A "fair, unbiased documentary" that glorifies the 60s/70s terrorist movement, when white liberal criminally insane psychopaths tried to team up with Black Panther's criminal insane psychopaths in order to bring about a more fertile ground for a Red Revolution to take place. And who do you think they wanted to lead this new Red America devoid of democracy, freedom, intelligence and toilet-paper? Well, they themselves, naturally! The Left's notorious, continual defense of terrorist activities (provided they are/were carried out by Islamic extremists and left-wing elements) goes hand-in-hand with the Marxist notion of a (very) violent revolution.Far from liberals being the "pacifistic anti-war" lovey-dovey peaceniks they tried to portray themselves as to the increasingly gullible American public, they are in fact ready to support the most extreme types of violence and aggression, as long as that behaviour is in line with their own sick ideology. Hence why Hitler committed genocide, whereas Stalin committed "what was necessary for the Revolution".

I had actually never heard of the Weathermen before "The Weather Underground" came out. As I understand it, some people complained that the documentary glossed over some of their more violent activities (and some people think that that may have cost it the Best Documentary Oscar). But the way I see it, these sorts of documentaries are always going to stir up controversy, with different factions in society complaining about what they do and don't focus on.No matter. I will say that the documentary brings up important questions about when it's OK to use violence against those in power. Certainly the US government's actions in Vietnam - plus its spying on radical groups - left the people who formed the Weathermen feeling that they had no other options. And of course, it brings up questions of how far we can go today, when the Bush administration labels political opponents as terrorist enablers.So overall, I do recommend the documentary as a look at '60s radicalism (even though this is radicalism in a less than pleasant form), and also a look at government surveillance. Whether or not you agree with the Weathermen is of course up to you. As for whether or not the documentary glossed over their more violent activities, is that any different from glossing over the government's crimes?

I thought that this movie was not only excellent but also very informative about a very tragic and horrific period of time in our country's history. This film shows the actual people that were involved in some way or another and clips of news reports and other real life things. Although, you don't see the infamous and high profile Weathermen Judith Clark and Kathy Boudin in the main film, you can hear Boudin talking in one of the extra features. Clark, was sentenced to 75 years to life for the deadly armored car heist that left 3 law enforcement officers dead, Boudin, received 20 years to life, and Boudin's Husband David Ritter received the same as Clark did. Although, Boudin, was paroled from prison in August 2003 and left in October, after serving 22 years. I personally think like many others that she should have gotten the exact same sentence as the other two. She only received leniency because her father was a big time lawyer. There should have been no special treatments at all for her.

Hard to separate the film from the content here. I thought the mix of various footage and talking heads worked well. (Although one image, used at least twice crossing a street in the 70's left me perplexed...unless it was footage from one of the Weather(wo)men???)The use of sound was deft too, never milking an emotion nor stealing a scene. Speaking of items stolen, oustered SDS leader Todd Gitlin, and his take on the happenings was interesting to me. Others on this review board talk about this being a take on history from the loser's point of view, but then he is the one who lost to those losers.I don't see the Weathermen as losers, but certainly as marginalized folks. Whether by their own in-fighting, by the end of the Vietnam war, by the temptation of time passing, children being born and a general rise in the status of one's status quo. Or perhaps by CointelPro.I'm not sure what is the most amazing aspect of CointelPro, its insidiousness or its effectiveness. I thought the filmmakers went pretty easy on this...but then again, maybe they felt it was a confluence of factors that helped to quell the Weather.Still one can imagine that the levels of CointelPro now are so advanced and complicated, that it would be hard to unravel that from the actual DNA of any "revolutionary" going today. Indeed one can assume that CointelPro junior likely generates its own revolutionaries, and counterrevolutionaries and countercounter to the nth... Like some sort of runaway computer program.Anyways...I do think the film is a worthwhile watch, although chances are you can easily predict your response from just reading some of the reviews posted here. I will always admire the left's largest weakness...that it can doubt itself. If the film doesn't provoke questions in you, it will at least provoke responses (and hopefully not ready-made ones).Some of my questions...1) Is there a difference in violence against corporations versus violence against humans? 2) Does anyone else beside the sons/daughters of the elite have time to think about the "revolution?"3) What exactly was so great about Timothy Leary? And did he get productized into Zoloft? Or whatever is the latest offensive attack missile into the Drug War? Leary didn't have quite the funding that today's corporate cartels have, but it sounds like he sure did have $ome.Well that's just my own ongoing boredom/irritation with legal and illegal drugs. Of these three, the most important is the first.I'm surely no supporter today of the ELF, but one device in the film, of painting action-reponse pictures of the Weatherbombing made violence seem nearly rational. Although nowhere near as methodical as shots of airplanes and their almost pretty dropping of death.I thought Mark Rudd's comment that all violence is perceived as either criminal and/or insane may not be far off the mark. He talked about this as one way that the Weather was blown over rather than up. But as I get older, it does seem that non-violence is the ONLY way.Of course, I have my doubts....6/10