for each other abilities. This could have been one of the best movies of 1995 and I missed it don't do the same. The jacket for the movie does no justice to the great film inside. with the HBO stamp I figured I had seen bits of it and it was just not that memorable, but I was mistaken. If you enjoy any CSI or such this is a must see movie.

• Moe E

  
  It's been a while since I've seen this and don't remember all the details. But, I do remember that it was a well done story. Needs to be added to my list of movies to see, again.

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