Citizen X [DVD] [1998] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

I remember this well I have a newspaper still with Andrei Chikatilo in a cage in court pulling faces, he did look like a reptile, the film does it justice all be it restrained as was Russia when this man could murder children with ease because of the way of life and killers of children was a western phenomenon, brilliant acting by Donald Sutherland as a well meaning out of touch Colonel Fetisov, who made Lt Viktor Burakov Stephen Rea in charge of his new Killer department to catch the serial killer citizen Andrei Chikatilo (Jeffrey DeMunn) great cast, very moving, the sheer frustration for Lt Viktor Burakov to get things done comes across so well, and the understated but methodical perseverance to get the killer pays of after Perestroika. A sensitive true subject brilliantly portrayed by all involved in making this film and piece of history. Recommended...

This is well-made, low budget film - featuring a great cast. "Citizen X" is an adaptation of the real life events surrounding the serial killer Andrei Chikatilo (who brutally murdered at least 53 women and children between 1978 and 1990). He was the most prolific serial killer in the former Soviet Union. These true events inspired the non-fiction book 'The Killer Department' (first published in 1993).The film starts in the early 1980's, with several bodies - in varying stages of decomposition - being discovered in woodland. An investigation begins, led by Viktor Burakov (played by Stephen Rea), but his efforts to find and apprehend the man responsible are hampered - due to both the bureaucratic nature of the USSR and the unwillingness of the authorities to acknowledge that a serial killer even exists! While the chair-person of the committee dealing with the case, Col. Mikhail Fetisov (played by Donald Sutherland), seeks to provide support and assistance, the Communit Party representative (portrayed by Joss Ackland) refuses to aid Burakov's investigation.And so the killer, Andrei Chikatilo (Jeffrey DeMunn), continues to get away with murder for years ... Only after the fall of Communism do circumstances change, and finally the perpetrator is caught. But Chikatilo refuses to confess - and is about to be released. At last minute, psychiatrist Bukhanovsky (Max von Sydow) gets involved - and succeeds (in a highly poignant moment) in getting Chikatilo to talk. Finally the criminal is brought to justice.The events depicted in this movie are horrific. Yet it's a highly interesting crime thriller, and I thoroughly recommend it.While this is a region 1 DVD, it works perfectly on my region 2 player.

This is not a gory voyeuristic serial-killer movie, but a moving portrayal of the dilligence of the detectives involved in this real life story, and of a very important time in Soviet Union history. Stephen Rea is faultless as the leading detective, and his developing relationship with his boss, the wonderful Donald Sutherland, is a joy to watch. Joss Ackland as the Party man, for whom there is no such thing as the "decadent western phenomenon" of serial killers in Russia, is a brilliant study in bureaucratic hypocrisy. Max Von Sydow, as the forensic psychologist (before there was such a thing in Soviet Union), is predictably watchable. All the characters and relationships which develop over the period spanning the demise of the iron curtain from the late 1970's until 1990, are beautifully and believably drawn. Imelda Staunton offers a characteristically subtle and well-observed performance as Stephen Rea's detective's wife. Jeffrey DeMunn as Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo, Citizen X, is at once quietly terrifying and pathetic - a convincing and memorable performance by an actor whose work I was not familiar with, until I watched this film - he may give you nightmares!If big-budget, loud American action movies with plenty of gory detail and voyeuristic thrills are your thing, give this a miss. Otherwise, if you enjoy a thought provoking, beautifully made and interesting film, with great performances by an ensemble cast, this may well be for you!

I have the Region 1 dvd that now replaces my old vhs tape.It's a great upgrade, complete with subtitles.This is indeed a stunning tv film by HBO and compounded their success as innovative broadcasters from the 90's to this day.Foremost are the performances by Donald Sutherland, Stephen Rea and Jeffery DeMunn as the Russian serial killer Andrei Chickatilo who captures exactly the character of Chickatilo---dehumanized, sexually frustrated, impotent, despicable.The bureaucracy of the old Soviet empire is paramount in holding back the search for the killer and this is cleverly shown throughout and drives the characters played by Sutherland (immaculate in a Russian colonel's uniform) and Rea (untidy and down-at-heel).Special mention to Max von Sydow as a psychiatrist brought in to help profile the killer. His cameo was pivotal in the film and brought some light relief to his scenes before the final confrontation and interrogation.I don't think I'm giving too much away as this is based on the true story of Russia's most prolific serial killer.A terrific film that I find utterly absorbing every time I watch it.

It's a brilliant film. I used to have it in video. I order it on DVD but for some reason it doesn't play here in the UK because it's from USA. I don't know why?

I never usually critique films, but this film, along with 10 Rillington Place, I hold in very high regard.Gritty and tragic - with noteworthy performances from Rea, Sutherland, Arkland and Von Sydow - it is SO well cast, it's pretty much perfect. There is no sugarcoating, no CG nonsense, just horrifying subject matter convoluted by an insane Soviet Union ideology and delivered with marvellous performances.