The Weather Underground

This compelling documentary chronicles the little-known group of young American radicals called "The Weathermen" (later "The Weather Underground"), who from the late 1960's through the mid-1970's waged a "declared war" against the U.S. government. They, like many young Americans of that period, were outraged by the Vietnam War as well as the racism in America, but protesting was only the beginning for these determined youths. Over time they convinced both the public and the governemt that they meant business. They attacked police in the streets of Chicago, and for a decade bombed many government and law enforcement buildings, including the U.S. Capitol.

As the former members reveal in interviews, they took great lengths to make sure that no people were injured in these carefully planned bombings, which were supposed to bring the U.S. government to its knees. They even helped Timothy Leary escape from prison. The real effect these criminal activities had is clearly arguable, and some of the fomer members clearly are ashamed in their involvement in The Weather Underground, while others say they would "do it all again". The documentary raises some important questions, like just how influential, if at all, were the American protesters in ending the Vietnam War, and how far should protesters go to get their message heard?

Sam Green and Bill Siegel created a gripping and very important documentary, using incredible and disturbing footage. Parents should be cautioned that some of the footage is very graphic and should be viewed by adults only. The dvd is really superb and is packed with great bonus features, including complete, original audio recordings made by a Weathermen member, commentary by former Weathermen Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers, commentary by the filmmakers, a 28 minute interview with former Weatherman David Gilbert, an exerpt from the 1975 Emile de Antonio film "Underground", in which Weathermen (with faces concealed) are interviewed, and more. For anyone wanting to learn more about this violent and tragic period in American history, this documentary is highly recommended.

in light of othe events taking place worldwide today, this is a great documentary to take in. the govt will always be challenged to a certain degree within the u.s. for policies overseas, but what a noble event in the late 60s early 70s when the weather underground and black panthers, and other groups took a serious stand against the treatment of minorities. superb footage shown, and some of the former members are recounting their roles and their opinions of events going on at this time, that made the uprising so important. particularly the vietnam war, which received much criticism anyway. this is really a great documentary and well put together, with nice footage, great interviews, and some extras on the dvd.

This is a gem of a film. For a time period and group I knew little about, this film was a concise exploration of the whole movement. What is really interesting is seeing what has happened to these people over the years. Interestingly, most of them are teachers and are still active in political movements - just not dangerous ones. Well worth the time to see this.

Before I saw this DVD I had never heard of the weather underground and was quite taken by the film. How the hell did these people not go to jail. I'm sorry but they were terrorists. I think everybody should watch this because it chronicles an interesting time in history. Just compare them to the Black Panthers. The Panthers were murdered and exiled and some still live in seclusion. The Weathermen declared war on the United States and now they have good jobs. I'm not even saying one group was better than the other but you have to admit thats pretty ironic.

Ah, remember when bombers called in and told people to clear out of the building before they bombed it? Them's were the days...what a quaint idea!
Watching this documentary brought back the memories (too surreal to classify as good or bad) of that time, when I felt I had to defend these guys since they were fighting the Amerikan war machine, yet had great trouble rationalizing their methods. It was good to see how intelligent these folks are, how reflective and (somewhat)remorseful. One imagines them as arrogant and strident...which they were...but like all of us from that time, they've aged and mellowed and become, well, smarter and more humane...Without justifying what they did, the film captures the zeitgeist which drove the members of the Weather Underground to the extremes of political protest. The extra material on the DVD is great, too. After viewing it, one has to conclude that this kind of secret cell revolutionary activity is useless in fomenting revolution and destructive of the humanity of it practicioners. And what they did probably at least helped bring on the present reactionary era in American history. Yet, given that millions of people marching around for peace had done nothing to stop the Vietnam War or change anything about the political culture, one can't completely fault these people for what they did. At least they left us a lesson from which we should be able to learn and perhaps create more effective means of protest and social change. Watch it and learn!