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The Weather Underground

  • 2002
  • Unrated
  • 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
3.7K
YOUR RATING
The Weather Underground (2002)
Trailer
Play trailer2:17
1 Video
11 Photos
DocumentaryHistoryWar

The remarkable story of The Weather Underground, radical activists of the 1970s, and of radical politics at its best and most disastrous.The remarkable story of The Weather Underground, radical activists of the 1970s, and of radical politics at its best and most disastrous.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
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    3.7K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Sam Green
      • Bill Siegel
    • Stars
      • Lili Taylor
      • Pamela Z
      • Jim Lange
    • 45User reviews
    • 28Critic reviews
    • 77Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 4 wins & 4 nominations total

    Videos1

    The Weather Underground (2002)
    Trailer 2:17
    Watch The Weather Underground (2002)

    Photos11

    Sam Green, Bill Siegel, and Carrie Lozano at an event for The Weather Underground (2002)
    Sam Green, Bill Siegel, and Carrie Lozano at an event for The Weather Underground (2002)
    Sam Green, Bill Siegel, and Carrie Lozano at an event for The Weather Underground (2002)
    Sam Green, Bill Siegel, and Carrie Lozano at an event for The Weather Underground (2002)
    Sam Green and Bill Siegel at an event for The Weather Underground (2002)
    Sam Green and Bill Siegel at an event for The Weather Underground (2002)
    The Weather Underground (2002)
    The Weather Underground (2002)
    The Weather Underground (2002)
    Best Boy (1979)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Lili Taylor
    Lili Taylor
    • Narrator
    • (voice)
    Pamela Z
    • Narrator
    • (voice)
    Jim Lange
    Jim Lange
    • Additional Narrator
    • (voice)
    Evan White
    • Additional Narrator
    • (voice)
    Bernardine Dohrn
    • Self
    Mark Rudd
    Mark Rudd
    • Self
    Brian Flanagan
    • Self
    David Gilbert
    • Self
    Bill Ayers
    • Self
    • (as Bill Ayers)
    Naomi Jaffe
    • Self
    Todd Gitlin
    Todd Gitlin
    • Self
    Laura Whitehorn
    • Self
    Don Strickland
    • Self
    Kathleen Cleaver
    Kathleen Cleaver
    • Self
    Skip Andrew
    Skip Andrew
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • (uncredited)
    L.D. Barkley
    L.D. Barkley
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • (uncredited)
    Ivan Boesky
    Ivan Boesky
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • (uncredited)
    Fidel Castro
    Fidel Castro
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • (uncredited)
    • Directors
      • Sam Green
      • Bill Siegel
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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

      Mark Rudd: I cherished my hate as a badge of moral superiority.

    • Connections
      Featured in The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004)
    • Soundtracks
      Jynueythek Ylow
      Performed by Aphex Twin

      Courtesy of Sire Records

    User reviews45

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    The calm after the storm, and the myriad lessons drawn.
    A friend of mine wrote:

    "I have a very sparse knowledge of (The Weather Underground's) particular historical context. My interest here is more in terms of how the film was put together, what the archival footage and interviews with former Weathermen members NOW reveals to us about their sentiments, their motivations, their actions."

    My sentiments exactly. Like the above well put thought piece, I foresee others more eloquent than myself will lavish raves (or rants) on The Weather Underground. Love it or hate it, you decide. That said, I shall post here, my expanded take.

    There is an incredibly balanced portrayal of these people in The Weather Underground. Though objectivity is arguably frown upon in documentaries, this film worked for me. For it allowed me to understand the information presented (Yes, I am just as ignorant about 60s/70s American history) and it helped me in making my own conclusion.

    This documentary shed interesting light on its subjects. The Weathermen failed in their radical movement. However turbulent that time and place might have been, the corresponding violence initiated by this splinter group did not contribute as much to the winding down of the Vietnam War, as did the natural progression of other events. Ironically, the continual pacifistic action from "the rest" arguably effected more of a shift in that period's socio politics (albeit gradually) than these radicals could ever accomplish.

    One telling line from Mark Rudd, one of the movement's members said:

    "I cherished my hate as a badge of moral superiority"

    Therein lies the danger.

    When smart, idealistic (more often than not, good intentioned as well) individuals share this belief that they stand on a higher moral ground, that they have a greater, grander purpose in their "calling", they'd willingly go to any lengths in pursuit of their causes. As a result, as one other interviewee put it, extreme violent actions would be considered. Ordinary human lives would ultimately become dispensable. Ergo, the seeds for terrorism has been planted. Mass Murderers are borne out of this ideological conceit.

    This cinematic thesis also suggested the generalised "hippie" movement of the 60's/ 70's slapped the faces of the Left real hard. It torn apart the fabric of the nation. Its unachieveable idealism when intermingled with the "violent" dynamics of that turbulent period (Vietnam, Drugs, Hedonism, Multiple Assassinations of Cult of Personalities, Watergate etc) brought about disenchantment and despair. As a result, the pendulum swung and many people ran towards the Right for comfort, denial, escapism and a combination of these mixed feelings.... It gave us Olivia Newton John, Rambo, Ronald Reagan and Jane Fonda - The 80's (yikes).

    I am actually quite glad the film ended on an optimistic note. These arguably misguided Weathermen brought with them enormous personal baggages all these years. Yet throughout this film, they were candid about their ideology and reflective about their frailties. Contrary to our natural expectations, these "failures" did not become jaded human beings. They moved on from this checkered past. They continued living their lives. One of them even won Jeopardy (Don't ask).

    All in, their humanity shone through.

    The Weathermen fought Da Man, and lost. Their strategies might not have been better thought out. Their continuous radical activities might have played into the hands of sophisticated government spin doctors. They might have lost steam due to gradually realising their movement's futility. Yes, their follies were explored abundantly in this movie. But their thoughts and actions were guided by the confusion of those turbulent times (however ironic this last sentence might have sounded). All in, their hearts were in the right place.

    On the other hand, if we look beyond the talking heads and read between the lines, we would realise that the questions raised in The Weather Underground are just as relevant today. About 50000 American Soldiers died in the Vietnam War, millions more Vietnamese perished. Who holds more destructive powers? The Weathermen or their "enemy"? Who then were the mass murderers? Look at Iraq today, Afghanistan the day before and Bosnia before that.

    Who then are the mass murderers?

    In closing, I guess all should know that History is written by the victors. This cinematic document about the "losers" is hence IMO, a most important piece of work. It demands a wider audience and need be accorded higher archival priority than something as insidiously engineered and time wasting as The Fog of War.

    For we have much more to learn from this Oscar losing flick.
    helpful•19
    6
    • Sinnerman
    • Aug 28, 2004

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 13, 2003 (Australia)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Подполье погоды
    • Filming locations
      • New York City, New York, USA
    • Production company
      • The Free History Project
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $564,632
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $13,984
      • Jun 8, 2003
    • Gross worldwide
      • $564,632
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 32 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

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