Chicago 10 (2007) User Reviews

Well Done Effort!

[bobcolganrac · 8/10 · 9 December 2008]

I am not usually a fan of added-in animation. There are a few movies, Pink Floyd's extraordinary antiWar film 'The Wall' one of them, in which the animation provides graphic imagery to enhance the surreal feeling for the viewer. But in that movie the imagery is mostly a nod to Jungian archetypes morphing as it does from animal form to out-of-control mechanical killing machines. There are times when it works beautifully to complement the protagonist's suicidal angst, and times when it doesn't work as well, but it meshes well with the score to heighten the mood of the music.

In 'Chicago 10' the animation provides the courtroom re-enactment to fill in the gap of not having actual courtroom video. The actual human beings are rendered in cartoon form.

Does it succeed?-- for me it isn't as powerful as having live actors either impersonate or interpolate the roles of the courtroom persona. I think for me it would have worked better to have re-done those scenes with actors. But . . .

But I want to say how powerful the movie is. . . I knew the outcome, I am of that time----but the tension continued to accumulate as the trial and the actual scenes wove a story of an overview of America in the heartland in 1968.

This should be required viewing for anyone born after 1965 and maybe earlier. It has always been difficult for me to describe to my children how polarized the nation was during this period... I've never felt I could generate for them that vicarious tension necessary for understanding. This movie accomplishes that. The animation isn't to my taste--but it works nonetheless. Would it have been more powerful if real actors were used for the court scenes?? Maybe. And maybe it is that cartoonish abstraction from reality that the filmmakers were trying to achieve, at an event which perfectly embodied the insanity of those who were siding with militarism while it was killing their own. There is enough actual video used to allow a lot of the film to show us the people involved as they were then, and what happened to them, with the animation overlaying.

I think that more footage of the Vietnam war, the obscene news footage that Americans were exposed to nightly, might have been useful too, in recreating the ambiance of that time. Quite the contrast to the sanitized photojournalism of the current war in Iraq which stays conveniently and purposefully out of view, out of mind for American citizens since 2003, the Vietnam drama took place live in primetime, and the shockingly visceral quality of that televised carnage finally overcame the credibility of government rhetoric about stopping the Red menace.

Thank you for this look, and feeling, back in time. Well done.

informative, eye-opening and creative

[Buddy-51 · 8/10 · 16 November 2010]

The time: August 1968. The place: the Chicago Amphitheater, host to that year's Democratic National Convention. The event: the riots that broke out when an assortment of "hippies, yippees and just plain kids" took to the streets to protest the US' continuing involvement in the Vietnam War. The march and sit-in, originally billed as a "Festival of Life," turned violent when the ramped-up police and National Guard forces, estimated at well over 25,000 strong, began tear-gassing and billy-clubbing the demonstrators on the last night of the convention – in full view of the nation's citizens who watched in shock and amazement as it unfolded on their TV sets at home.

The demonstrations were largely organized by The National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, from whose leadership ranks would come many of the men destined to go down in the annals of anti-establishment folklore as the Chicago 7 (the 10 of the title comes from the inclusion of Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale, who had his trial severed, and the two lawyers). After the incident, these men were placed on trial, charged with conspiracy and with violating the Anti-Riot Act of 1968. All seven - David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, William Kunstler, Jerry Rubin, Rennie Davis and John Froines – were to wind up spending at least some time behind bars for their "crimes." Written and directed by Brett Morgan, the documentary "Chicago 10" blends amazing archival footage with animated re-enactments of the trial – based on actual court transcripts – with A-list actors like Hank Azaria, Nick Nolte, Mark Ruffalo, Roy Scheider and Liev Schreiber providing the voices.

The movie provides a fascinating glimpse into not only those turbulent times but the minds of the men who helped to bring them about. For instance, it's amusing to note how the defendants treated the trial itself almost as if it were some form of subversive street-theater, in the hopes of antagonizing the conservative judge, Julius Hoffman (they really DO seem to have gotten under his skin), and destroying the court's authority in the process. Also, in the months when the trial was going on, the defendants would fan out across the country on their off-hours, lecturing on colleges campuses – with most of the speaking fees going to defray the cost of the trial - raising awareness among the students and becoming counter-culture celebrities and spokesmen for a whole new generation of politically activated youngsters. Then the men would return to Chicago to resume their roles in the trial.

The final twenty minutes or so of the movie - as we watch the government forces move in to disperse the protesters and the subsequent chaos that ensued - are riveting and eye-opening to say the least. But the whole movie is engaging and informative and reminds us of just how fragile a thing the right to free speech and assembly can be even in a country that prides itself on that being the very foundation upon which its democracy is built.

A good documentary with awful CGI

[Rectangular_businessman · 8/10 · 19 February 2012]

While I really appreciate the fact that Brett Morgen decided to include animation in this excellent documentary (Specially considering how under-appreciated is the animated medium, even in the recent years)I am not sure about the animation technique used on it:

The CGI used on this film to re-enact court scenes is just awful. The characters look like they were borrowed from Sim City, with expressionless faces and robotic movements. Also the shiny (and unappealing) colors used on it makes a sharp contrast with the seriousness of the live-action parts.

However, despite that, I really enjoyed this documentary. It was very interesting to watch from the beginning until the end. Also, the original way in which this documentary was directed made it a worth-watching, poignant experience that not even the ugly CGI could ruin.

BLEEP THE PIGS! one of the most unconventional docs in years

[Quinoa1984 · 9/10 · 19 March 2008]

Brett Morgan's Chicago 10 might not deliver any groundbreaking revelations about one of the most notorious of protests-gone-bad sagas in American history, where after four days and nights (mostly) non-violent protesters and loaded-for-bear police clashed horrifically on the streets of Chicago and then the masterminds in the 'Yippies' (i.e. Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin) were put on a trial where all were sent to some jail time. It's not about revelations, per-say, though one might say that the story itself- encompassing 1968's volcanic political and societal tumult- could be a revelation for some younger audience members numbed out by cable news and desensitization.

What it's about is presentation, of taking apart agitprop of the period, assembling it together with rotoscoping of the Chicago 7 trial, music from the likes of Rage Against the Machine, Eminem and the Beastie Boys, and loads of raw footage documenting much of the actual on-the-street and behind-closed-doors action in Chicago. It's probably the most striking sort one's seen since The Filth and the Fury, however in a context of instead 70s punk rock 1968's culmination of anti-war demonstration.

It's an ugly, breathtaking and (unlikely) savagely funny movie, where older viewers can experience their memories of a time and place in a sometimes bizarre and sometimes sobering context (of hindsight being '20-20') and younger viewers (i.e. guys and gals in their 20s and 30s) get a peek at an era that seems all the more ballsy in the perspective of America's involvement in Iraq. Morgan also does something a little dangerous, but successful, in portraying the "heroes" for all they were in this time and place: stalwart idealists in the guise of immature not-totally American insurgents whose 'spiritual experimenter' was oft-meditating poet-dude Allen Ginsberg. What to think of these men like Abbie Hoffmann and the leader of the Black Panthers? A little biased? Perhaps - but in light of how the trial went down, why carp?

It's editing is fast-paced, but not too much so, and its technique of animation is multi-faceted. On top of the rotoscoping (some of the best in recent memory along with A Scanner Darkly), there's a night-time demonstration done in 2-D, like something out of a nightmare with its somewhat primitive movement, and then the figures of the Chicago 7 appearing before crowds (usually with great voice-work from Hank Azaria, Dylan Baker and Mark Ruffalo, plus a great career finale from Roy Scheider as the cantankerous judge in the trial). It's the kind of visual assault that for the prepared is like a bit of ironic bliss.

If you've seen the trailer, or know a bit about the trial, or about Chicago in 68 (which Hunter S. Thompson, looking back in just 1972, said brought him to tears), or just about the friction between anti and the establishment, you'll know if this is for you. It certainly is like nothing else you'll see this year as a piece of sublime, subversive history. 9.5/10

Excellent film.

[andrew-huffaker · 10/10 · 21 January 2007]

I just attended a screening of Chicago 10 at Sundance. Wow. What a unique and important movie. The mix of archival footage and animation blend together much better than I anticipated. The animated scenes are primarily courtroom scenes. The dialog during the animated courtroom scenes are taken directly from the court transcripts. The soundtrack is perfect. There is a combination of old and new including songs from contemporary artists such as Rage Against The Machine & Eminem. Although archival footage was used, and court transcripts were used as dialog, I'm not too sure that I'd call this film a documentary. This film was moving, powerful, and well worth seeing. I thought that the film was such a gem that I'm trying to get a tickets to see it again during the festival.

Good look at what happened in 1968

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 24 May 2009]

Chicago Ten is a mix of actual film and animated recreations using the transcripts of the trial of Chicago Ten (voiced by actors)that happened in the aftermath of the 1968 Democratic convention in ... Chicago. What happened was that The Yippies and anti-war groups showed up to protest and they locked horns with Mayor Daley and his machine who were looking for a fight. Everyone knew it was going to happen and when the violence occurred there were arrests that set in motion the trial that is the subject of the film. The film itself is quite good. The animation puts us in the court room allows the words of everyone involved to hang themselves. To my eyes the establishment come off looking foolish and in many ways the Yippies do too (clearly they saw it all a a big game). It was a necessary evil in away but I really wish that there had been a better bunch of heroes.

On a personal note, In a weird way the film left a bad taste in my mouth, not because it was a bad film, rather because I saw this right after seeing Chris Marker's Grin Without a Cat. Marker's film is a look at political protest in the world in the 1960's and 1970's and how the stakes were so much higher in say Prague where the Russians were coming to into crush the rebellion or in other places where people were dying for their beliefs. Seeing the antics of people like Abby Hoffman made me wonder how seriously the protesters were taking it.

My own reflections on history aside, this is a very good film and should be seen by anyone who wants to know what happened in Chicago in 1968.

Life changing film

[kris-369 · 10/10 · 18 January 2007]

Just saw this at the Sundance opening. An absolute life changing film. There aren't words that could ever describe the feelings evoked by this extraordinary film. You could feel the heart and soul poured into every frame- and the mix of animation and incredible soundtrack was so moving. An absolute must see for anyone who needs to be reminded that they are the difference that is needed to stop the current war and the violence that is inherent today and since the beginning of time. This film leaves you feeling like standing up and taking flight and making a move toward what is truly important- the pursuit of peace and all that comes with-it- making a stand, courage, understanding yourself and your place in the world and knowing when to say when. I truly believe this film will change many lives.

Revolutionary, man, revolutionary!

[george.schmidt · 9/10 · 20 March 2008]

CHICAGO 10 (2008) ***1/2 (Voices of: Hank Azaria, Dylan Baker, Nick Nolte, Mark Ruffalo, Roy Scheider, Liev Schreiber, James Urbaniak, Jeffrey Wright) Fascinating history lesson by way of state-of-the-art rotoscope animation about the infamous Chicago 10 trial of the 1968 anti-war demonstration at The Democratic National Convention led by "yippie" Abbie Hoffman curtailing into a monkey trial with dubious results and if anything a clear-eyed viewpoint of just how radical things were then and how it eerily reflects America's politics today. While the animation is hit-and-miss (and a bit eerie ala "Heavy Metal") the archival footage of the real-life instigators/participants is truly remarkable and should be seen by all who wondered what it was to live during a revolution. (Dir: Brett Morgen)

Chicago 10

[editor-133 · 10/10 · 8 October 2007]

The story telling in Chicago 10 is inviting. Once inside it transforms the audience into witnesses. With your own senses you see what many have for decades refused to see. It is a work well done. 1968 was a year that changed the US of A as much as May '68 changed France. The movie is not an history lesson. This movie brings us into that time in a way that allows us to reflect not only upon what happened in Chicago, but moreover what was yet to come in the USA. The trial of the Chicago 7 almost did not happen. Ramsey Clark the US Attorney General until January 20, 1969 was not going to allow this case to be prosecuted. After January 20th, Nixon's Attorney General John Mitchell made sure that the silent majority got their show trial. It backfired. The rest is in the movie.

What a let down...

[jamesstreet · 4/10 · 21 August 2008]

The Kid Stays in the Picture was a great documentary with a refreshing style that managed to keep me hooked into a subject that I honestly wasn't very interested in. So I was extremely excited to see Brett Morgen creating this documentary about history that I was very interesting in and.. Well, Morgen probably reached a little too far on this one.

This documentary is a mix of the very powerful archive footage of the demonstrations and events leading up to them, and a rather insipid animated recreation of the trial. There are no retrospective interviews (many of the 8 are now deceased) and there is no narration - both omissions that suit the style of the director and help emphasize the time and place of the events.

The archive footage could possibly have carried the film by itself. But this documentary is also about the trial. Without any footage or audio of the trial, how do you recreate it so that it appears as the farce that it was - while doing justice to the amazing news footage of protesters being maced and beaten? To do so would honestly have been an amazing accomplishment. Animating the trial was a bold move, but the end result is visually inadequate and mixes poorly with the news footage.

I have no problem with the use of animation, but the animation itself is of very low quality and isn't rather creative. For the trial scenes, I believe the intention was to create a comic look and feel to highlight the nature of the trial itself - but the uninspired designs are too smoothly rendered with wooden mo-cap movement that appears borderline uncanny valley. Other demonstration scenes were animated in a hand drawn/cut out style at an extremely jerky 3-4 frames per second that is difficult to watch to say the least - thankfully they are short. The one redeeming quality of the animation is the voice acting which is top notch across the board, even if Hank Azaria's Abbie Hoffman sounds a lot like Moe from The Simpsons.

My other complaint is the soundtrack, which is about half a mix of 90's rap and another half a mixed bag of pop and metal. The music has no connection to time or events and seems to only take away from the authenticity of the events. I've read the interviews where Morgen describes this movie as being about now, and not 1968 - but I think that is a disservice to the Chicago 8. Sure, there is a war going on right now as was then - but in 2008 young people are more likely to protest high gas prices than the current war.

You already know what to do.

[rationalandpsyched2 · 10/10 · 10 October 2007]

If you can't always get real footage, create your own. Brett Morgen revisited the courtroom of the Chicago 7's 1968 trial as truthfully as possible, a lesson every film maker should take. Mr. Morgen paid full respect to the 7 revolutionaries (David Dellinger, Abbie Hoffman "a sort of rock star", William Kunstler, Jerry Rubin, Bobby Seale, and Leonard Weinglass) who went to jail for their "thought crimes". I asked myself, how many people do you know who would go to jail for what they believe in today?

In showing actual found footage, leading from the beginning of the democratic convention up until their arrest and sentence a year later as well as animation inside the courtroom, we see the power of the people at its best.

The use of animation was a new and maybe risky way to show the insides of the courtroom, some will hate it and some will love it, but to me it goes along with the reality of what happened in the park/streets/etc, vs. the surreality and of the courtroom. It also ties in to the fact that we usually just see a drawing of a courtroom, which is pretty dull in comparison to the use of animation here.

I can only assume that few will understand the use of motion capture (It's not rotoscope!), or be inspired to try it in their films, and less will see it as problematic in the film.

Regarding the authenticity of the courtroom scenes, those scenes were taken from actual transcripts and accounts. The radio phone calls Hoffman made relaying the trial were clearly real sound bytes.

Regarding the soundtrack, the only song that I had a bias against was Eminem's, but I was surprised at how well it actually did work with this film's ideals, (although in reality I have never felt like standing up and protesting after hearing an Eminem song). Maybe this film will give Eminem's work a new meaning :) who knows.

If you don't know the history or weren't around for this event, (as I wasn't), than you should definitely read up on it before or after seeing this film. Activism is a dying art!!!

...

I loved what Brett said in his Q+A- "Film making is my way of protesting", something to that extent. Right on.

Corrupt trials = timely content

[GethinVanH · 8/10 · 9 September 2008]

In 1968 thousands of young people got angry and rioted as an unpopular President expanded an unpopular war overseas. As Ryan Harvey sung recently "The Times They *Aren't* A Chaning". The documentary footage from the protests is amazing, timely, and very reminiscent of news footage from recent political protests in North America. The animated sequences could have been better. They have the look of a very low budget show on Cartoon Network. Occasionally, a different kind of animation is used and this one is less realistic but much more effective. I'm not sure why this type of animation wasn't used throughout the trial sequences.

Roy Scheider I must add was very effective and creepy as Judge Hoffman, the authoritarian and one-sided judge who presided over the trial.

The movie is a reminder that things aren't changing but it's always important to fight.