We Steal Secrets
2013 · Movie · R · 127 min · ★ 6.5 · 84% critics
This documentary examines the rise of a major leak of classified material and the fierce debate it sparked over privacy, secrecy, and the public’s right to know. Through interviews and archival footage, it weighs arguments for transparency against national security concerns, while tracing the personal pressures and public backlash surrounding the people at the center of the controversy.
Also known as We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks
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Details
- Original title
- We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks
- Years
- 2013
- Release date
- 2013-05-24
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 127 min
- Critic score
- 84/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.5/10 (164 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a tense, debate-driven documentary about power, secrecy, and accountability, with plenty to argue about afterward; Not for you if you want a neutral take or minimal personal controversy, like in The Armstrong Lie.
Pros: thought-provoking ethical questions; lots of firsthand footage; gripping real-world stakes | Cons: feels one-sided to some; too much personal focus; uneven, sprawling structure
Themes
- national security agency (nsa)
- information leak
- government cover-up
- government agent
- investigative journalism
- misleading information
- nsa agent
- government agency
- secrecy
- government secrets
- social change
- wikileaks
- +4 more
Cast & crew
Julian Assange
as Self - Founder, WikiLeaks (archive footage)
Chelsea Manning
as Self - WikiLeaks Source (archive footage)
- HB
Heather Brooke
as Self - Journalist
Alex Gibney
as Narrator (voice)
- RM
Robert Manne
as Self - Professor, La Trobe University, Melbourne
- JM
John 'Fuzface' McMahon
as Self - NASA Network Administrator
- MH
Michael Hayden
as Self - Former NSA and CIA Director
- JL
J. William Leonard
as Self - U.S. Government Classification Czar
- DD
Daniel Domscheit-Berg
as Self - Former WikiLeaks Spokesperson
- SM
Smári McCarthy
as Self - Icelandic Digital Freedom Society
Directed by Alex Gibney