The documentary centers on the fate of Mitnick, who is claimed to have been misrepresented in the feature film Takedown (2000) produced by Miramax and adapted from the book by the same name by Tsutomu Shimomura and John Markoff, which is based on disputed events. The film also documents a number of computer enthusiasts who drive across the United States searching for Miramax representatives and demonstrating their discontent with certain aspects of the bootleg script of Takedown they had acquired. Several notable and iconic figures from the hacking community appear in the movie, including Phiber Optik (Mark Abene), Bernie S (Ed Cummings), Alex Kasper, and (director) Emmanuel Goldstein (Eric Corley). Freedom Downtime tries to communicate a different view of the hacker community from that usually shown by the mainstream media, with hackers being depicted as curious people who rarely intend to cause damage, driven by a desire to explore and conduct pranks.

Spoilers herein.Consider this the evil twin to `Takedown.'In true hacker tradition, you start with the files, in this case something that really happened. Then you have two parties breaking into the sanctity of journalistic truth and hacking them for their own purposes.First we have the shameless version by Shimomura. I know scores of people who really work for the good guys - many brilliant minds. We are all ashamed of his version, which has been cracked and shredded from truth. And Miramax should today be castigated for trumpeting itself as the good guys (because of its distributing Micheal Moore's entertainments).But that doesn't justify this similar hatchet job. It does feature an embarrassing interview with a dumb journalist - as if we were supposed to be surprised. And it raises clear gaps between what Kevin might have done and what some wildeyed prosecutors claimed. (Kevin was more a talented con man than cracker.) But none of this was harmless prankstering, and this hacking of the truth is as sullied as Shimomura‘s.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

Yes.. You've seen them. "War Games" and "Hackers. You've also heard of them... You;ve heard of him. Kevin Mitnick. The media portrayed him as dangerous, believing he could start a nuclear war if he had access to a payphone. But you havn't heard the true story. And FREEDOM DOWNTIME is just that.I am glad that Emmanuel Goldstein and the crew of 2600 released this film, so it could show the truth of the Kevin Mitnick legacy, and the horror that could have been unleashed by the movie, "Takedown."FREEDOM DOWNTIME is the greatest hacker movie and the greatest documentary I have ever seen. If you have a view on hackers, see this movie.. It is likely to fix it.

This is a very well-crafted documentary. It shows what the media should have been showing. It delivers the whole story of Mitnick, proving wrong the book and the movie made about him. The documenters also interviewed (and tried to interview) key subjects. Also presented is the journey that the filmmakers' took to make this documentary, along with the (exciting!) long road to Las Vegas.This is definitely an educational and worthwhile video to watch. Everyone should see it, including students and non-computer geeks. There is no hype, just the facts. You will see the term "hacker" in a different light.Oh, and be sure to get your hands on the DVD when it comes out.