Underground

The movie is almost entirely interviews with members of the Weather Underground. If you're interested in them historically you should probably see it, if only for completeness. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else though. There's not much presence or perspective of anyone in the movie except the weather underground themselves. That is to say the movie seems a bit lost in itself.

Most of the material is speeches given by various members about their ideology, and the historical events (bombings, violence, etc) surrounding their group. What's missing is more in depth interviews about the background of each WUO member. There's very brief backgrounds given but I never got a sense of who any of these people were, only what sounded like a pre-prepared doctrine that they'd been saying over and over for years. I got the impression the WUO were a group of extremely bored people who were tired of their own movement. It should come as no surprise that they stopped being active the same year this movie was released.

This film is not likely to be of interest to anyone who does not already know the basic history of the Weather Underground and the Students for a Democratic Society, with the possible exception of radical activists. It is basically an interview with some of the wanted members of the Weather Underground Organization, a radical left "terrorist" organization which grew out of the 60s political counterculture. WUO was wanted for a string of bombings (including the US Capital Building), and as such their faces are not visible. All of the members of the group who are interviewed in the film have since surfaced, and some are presently serving long prison sentences.

I was born in 1972, and as such I was not really cognizant of what was going on the mid-70s but in hindsight what strikes me about this film is how much it feels like the "end" of something. The political idealism of the 1960s had long since imploded, and WUO's struggle seems futile - a few dozen radicals does not a revolution make.

It is interesting to hear stories about what drove these people to pursue a life of armed struggle in the United States. Short clips of Black Panthers and people like Fidel Castro are included to give context to WUO's struggle. WUO was not a nihilist organization; there were specific aims and ideology behind what they fought for.

In no way do I condone their actions, and my politics are very much opposed to that of WUO's, but you have to admire the courage, dedication, and commitment to action (rather than just talk) which defined this organization.

Before watching this film (still in print), it would be helpful (if you have not already done so) to do some reading on the subject, or else the film is not likely to be of much interest (Familiarity with the basics of WUO and its origins is assumed).

Try Ron Jacobs's superb "The Way the Wind Blew: A History of the Weather Underground" for starters.

The value of this film is in its underlying optimism; that there was a time in America where people felt that they really could change the world - that you could fight the system and win.

WUO failed, of course, and several decades of cynicism and apathy followed.

The 1976 documentary type film "Underground" was a controversial film back in the day. This documentary film is a reflection of the times when it was made, and also, a reflection of the changing times with the US society at that particular time.

The film was made by the "Weathermen Underground Association" (also simply known as simply "the Weathermen). The association consisted of Bill Ayers, Kathy Boudin, Bernadine Dohrn, Jeff Jones and Cathy Wilkerson.

The film features footage from various sources pieced together by the group. The film was both a reflection of the times, and also, a reflection of the changing times within the US society as a whole. The film features the US people's attitudes towards the Vietnam War in regards to the "Anti-War Movement" and also, the struggles of world communism in Cuba, the now former Soviet Union and China. It also reveals the and also, the historical struggles of the Native American rights movement, the civil rights movement as a whole and last but not least, the labor issues that were a turning point within working class USA. The film showcases footage about these times and also, the hopes for the future for the US society as a whole.

The filmmakers here do a fantastic job in their making of this documentary film. The "Weathermen Underground Association" realistically, and truthfully, point out what was happening within the USA at that time and also, their hopes and plans for the future of the USA. The footage is from many various sources. The group was an offshoot of another group called "Students for a Democratic Society", and it follows the same mission and goal of that particular group.

The film was very controversial back in the day. The FBI learned through the grapevine about the group and their making of this particular documentary film. The FBI, alongside their lawyers, were working to try and stop this particular film from being released. The lawyers even issued subpoenas for the group to prevent the film's release and also, for the group to turn over any footage or documents pertaining to this film. When world got around what the FBI, alongside their lawyers, were doing in regards to the group and their film, many well known and respected actors, such as Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Elia Kazan and Shirley MacLane banded together to fight against them to have the subpoenas reversed and permit the film to be released. Their unity worked in having those said subpoenas reversed and the FBI also backed off.

The FBI accused this particular group of being a communist styled association, when in reality, it was the FBI that was THE communist styled group at that time trying to halt the film's release, alongside their lawyers. This particular group was as much Democratic as the group that they were an offshoot from. They were for both Democracy and the USA way of making sure people knew the real truth about what was going on, and what they can do to make sure that Democracy was still the answer.

This was a very relevant documentary film back in the day. However, the film still remains as relevant today as it was back in the day when it was made and released on the USA public. This film never lost its relavance as today, the times are still changing and also, we are still dealing, and, facing the same issues as we did back in the late 1960's and early 1970's, and onward. Underground still remains relevant no matter what day and age that the US society, and the rest of the world, are living in. It is also an educational experience for the young people of today to also get involved and demand that Democracy, and everything having to do with it, continue to be the answer and that the young people of today to do whatever it takes as the preceding people who lived during those times did. IMHO, the young people of today should watch this film if they ever see it for sale second handed on VHS at any thrift store, or, flea market.

I scored this on VHS as a previously viewed tape for only five dollars at Blockbuster Video. I bought this and watched it right after buying it. I enjoyed watching this film immensey. It is a very realistic account of the times back then, and also, the changing times. Again, this documentary still remains relevant today as it was back in the day when made and released. It should be a part of every USA citizen's library of films, so those who have it can share it with their families and to keep the mission to continue to defend Democracy as societies that are a Democracy work out better than any other form of governing, including, but not limited to, Communism.

Overall, an essential film for diehard USA citizen's and also, for those youngsters of today to be educated by. This film should be in every USA citizen's library.

When I was a young lad I heard some references to the then infamous "Weather Underground", but never really had a full grasp of who and what they were at the time. As I got older I heard a bit more about the organization, then dutifully filed them under "fringe group" and promptly forgot about them.

Then I saw this documentary. Something in the back of my mind said "Huh, this sounds very familiar..." And then the imagery of what I would refer to as long-haird-baby-sitter types, replete with wide brimmed leather caps and so forth, splashed onto the screen with moderately faded and grainy colors that was 1960's news film.

And then the documentary unfolded, and the story of the Weather Underground was told. As far as documentaries go it was fairly decent. The film showed the images of what impressed the members of the Weather Underground to wage a campaign of violence. And herein we gain insight to some of their thinking and beliefs, and what ultimately drove them to commit horrible acts of violence against institutions.

We the audience are exposed to images showing the acts-of-oppression, and the rhetoric of the Vietnam war that the Weather Underground believed they had to sift through in order to come to their own version of a clear-minded conclusion. It was the Weather Underground's belief that the injustices they perceived boiled down to some basic elements that troubled society as a whole. But herein lies the problem, they themselves aren't able to articulate precisely how their actions will bring about change, nor why they believe people will take up the cause of violence to turn the social power structure on its head.

But that's not really a short-coming of the film, so much as it is a short-coming of the Weather Underground themselves. They see a problem, consider all forms of protest, take a more radical and violent avenue as their course of action, but then fail, and, I think, knew they would fail. Or if they didn't, then it shows how short sighted said young revolutionaries were. In this regard the film, unexpectedly, comments on the ability of any social movement to properly digest and weigh data on whatever it is that concerns them. In other words, based on the testimony in the film, it appears the Weather Underground got wrapped up in itself.

The film itself could stand to be cleaned up a bit. A new print from the master negative would do much to preserve a slice that reveals some of America's more violent history. The film makes for an interesting one-off viewing, and reminded me of another time. If you're into seeing what some of the 60s and early 70s were about, then give this look.