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 (co-director)

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
Bill Ayers	...	Himself (as 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. Through 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 ...

---

Plot Keywords:

weather underground | underground | government | radical | 1970s | 

---

Genres:

Documentary | History | War

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] PBS

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 November 2003 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Tempo de Protesto

Filming Locations:

Berkeley, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,984, 8 June 2003, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$560,199, 23 May 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Free History Project

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the segment about the accidental explosion of the Greenwich Village townhouse at 18 West 11th Street, Dustin Hoffman can be seen standing next to a fire truck observing the scene. He was living in the townhouse next door with his wife at the time, Anne Byrne.

---

Quotes

Bernardine Dohrn: Freaks are revolutionaries and revolutionaries are freaks.

---

Connections

Features Dont Look Back (1967)

---

Soundtracks

I Ain't Got Nobody (For Real)
Performed by Sly and the Family Stone
Courtesy of Sony/Columbia

User Reviews

Very good documentary about some college kids playing with dynamite

Nicely made documentary about some self-proclaimed "revolutionaries" from the 60's & 70's who, after discovering that breaking windows alone wouldn't overthrow the U.S. government, decide to up the ante by bombing any government building they feel is connected to atrocities committed worldwide. Some nicely balanced insight from directors Sam Green & Bill Siegel, as we see some members of the movement who still believe in what they were fighting for and would do it all again, and others who can barely bring themselves to discuss their part due to their embarrassment. I enjoyed the fact that other voices were heard, and it was acknowledged that these people were very close to engaging in terrorism, rather than just "Vietnam and Nixon made us do it--". Some (possibly) unintentionally funny bits in here as well, as we see nerdy-looking 60's college kids talking about engaging in violence, when they look far more ready to engage in an orgy; and constant talk from former Underground members about how tight they were with the Black Panthers, and not one comment from any Panther member to reciprocate, save one who basically calls them out for being kind of silly.