The Weather Underground (2002)

The remarkable story of The Weather Underground, radical activists of the 1970s, and of radical politics at its best and most disastrous.

Directors:

Sam Green, Bill Siegel

Stars:

Lili Taylor, Pamela Z, Jim Lange

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Lili Taylor	...	Narrator (voice)
Pamela Z	...	Narrator (voice)
Jim Lange	...	Additional Narrator (voice)
Evan White	...	Additional Narrator (voice)
Bernardine Dohrn	...	Herself
Mark Rudd	...	Himself
Brian Flanagan	...	Himself
David Gilbert	...	Himself
Billy Ayers	...	Himself (as Bill Ayers, Bill Ayers)
Naomi Jaffe	...	Herself
Todd Gitlin	...	Himself
Laura Whitehorn	...	Herself
Don Strickland	...	Himself
Kathleen Cleaver	...	Herself

Storyline

In the late 1960s and early 1970s polarization of American political situation was becoming acute, with the Vietnam War abroad and civil rights at home being the most pressing issues. For the youth political movement, seemingly ineffectual methods of peaceful protest and resistance led to the rise of a faction that wanted a more extreme approach that the government could not ignore. One particular group, the Weather Underground, attempted to team up with the Black Panthers to violently confront the US government. They began with participation in street riots, and escalated their efforts to include the bombing of specific targets associated with the government or local power structures. Thorough archival footage and interviews of participants on both sides of this conflict, this film covers the Weather Underground's campaign of violence through this period, the FBI's strategies and tactics to apprehend them (including some deemed unethical or illegal), until changing times and ...

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Plot Keywords:

1970s | government | radical | underground | resistance | 

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Genres:

Documentary | History | War

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [fr] Official website

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 November 2003 (Australia)

Filming Locations:

Berkeley, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$13,984 (USA) (6 June 2003)

Gross:

$560,199 (USA) (21 May 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Free History Project

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Bernardine Dohrn: There's no way to be committed to non-violence in the most violent society that history has ever created. I'm not committed to non-violence in any way.

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Connections

Features Underground (1976)

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Soundtracks

"Jynueythek Ylow"
Performed by Aphex Twin
Courtesy of Sire Records

User Reviews

As history goes, so go various other things.

I had actually never heard of the Weathermen before "The Weather Underground" came out. As I understand it, some people complained that the documentary glossed over some of their more violent activities (and some people think that that may have cost it the Best Documentary Oscar). But the way I see it, these sorts of documentaries are always going to stir up controversy, with different factions in society complaining about what they do and don't focus on.

No matter. I will say that the documentary brings up important questions about when it's OK to use violence against those in power. Certainly the US government's actions in Vietnam - plus its spying on radical groups - left the people who formed the Weathermen feeling that they had no other options. And of course, it brings up questions of how far we can go today, when the Bush administration labels political opponents as terrorist enablers.

So overall, I do recommend the documentary as a look at '60s radicalism (even though this is radicalism in a less than pleasant form), and also a look at government surveillance. Whether or not you agree with the Weathermen is of course up to you. As for whether or not the documentary glossed over their more violent activities, is that any different from glossing over the government's crimes?