The Fifth Estate
The Fifth Estate is released on DVD & Blu-Ray tomorrow, and follows the story of whistleblower Julian Assange; played by Benedict Cumberbatch.
To celebrate the release of The Fifth Estate, we take a look at some of the top on-screen whistleblowers.
- Julia Roberts - Erin Brockovich
Julia Roberts, who won the Academy Award, Screen Actors’ Guild Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA for Best Actress is this box office hit, plays single mother of three, legal assistant and whistle blower, Erin Brockovich.
After having a car accident and losing her case due to her bad behaviour in the court room, Erin Brockovich finds herself working as a legal assistant.
After coming across evidence that proved an energy corporation had been knowingly contaminating their products, Erin Brockovich acts to take them down.
- Matt Damon - The Informant!
In this 2009 crime-comedy, Matt Damon is American business giant Mark Whitacre. Famously known for his role as business tycoon turned jailbird, Whitacre (Damon) slowly became a vital part of a huge investigation which led him to eight and a half years in a federal prison.
Taking the serious topic of fraud and embezzlement, The Informant! comes with a side of light hearted comedy along with drama, thrill and crime. Matt Damon doesn’t fail to impress as he re-lives one of the biggest whistle blowing scandals of the 21st century.
- Hal Holbrook - All the President’s Men
In this 1976, Academy Award winning political thriller, also starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, Hal Holbrook is whistleblower 'Deep Throat'.
Based on a true account, the film portrays the story of two Washington Post journalists, Woodward (Redford) and Bernstein (Hoffman) who uncover the Watergate Scandal that eventually led to the resignation of US President, Richard Nixon.
‘Deep throat’ (Holbrook) became an ongoing aid in putting together the puzzle that was the Watergate Scandal, and eventually blew the whistle to Woodward and Bernstein.
- Rachel Weisz - The Whistleblower
In this 2010 chilling thriller, Rachel Weisz is Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska police officer.
Based on a true story, the film portrays the life of Kathryn who was hired to work in post war Bosnia for The United Nations International Police.
Whilst working there, she discovered a sex trafficking scandal going on at the UK security company, DynCorp International.
After reporting it, she was forced out of the country; Kathryn took the story to the BBC and brought the story to light.
- Benedict Cumberbatch - The Fifth Estate
BAFTA Award winner, Benedict Cumberbatch wows with his outstanding performance as the notorious activist and founder of Wiki-leaks, Julian Assange.
Working together, Assange (Cumberbatch) and partner, fellow computer hacker Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Bruhl), work together to become the underdogs of the privileged and powerful.
However, they find themselves sinking deeper and deeper in to a sea of covert governmental information and unspeakable corporate crimes in this powerful exposé based on the real-life events of the notorious Wikileaks.
The Fifth Estate will be released on Blu-Ray and DVD on
17th February 2014, courtesy of Entertainment One.