Citizen X : More effective than Silence of the Lambs

First of all i want to say that Silence of the Lambs is an undisputedly great movie. But to my surprise, when i finished watching Citizen X, i realized that this is the ultimate serial killer film for me because more it got me to feel the frustration, the angst, the sheer terror, more than any other serial killer film i've ever seen DeMunn's sniveling during his confession was far more disgusting for me that Hopkins's Chianti statement.

It deserves to be as huge as TSOTL. I think it's one of the best and classiest serial-killer movies of the past 20 years.

agreed. I loved SOTL and I think it's a great movie, but when I think serial killer movies, this is the first one that comes to my mind. Stephen Rea was wonderful too, and so was Sutherland.

Tell you what I got on my side - the confidence of youth.

Too good for a direct-to-TV movie. Had it been on the theaters, it'd be considered a classic.


Space For Sale.

"Had it been on the theaters, it'd be considered a classic."

Funny, I was about to post that exact same thought. Glad I saw your first.

So glad to find more fans of one of my favorite movies of all time. In total agreement with all the above posts. Jeffrey DeMunn gave an awesome performance as well. Plus one of my favorite lines ever: "Together, you make a wonderful person."
Don't know why this film doesn't reappear on HBO now and then.

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Jeffrey DeMunn gave an awesome performance as well.

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He's amazing.

He's a trained theater actor who began his career playing in Shakespeare.


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My friends!

I love this movie. The whole movie is wracked with emotion but, being in the former Soviet Union, emotion is strictly contained. Have to have this one on DVD.

Totally agree, just finished watching and though I believe I had seen it a number of years ago, it gripped me from start to finish. Well acted, well edited, and just a terrific movie in all respects.

(Possible spoilers)

I must respectfully disagree with everyones opinion re Citizen X being more effective than Silence of the Lambs (and I say that as someone who enjoyed the former very much.) SOTL is a deserved classic with great acting, drama, score, cinematography.in other words, film making. CX has too much of a made for TV movie feeling. Which it was. Perhaps if the story got the same Hollywood treatment, CX would have given it a run for its money.

Someone mentioned that when they think of serial killer movies, this is the one they think of. Again, I respectfully disagree. I like my serial killer movies to raise my pulse a bit and make me afraid. CX just didnt do that. There are certainly poignant scenes such as when the undercover cop learns that one of the victims is his young cousin. Also the scene where Fetisov tells Burakov what the FBI agent said about him. But those arent enough to raise CX to the same level (or higher) than SOTL. Yet despite that, I will always make time to see it whenever HBO grants us the pleasure of showing it.

How do the angels get to sleep when the Devil leaves his porch light on?

And I must respectfully disagree with YOUR opinion. No sensible person expects the same technical level of film making in a made-for-tv movie as they would in a big-budget Hollywood film.

What Citizen X accomplished with its budget astounds me, and the horror it portrays is the genuine and disturbing kind, the kind that comes from knowing these murders actually happened, and that Andre Chikatilo was a real monster, not the kind found in a best-selling novel.

Citizen X may not be the "better" movie when judged against the cachet of TSOTL, but it is certainly the more effective one. It's more authentic, more compelling, and far more horrifying. It's a much simpler film than TSOTL on every level, which ironically, is what pushes it ahead.

In retrospect I will concede that X is more effective showing the authenticity of the actual mechanisms used to hunt the serial killer. The frustration and toll it took on the police over the course of many years. But we're going to have to continue to disagree that it portrayed any horror or terror to the level of SOTL. The crimes were certainly disturbing but I repeat that there was no where near the sense of drama and suspense of SOTL. Perhaps in a way that's good because it would have required fictionalizing a story based on actual events. We're just going to have to continue to disagree that simpler is better in this case in judging the over all effectivness of entertainment between the two.

How do the angels get to sleep when the Devil leaves his porch light on?

I love this movie. And I think it is much better then Silence of the Lambs movie. I always thought the concept of some junior FBI agent cracking the case was unbelievable. Also it seemed unreal like a horror movie. This seemed more human.

That's fine. I'll just add you to the list of others with whom I respectfully disagree.

How do the angels get to sleep when the Devil leaves his porch light on?

Thanks, it is all subjective.

marbleann^

Agree ~

I think SOTL was over the top ~ a Hollywood ham-fisted treatment of a caricature of serial killing, the Hannibal interviews, the hunting the killer, some of the juvenile lines (e.g., "Bowels in or bowels out?"; "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.") Memorable: Apparently. But a bit too forced & cutesy.

Citizen X is a gem of a film with a marvelous script that managed to interweave the bureaucracy/prejudices/politics of the day & the frustrations associated with having to work within that system, the realistic years of dogged work it took to catch the killer, warts and all (e.g., no solo techy night goggles hunting in a haunted house-like setting types of scenes), the believable effect the killings and the brutal work (and working conditions) had on the people involved who were trying to stop a hideous and perverted child killer in their midst, and a killer wasn't glorified and rather unbelievable as in SOTL (speaking of Hannibal L.)

And I found the performances in Citizen X much more compelling and the murders much more chilling.

I do like SOTL for a popcorn eating, matinee type of viewing and I think it is a cult classic (and with some memorable scenes all its own for instance, who can forget Buffalo Bill's dance?), but I vastly prefer Citizen X for being a tight, smart, chilling little film, with economical delivery, and one that is eminently watchable again and again.





"Much communication in a motion, without conversation or a notion"

Really like your post and POV. I've seen SOTL a couple of times and am not compelled to watch it over and over like I am with CX, which for me is the litmus test for a good film. I fell on CX years ago and was so impressed by it - have recommended it to many who like me had never heard of it but when they see it, like me, they too are blown away. And the mark of great acting is a poor script and there are times that some of the lines are painful, but delivered so well by the actors that they are believable. For a "made for TV" movie it is on par with theatre release films imo. This is where I first saw Rea and thought he was such a tremendous actor. Loved him in V for Vendetta as well.

GoodSOVeryVeryGood^

Thank you so much!

Enjoyed your comments as well.

I, too, loved Rea in V for Vendetta, and also in The Crying Game.




"A distant ship, smoke on the horizon. You are only coming through in waves."

Agreed. I liked SOTL but CX was specifically made not to glorify serial killers - something we've got a huge problem with in our society today (shows like Hannibal on NBC that are more gruesome than the theatrical release of SoTL).

What hump?

I just saw this for the first time, via Amazon Prime free movies. Regarding, the made-for-TV aspect, movies such as this one may well be the next *beep* in Hollywood's armor. Instead of millions spent on CGA, we get solid scripting and above all, acting. Anyone surprised at the excellence of the movie and the superb acting of Rea, Sutherland, DeMunn, et al., should try to see Wit, another HBO movie, if you already haven't. Emma Thompson leads another stellar cast, directed by Mike Nichols. It's the finest performance I've ever seen from her and one of the finest I've ever seen, period. Check out the IMDB page on Wit; it has an 8.1 average rating. And that's not high enough.

As for the complaint I read on another of these threads that Citizen X is warmed-over cold war propaganda, the writer missed the point. If the movie has a didactic "message," it's about what can happen to our most basic human valuesin this case, protecting our childrenwhen bureaucracy becomes too powerful. Bureaucrats become grossly negligent when their first priority is protecting their positions. Sound familiar? This could have happened in many countries: Cambodia, Argentina, you fill in the rest. In those cases, and Germany during the '30s and '40s, it was the government itself that was the mass murderer. It could happen anywhere if we don't learn from history. Besides being a fine piece of film-making, this movie helps in that regard.

jhpen22^

Wow! That's one righteous post!

Great commentary, especially your last paragraph.




"A distant ship, smoke on the horizon. You are only coming through in waves."

Thanks, Denise1234. You're very kind. Your own post on SOTL being too cute and forced is spot on. I saw it again not too long ago; sans shock value, big seams show through.
Cheers,
John

Agreed with the OP. Silence Of The Lambs is indeed a great movie, but it's high camp horror. It's Dracula for a modern audience. All that was missing from Lecter was a cape and fangs. Citizen X is unremittingly and unapologisingly bleak and all the better for it.


Duty Now For The Future

Quite different films. I do agree that I prefer Citizen X. In SOTL we coddle the killer - in this we simply terminate him.

But I simply found Citizen X to be more genuine of a film. I see more repeat viewings going its way for me.

Yep, definitely awesome. I was truly amazed by hpw this film was made.

I have to respectfully disagree. This was a solid film, but not on the level of Silence of the Lambs imo. I felt like Sutherland was horribly miscast. His accent bordered on ridiculous an kept taking me out of the film. I also thought the portrayal of Bondarchuk was too over the top. Felt to me like the actor was chewing scenery every time he was onscreen.

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More effective at putting you into a coma perhaps
CX could've been so much better written and directed - based on the story premise, that it wasn't is truly a crime.

People in this thread are vastly underrating SOTL. I love both films but to act like CX is unquestionably better is ridiculous. Being bleaker or more realistic does not in and of itself make it a better film.