IMDb RATING
7.4/10
3.8K
YOUR RATING
The remarkable story of The Weather Underground, radical activists of the 1970s, and of radical politics at its best and most disastrous.The remarkable story of The Weather Underground, radical activists of the 1970s, and of radical politics at its best and most disastrous.The remarkable story of The Weather Underground, radical activists of the 1970s, and of radical politics at its best and most disastrous.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 4 wins & 4 nominations total
Lili Taylor
- Narrator
- (voice)
Jim Lange
- Additional Narrator
- (voice)
Bill Ayers
- Self
- (as Bill Ayers)
Skip Andrew
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
L.D. Barkley
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Ivan Boesky
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Fidel Castro
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the segment about the accidental explosion of the Greenwich Village townhouse at 18 West 11th Street, Dustin Hoffman can be seen standing next to a fire truck observing the scene. He was living in the townhouse next door with his wife at the time, Anne Byrne.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004)
Featured review
Stormy Yet Clear Documentary
This is one of the most amazing documentaries I've ever seen. Like a lot of people, I had a low opinion of the Weathermen at the beginning of the film. They seemed like selfish and unsophisticated amateur activists at first, and they were. It took a few of their own being killed by their own device -a homemade bomb- to wake them up. This was the turning point not only for them, but for the film.
Although one is a narrative and the other a documentary, this film makes for a great companion piece with Antonioni's ZABRISKE POINT. I feel like I understand that film so much better now having seen this one. In fact, a couple of WU people appeared in Antonioni's film.
The filmmakers have done an excellent job of capturing the emotional and political climate of the Vietnam War era. This is also the only documentary I have seen that shows Martin Luther King Jr. giving his personal opinion on that war. Also, it's a real ear and eye opener to hear a former Weatherman criticize modern day terrorists like Timothy McVey and those connected with the 9-11 attacks. What gives him the right to come across sounding so smug? Maybe the fact that The Weather Underground never killed anybody. If I could suggest a couple of things to the filmmakers it would be if they had only put the words "CASUALTIES: 0" with each bombing mentioned, it would have been more impressive. And secondly, I wish they'd gone into more detail about how the WU successfully broke Timothy Leary out of prison - but then as a magician never reveals, why should they?
By film's end, I had a totally opposite view of these people than I had at the beginning. So there is a real arc to the film that showed how these people had changed, thus keeping the subjects human rather that mere counter-culture stereotypes. That is a challenge for any documentary filmmaker doing a film on such controversial figures as these.
Although one is a narrative and the other a documentary, this film makes for a great companion piece with Antonioni's ZABRISKE POINT. I feel like I understand that film so much better now having seen this one. In fact, a couple of WU people appeared in Antonioni's film.
The filmmakers have done an excellent job of capturing the emotional and political climate of the Vietnam War era. This is also the only documentary I have seen that shows Martin Luther King Jr. giving his personal opinion on that war. Also, it's a real ear and eye opener to hear a former Weatherman criticize modern day terrorists like Timothy McVey and those connected with the 9-11 attacks. What gives him the right to come across sounding so smug? Maybe the fact that The Weather Underground never killed anybody. If I could suggest a couple of things to the filmmakers it would be if they had only put the words "CASUALTIES: 0" with each bombing mentioned, it would have been more impressive. And secondly, I wish they'd gone into more detail about how the WU successfully broke Timothy Leary out of prison - but then as a magician never reveals, why should they?
By film's end, I had a totally opposite view of these people than I had at the beginning. So there is a real arc to the film that showed how these people had changed, thus keeping the subjects human rather that mere counter-culture stereotypes. That is a challenge for any documentary filmmaker doing a film on such controversial figures as these.
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Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $564,632
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $13,984
- Jun 8, 2003
- Gross worldwide
- $564,632
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By what name was The Weather Underground (2002) officially released in Canada in English?
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