When writer-director Brett Morgen first waded into the voluminous records of the infamous Chicago Seven trial of 1969, he was blown away by the theater of it all.
The charismatic, radical Abbie Hoffman — whose Yippie movement elevated him to rock-star status — led tens of thousands of peaceful Vietnam War protesters to the 1968 Democratic National Convention, which resulted in bloody clashes with Chicago police and National Guard troops. Within weeks, he and seven others were charged with conspiracy and inciting a riot, among other crimes. And then a trial of the absurd began.
It's a story that has been so mythologized that Morgen knew his interpretation had to transcend Baby Boomer nostalgia and eschew the traditional talking-head format to give the most gripping account of this historic turning point — but emphasize the ridiculousness of it all, too.
The result is a dynamic documentary, Chicago 10. It melds animation and contemporary music — Rage Against the Machine and the Beastie Boys — with gripping archival footage to give an immediacy and an urgency to the 40-year-old story.
The charismatic, radical Abbie Hoffman — whose Yippie movement elevated him to rock-star status — led tens of thousands of peaceful Vietnam War protesters to the 1968 Democratic National Convention, which resulted in bloody clashes with Chicago police and National Guard troops. Within weeks, he and seven others were charged with conspiracy and inciting a riot, among other crimes. And then a trial of the absurd began.
It's a story that has been so mythologized that Morgen knew his interpretation had to transcend Baby Boomer nostalgia and eschew the traditional talking-head format to give the most gripping account of this historic turning point — but emphasize the ridiculousness of it all, too.
The result is a dynamic documentary, Chicago 10. It melds animation and contemporary music — Rage Against the Machine and the Beastie Boys — with gripping archival footage to give an immediacy and an urgency to the 40-year-old story.
"The reason filmmakers will always be drawn to that trial is [that] it's Shakespearean," Morgen said. "You can't believe that this actually happened."
~ read on... ~
No comments:
Post a Comment