Customer Reviews
Focused Film On Political Organization From 60's & 70's 
2008-07-02
Firstly, these are to be reviews of the film, not your opinion about The Weather Underground organization. This is not your blog! Go post your opinions about 60's/70's radicals, the Vietnam War, Nixon, etc. some place else!
Alright. This is a very focused film on the 60's/70's group The Weather Underground. It has contemporary interviews w/its members, a few people from The Black Panthers, a former FBI agent, loads of archival footage and some helpful narratives that guide you through events of the period. It doesn't stray too far from the members of the organization and I don't think it paints an overly sympathetic view of the members. It let's you make your own judgment on whether their actions during the period make them heroes or villains (which you should not post in a review of the film) or at the very minimum, it educates you about a period in American history (I was a toddler at the time & my parents didn't let me read/watch the news nor talk to strangers).
I give this documentary four stars b/c it is very concise & cohesive in its narrative. I didn't get a complete sense of the individual members, but I did get a sense of their motivations, regrets, etc.
The Dark Side of the Anti-Vietnam War Movement 
2007-11-13
After seeing this film, I had to wonder what these people were thinking when they got started. Did they really think that they were going to be the cadre of a nationwide movement to destroy the capitalist system in the United States? It seems so.
One of the biggest flaws, besides their near-total reliance upon violence and the destruction of property, is the simple fact that their whole reason for existing was the Vietnam War. As soon as that war was over, they had no reason to continue.
From the beginning, they lacked any real support from outside their group and that should have made them stop and think. The "Days of Rage" was just an incident where windows got smashed and little more than that. They weren't revolutionaries. They were vandals. For all the time spent in hiding and for all the sacrifices they made, what did they accomplish?
Aside from this documentary and a few other works, there is no lasting legacy of the Weather Underground. One of their members is serving a life sentence, others had served time in prison and been released and some of their members even died in the early years of the group. For what? The United States didn't withdraw from Vietnam because of them specifically, so they couldn't claim the victory that they had suffered for and deprived themselves of creature comforts in its pursuit.
I am glad that most of them have gone on with their lives and have even coninued in progressive causes. However, I see nothing that justifies what they did and I feel sad for their lost and wasted youth.
This is a good film to see for part of the history of the domestic U.S. opposition to the war in Southeast Asia. However, it is also a good film to see for how not to run an anti-war group.
Fascinating Look At Some Serious A**holes 
2007-07-03
The Weather Underground is a well done documentary about the movement of the same name. It produces a somewhat sympathetic portrait of some really screwed up people who thought that terrorism was the way to justice. Probably a little too sympathetic; some other posters have noted the absence of several quotes by members of the group praising the Manson murders, for example.
What is really disturbing about this film is how completely unrepentant many of them are. Bernardine Dohrn in particular strikes me as someone who should to this day be considered very dangerous. For some of these folks, it is clear that the only 'regrets' that they had was that they didn't kill more people.
Despite that, the movie is worth watching. I loved some of the music, it gets very moody, and does a good job of documenting the implosion of the Student Left. You may come away from it thinking that they were very brave revolutionaries, or you may decide, like I did, that they are a truly pathetic bunch of malcontents who don't deserve any sympathy. But it's an eye-opening movie and highly recommended.
YOU DO NEED A WEATHERMAN (PERSON) TO KNOW WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS 2007-06-26
In a time when I, among others, are questioning where the extra-parliamentary opposition to the Iraq War is going and why it has not made more of an impact on American society it was rather refreshing to view this documentary about the seemingly forgotten Weather Underground that as things got grimmer dramatically epitomized one aspect of opposition to the Vietnam War. If opposition to the Iraq war is the political fight of my old age Vietnam was the fight of my youth and in this film brought back very strong memories of why I fought tooth and nail against it. And the people portrayed in this film, the core of the Weather Underground, while not politically kindred spirits then or now, were certainly on the same page as I was- a no holds- barred fight against the American Empire. We lost that round, and there were reasons for that, but that kind of attitude is what it takes to bring down the monster. But a revolutionary strategy is needed. That is where we parted company.
One of the political highlights of the film is centered on the 1969 Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) Convention that was a watershed in the student anti-war protest movement. That was the genesis of the Weathermen but it was also the genesis of the Progressive Labor Party-led faction that wanted to bring the anti-war message to the working class by linking up the student movement with the fight against capitalism. In short, to get to those who were, or were to be, the rank and file soldiers in Vietnam or who worked in the factories. In either case the point that was missed , as the Old Left had argued all along and which we had previously dismissed out of hand, was that it was the masses of working people who were central to `bringing the war home' and the fight against capitalism. That task still confronts us today.
One of the paradoxical things about this film is that the Weather Underground survivors interviewed had only a vague notion about what went wrong. This was clearly detailed in the remarks of Mark Rudd, a central leader, when he stated that the Weathermen were trying to create a communist cadre. He also stated, however, that after going underground he realized that he was out of the loop as far as being politically effective. And that is the point. There is no virtue in underground activity if it is not necessary, romantic as that may be. To the extent that any of us read history in those days it was certainly not about the origins of the Russian revolutionary movement in the 19th century. If we had we would have found that the above-mentioned fight in 1969 was also fought out by that movement. Mass action vs. individual acts, heroic or otherwise, of terror. The Weather strategy of acting as the American component of the world-wide revolutionary movement to bring the Empire to its knees certainly had (and still does) have a very appealing quality. However, a moral gesture did not (and will not) bring this beast down. While the Weather Underground was made up a small group of very appealing subjective revolutionaries its political/moral strategy led to a dead end. The lesson to be learned; you most definitely do need weather people to know which way the winds blow. Start with Karl Marx.
Interesting potrayal of indigenous revolutionaries 2007-05-24
Some fascinating facets of young revolutionaries - the collective emotion that makes them to act/ organize, the power they wield on the society to bring in the change (especially students), the problems in pursuing a unified objective and misinterpretation of these objectives by some, which eventually kills of the revoltion.
I also found it interesting that some of the struggles on the 60's and 70's continue to be the struggles of today's generation also.
Spotlight on a Disturbing Era in History 2007-05-15
The key players in the radical movement known as the Weather Underground are skillfully brought to life in this Oscar-nominated documentary. The Weathermen were born of sixties protest, but took their scheme to overthrow the U.S. government to especially violent extremes. Never a well-populated movement, the Underground petered out as its leaders aged during the seventies; by decade's end, weary of hiding, most of them had turned themselves over to the authorities. That journey, by which a fire-breathing revolutionary such as Bernadine Dohrn became a (still fiery) gray-haired wife and mother, is an intriguing one. This film, rich in period footage (and some unnecessary sensationalism) captures the era somewhat broadly. But the present-day interviews with the participants, contrasted with their radical selves, provides an exceptionally detailed look inside the organization itself. It's not a nostalgic look back, and the overall mood is sobering rather than celebratory. Lili Taylor provides the narration.
--Robert Horton
Important that we remember 2007-02-06
I was a relatively young part of the era to which this excellent documentary refers. I never got into the violent dimension of it--but nor do I claim to be a "pacifist." So there's lots to reflect on...
The Students for a Democratic Society was, as people from that era remember, a "radical" group during an era in which the United States was exterminating Vietnamese peasants while subjugating black activists at home. A faction of the SDS, the Weather Underground, unhappy with the glacial rate of change, in essence took over the organization and fostered violence.
The FBI kept tabs on them--for reasons not without some justification. Some of their leaders were constructing a bomb to be used at an officers club when a short circuit detonated the bomb. Those working on it were killed. Then the FBI knew they had a target.
Todd Gitlin, who'd been the president of the more "moderate" SDS, comments repeatedly throughout the film. Needless to say, he disapproved of the direction the Weather Underground was taking them. He argues that when they plot to bomb essentially innocent people, they become like, say, Hitler or Stalin. It becomes a "religious" cause that needs little more justification. (Yeah, there was the youth-culture dimension of it too, the rejection of monogamy, the "free sex," much of which was pretty naive.)
After the self-destruction of some of the Weathermen, the remaining faction decided that the bombing wasn't inappropriate, just the killing of the innocent was. So they bombed various institutions over the next few years to make their point--while making sure no one would be needlessly hurt. In the meantime, eloquent Black Panther leader Fred Hampton was murdered by the authorities, and the Weather Underground endeared that cause.
I should add what the film does: that later in "the era," there were activities that made the movement look bad, e.g., that Manson family and Altamont. I'm glad the producers didn't lose track of those tidbits on many of which we (mistakenly) reflect more than we do on the positive results of the era.
The Weather Underground members went truly underground to come out many years later.
All in all, this was a superb documentary. As one can imagine, those who were active in the movement then have "mixed feelings" about them now described best, perhaps, by Mark Rudd. Did they make mistakes? Of course they did. Do they proclaim that "all we did was wrong"? No! That's among the dimensions of their movement that I appreciate.
It's important to recognize how wrong the US foreign policy was in that era (something for which we'll be paying for decades if not centuries.) So something doubtless needed to be done.
I note too that, aside from one character, still in prison in NY for an event in which some were killed after his Weather affiliation, they are all employed in causes of many kinds, i.e., they didn't all become insurance company executives, which is the stereotype on which those who decry the 60s movements rely. And another very important dimension the film covers is that most of the Weather Underground were NOT prosecuted and jailed despite some of their activities. It seems the FBI had broken so many laws in tailing the activists that the bureau couldn't pursue a case against them! (There was coverage too of the group in Media, PA who broke into the FBI office there and exposed to the media the questionable and clearly illegal activities of the FBI. It should make one reflect on the surveillance that is being rationalized today ostensibly based on "terror" threats!)
I recommend this for students today--many of whom are more sold on the Super Bowl than on Iraq--for people who want to recollect an era and its causes without all the fluff the pop media attach to it. There's always something to learn and this film offers a few dimensions of that learning and, again, much on which to reflect.
how soon we forget 2007-01-25
Terrorist bombs in America? Yes, most people have forgotten them, but a small group of far left radicals of the the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) bombed a number of buildings to protest the Vietnam War. We don't need more social violence like this, but where are our student protesters today? This documentary takes you back to the tumultuous sixties and early seventies.
Saddened by this film... 2006-12-27
I found the film to be very interesting and accurate. I am 65 and lived through all of the events depicted in the film.
I am very saddened by what has become of the "revolutionaries." Except for a very few they seem to have forgotten what they were about. Mark Rudd was especially pathetic methinks.
They were fighting the most powerful terrorist organization the world has ever known...the United States of America. And Brian Flanagan mentioned the Oklahoma City bombing and the bombing of the twin towers......but fails to mention George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George Bush,Ronald Reagan, and assaults American military force in the middle east, the far east, and in Latin America.
It was very sad to see the energy sapped out of these folks. Has the US government promised not to harass them if they don't say much?
Remember Marlon Brando said that the movie the Godfather was not about the Mafia; it's about the United States Government.
I shall remain a revolutionary... an activist for justice, healthcare, and peace.....an activist against capitalism, war, and racism until the day I die.
The rare documentary that let's you think for yourself 2006-12-19
Many documentary film-makers don't play fair. They ignore any fact or argument that doesn't support their position, and edit their footage in a way that forces you to accept their views. Their goal is not to inform, but to persuade.
Consider Michael Moore. I like his documentaries -- and I'm inclined to agree with him on the issues he's addressed (e.g., gun control, the war in Iraq, the arrogance and duplicity of the Bush administration) -- but they're far from unbiased. That's fine, of course, because he doesn't pretend to be neutral. He's an advocate who presents ideas and perspectives largely ignored by the mainstream press. His work is valuable (and often entertaining), but ultimately unsatisfying. I always leave a Micheal Moore film wondering what an informed person on the other side would have to say.
"The Weather Underground" is different. Though I'm sure the directors have strong feelings about their subject, they don't express them in the film. Instead, they present a balanced history of the Weathermen and let you form your own opinions regarding this controversial organization that endorsed the use of violence to protest the Vietnam War.
Because the directors resist every temptation to reveal (let alone impose) their personal views, people who watch the film often have wildly different reactions to it. I first saw the movie in a packed theater in Chicago. One of the interview subjects was Todd Gitlin, a former president of the SDS who was active in the anti-war movement but critical of the Weathermen. He seemed smart, sensible and thoughtful, and I found myself agreeing with most everything he said. But others in attendance actually hissed whenever he appeared on screen. I'm sure it would have been easy for the directors to make Mr. Gitlin appear either reasonable or misguided, but instead they let each viewer make his own assessment.
"The Weather Underground" is a great documentary: compelling, informative, thought-provoking, sometimes heartbreaking, and occasionally very funny. (The last scene, showing a former Weatherman where you'd never expect to see him, made me laugh out loud.) It's also worth owning, as it rewards repeated viewings.
