The film uses voiceover actors and Waking Life-style animation to re-create the infamous trial with amazing effectiveness and intimacy.
Chicago 10 (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:77
Fresh:61
Rotten:16
Average Rating:6.7/10
Consensus: Brett Morgan's half-animated, half-documentary film is an arresting, sometimes visionary portrait of the historic and chaotic trial.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language and brief sexual images.
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
Theatrical Release:Feb 29, 2008 Limited
Synopsis: Brett Morgen follows up his dazzling THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE with another daring, inventive work of nonfiction. CHICAGO 10 tells the raucous story of the trial that resulted after the... Brett Morgen follows up his dazzling THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE with another daring, inventive work of nonfiction. CHICAGO 10 tells the raucous story of the trial that resulted after the tumultuous Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968. During the convention, a group of Yippies and other confrontationists pulled off a series of sit-ins and pranks that led to an eruption of violence. The result was a trial that simultaneously amused, thrilled, and challenged the nation and our notions of freedom. The supposed leaders of these insurrections became defendants, who used their position in the spotlight to further provoke the powers-that-be. They included Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Bobby Seale, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, and Lee Weiner. In addition to providing a solid historical context using stock footage of actual events, Morgen takes Rubin's claim that the trial was a cartoon to a literal level by recreating the trial's most infamous moments in full-blown animation. Famous voices (Hank Azaria, Nick Nolte, Dylan Baker, Mark Ruffalo, Roy Scheider, Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schrieber) provide the energetic dialogue that brings these scenes to electrifying life. Morgen also uses a sonic onslaught of aggressive modern pop music (Eminem, Beastie Boys, Rage Against the Machine) to remind younger viewers that at the time, these were the voices of genuine anti-authority. CHICAGO 10 works as an invigorating history lesson that aims to wake viewers up and remind them of their ability to help determine where American society is headed. [More]
Starring: Hank Azaria, Dylan Baker, Nick Nolte, Mark Ruffalo
Starring: Hank Azaria, Dylan Baker, Nick Nolte, Mark Ruffalo, Roy Scheider, Liev Schreiber, Jeffrey Wright
Director: Brett Morgen
Director: Brett Morgen
Screenwriter: Brett Morgen
Producer: Brett Morgen, Graydon Carter
Composer: Jeff Danna
Studio: Roadside Attractions
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Reviews for Chicago 10
Makes skillful use of documentary footage to relate what happened in the streets of Chicago, culminating in what was routinely described at the time as 'a police riot.'
The first sign that somebody will be wholly unable to effectively communicate with kids today is when they refer to them as "kids today."
A powerhouse film that ranks among the very best nonfiction features of the past decade.
Morgan is more interested in recreating the confusing experience of living through those times than in evaluating them in a perspective informed by 40 years of hindsight.
Its greatest achievement, no question, is simply that it rescues a period of modern history from its suffocating blanket of respect and worship.
The anachronistic music cues and refreshing lack of hippie-dippie reminiscence make it a movie for right now -- a funny, fiendishly entertaining salute to dissent in all its forms.
A riveting work that's hilarious, accessible and, sure, timeless in some ways. But still maybe a bit useless, too.
The director wants to bring recent history to life for people who weren't around to witness it, and in that he succeeds pretty admirably.
Morgen's film suffers from two fatal flaws: prosaic story-telling and political naivete.
If you accept the premise that it's a multimedia happening rather than a history lesson, the half-documentary, half-cartoon Chicago 10 is a smash of a mash-up. Call it 1968, the Remix.
Short on nuance but long on passion, Chicago 10 recreates the gradual boil-over from peaceful gathering to chaos by augmenting ample, close-range footage with the kind of sonic boom that seldom accompanies political documentaries.
As an activist documentary with a contemporary agenda, it doesn't pretend to be "objective" (whatever that means), but to find inspiration in the passion and irreverence of its heroes.
The ultimate lesson? Sometimes you make a noble point by acting like a jackass.
It's hard not to think of the many other protestors, detainees, and U.S. citizens whose rights are being stifled as we speak.
Chicago 10 is well worth seeing, if only because a good half of the film is devoted to extraordinary footage of the four days of rage that spawned the trial.
Chicago 10 is a movie for parents and grandparents to take their older children and grandchildren. It's worth a field trip for high school and college American history classes.
Latest News for Chicago 10
August 27, 2008:
Docu-drama revisits historic free speech trial of anti-war activists arrested during the 1968 Democratic Convention. ![]()
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February 28, 2008:
Critics Consensus: Semi-Pro is Semi-Good, Boleyn Girl Not Quite Movie Royalty
This week at the movies, we've got hapless hoopsters, snouted socialites, and scandalous siblings. What do the critics have to say? More...
January 21, 2007:
Sundance News: "Chicago 10" Disappoints; Dakota Fanning's "Hounddog" Violating Child Pornography Laws? "Crazy Love" Causes Bidding War
Since the Sundance Film Festival started two days ago, three films have already drawn extra media attention. "Chicago 10," Brett Morgen's highly anticipated follow-up... More...
January 20, 2007:
Sundance Reviews: "Chicago 10" Is Unique But Flawed; "The Savages" Is Wrenching And True
Here are some short reviews of "Chicago 10" and "The Savages," both of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. More...
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