The Weather Underground

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="04000500dvldtc.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Reel Movie Critic.com</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reel Movie Critic.com"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="041d2c00dvldtc.png"> <div> <B>Home Page for</B></div> <div> <B>      </B><A HREF="http://newbookdiscounts.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://newbookdiscounts.com/"><U><B>Books</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>           </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id364.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Travel</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>                </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/"><U><B>Movies</B></U></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>                   </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id361.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Great Web Sites</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>Similar Genres</B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id349.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id349.htm"><U><B>Documentary</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1722.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1722.ht"><U><B>Political</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> The Weather Underground</div> <div> <IMG SRC="3bf90050.png" border=0 width="400" height="261" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="592" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="588"><div> <B>The Weather Underground</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="588"><div> <B>êêêê</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>                    Not Rated</B></FONT></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><div> Reviewed by Shelley Cameron</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="588" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="702" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="698"><div> Foul weather; visibility poor</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="593" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="293"><div> Bill Ayers </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="293"><div> Bernadine Dohrn</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="293"><div> Mark Rudd</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="293"><div> Kathleen Cleaver</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="293"><div> David Gilbert</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="293"><div> Laura Whitehorn</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="293"><div> Todd Gitlin</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="293"><div> Naomi Jaffe</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="293"><div> Brian Flanagan</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="293"><div> Don Strickland</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="293"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="293" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="293"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="293" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="593" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Directed by Bill Siegel and Sam Green </div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="293"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="293" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Documentary /  History  / USA </div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="293"><div> 92 Minutes.</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> This exceptional documentary, chronicling the rise and fall of the radical Weathermen, not only presents an extremely well crafted record of the most volatile period in US history but I can say, from experience, that no other piece of filmmaking evokes the mood of the period more strongly.  In the late 1960's, as the war in Viet Nam escalated, certain members of the Students for a Democratic Society, better known as the SDS, grew increasingly more frustrated that sit-ins and petitions were doing little to change the direction of US military policy and participation.  Seizing the opportunity to become a more militant force for change, they formed a spin off group.  They called themselves the Weathermen, taking the name from the lyric in a Bob Dylan song: “You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” Indeed the winds were clearly blowing strong and the storm raging.</div> <bR> <div> Beginning with archival footage of newscasts describing student protest activities and newsreel telecasts of the escalating war, the film covers the period from roughly 1968 through the disintegration of the group, with the fall of Saigon and end of American involvement in Viet Nam in 1975.  We see the powerful and terrible color footage of devastation; in particular of civilian casualties, of defoliation, and brutality that was pounded home nightly to a huge generation of baby boomers and their parents.  Called the television war, this was the first time that technology made possible instant replays of the carnage.  Most Americans watched in black and white.  Time has only increased the power of these scenes and provides a context for the zealousness of the protest.  The climate of the times being a very complex one, the film manages the difficult task of providing sufficient context for the many other overlapping political and social circumstances.  These included the world wide civil rights movement, the sexual revolution, the Watergate scandal, the emergence of the black panther party (and the fragile alliance that the Weathermen attempted with them), the women's movement, and the generation gap that widened over all of these issues.  </div> <bR> <div> Revealing interviews with key members Bernadine Dohrn, Mark Rudd, Bill Ayers, and others reveal a group of very intelligent people, now in their fifties, who have regrets over the fallout from their radical activities but no regret over the ideology that spawned them.  With clarity and honesty, they recall the events, the motivation - more political than personal - and their unwavering commitment to be agents for change.  Others are not so generous.  Todd Gitlin, former president of SDS recalls with some anger how this small group of renegades within the SDS simply shanghaied the organization and took control. </div> <bR> <div> In addition to the photos and interviews, there are skillful reenactments of group activities.  In fast motion, the camera follows the process of making bombs, planting them, and living underground by using such simple visual props as dial telephones and ashtrays filling with cigarette butts to place us in the time and space.  Weathermen strategy was to keep and hold the public attention.  The belief was that the government had to be kept constantly aware and on guard in order to force an end to the war.  A turning point occurred following the accidental detonation of a bomb being made in a Greenwich Village apartment that killed eight people.  It was a traumatizing and watershed event for the group.  The FBI pulled out all the stops to squash them and they went underground, becoming known as the Weather Underground.  They continued to plan and execute many bombings all over the country.  Guilty over the loss of their friends, tactics shifted to less lethal, but no less radical, methods, whereby notice was given in time to evacuate so no one else would be hurt.  Nevertheless, the relentless pursuit of the cause was undiminished.</div> <bR> <div> The filmmakers present the viewpoints of those past and present that felt otherwise, and lets the viewer decide what was the actual impact of these radical activities.  Some say it was for nothing.  Some would do it all again.  Some express forewarning, clearly meant to be applied to present global strife and the destructive things that people will do when they believe they have right on their side.  </div> <bR> <div> Opening in Chicago at the Music Box Theatre on August 1.  A must see for any thinking person and those who recognize the value of history. Bill Siegel and Sam Green, the directors, will be in attendance for discussion on August 1<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" >st</FONT> and 2<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" >nd</FONT>.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="592" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="588"><div> Shelley Cameron <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Symbol" >Ó</FONT> 2003</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><div> <A HREF="mailto:info@reelmoviecritic.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:info@reelmoviecritic.com"><U><U>Shelley@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>