19712015
1971 (2015)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Illuminating a chapter of America's past that ties directly into current events, 1971 persuasively demonstrates that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
1971 Photos
Movie Info
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Cast
as Bill
as Bonnie
as Bob
as John
as Keith
as FBI Agent
as Custodian
as FBI Agent
as #9
as Citizens' Commission
as Citizens' Commission
as Citizens' Commission
as Security Guard
News & Interviews for 1971
Critic Reviews for 1971
All Critics (30) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (29) | Rotten (1) | DVD (1)
In her recounting, a strange and lively atmosphere of outrage, enthusiasm and paranoia, Hamilton has made of her tale a kind of real-life, old-fashioned analog caper film.
"1971" is an appropriately matter-of-fact title for a decidedly low-key documentary. But don't mistake a lack of flash for an absence of substance.
[A] riveting, revelatory documentary.
For those who care about personal freedoms, this well-crafted and illuminating film is required viewing.
Ms. Hamilton's straightforward documentary skillfully interweaves reminiscences by members of the group with re-enactments of the burglary.
Their message-namely, Who will watch the watchmen?-remains as important today as it was 44 years ago.
Audience Reviews for 1971
An excellent doc about the great whistle blowing of the 70s - uncovering the mass surveillance undertaken by the FBI on ordinary American citizens.
Super Reviewer
"1971" is a documentary about a group of anti-Vietnam war activists taking their pacifism a step further. Responding to rumors that the FBI was spying on them, they planned and successfully pulled off a burglary of an FBI regional office in Media, Pa in 1971. What they found confirmed not only their fears but also that it was even worse than they previously imagined, especially as it relates to the formerly top secret program COINTELPRO. In dispensing the files to media outlets, this also served as a precedent for future whistleblowers such as in the cases of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate. And that relevance continues to the present day. "1971" also serves as a neat visual companion to Betty Medsger's book "The Burglary" by using archival footage to visualize the times, while making suspenseful use of reconstructions.(As one of the journalists who received the files at the Washington Post, she is also interviewed in the documentary, along with the burglars.) At the same time, the book goes into greater detail, especially on the subject of how exactly J. Edgar Hoover's unchallenged cult of personality hurt the FBI over the decades.
Super Reviewer
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