Morgen's best achievement is the news footage, more detailed looks at events outside the Conrad Hilton Hotel and in Chicago parks than you typically see on TV rehashes.
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.
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
US Box Office: $0
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
Reviews for Chicago 10
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 not only brings to life one of the sorriest chapters in American cultural and political history, but breathes new life into a film genre that usually has all the imagination and verve of a visit to Madame Tussauds.
A riveting work that's hilarious, accessible and, sure, timeless in some ways. But still maybe a bit useless, too.
Energetic as the courtroom antics are, the vintage footage holds its own amazements.
Morgen displays obvious admiration for the Yippies’ festive mentality in the shadow of authority, but he makes a valiant effort to avoid treating them as relics.
However authentically chaotic, Chicago 10 is insufficiently frenzied. For all its shock value, the trial was not the only game in town.
It wouldn’t hurt anyone, young or old, to catch up on the fascinating history lesson illustrated and embellished by Mr. Morgen and his crew in Chicago 10.
Here is an unabashed call to a new age of protests. Is it agit prop propaganda? You bet.
A powerhouse film that ranks among the very best nonfiction features of the past decade.
Chicago 10 is a reminder of a time when the counter-culture was out on the street making noise--a history lesson so removed from our present political climate it feels almost like science fiction.
Remarkably imaginative: Director Morgen merges archival film with animation to bring to life the excitement of youthful demonstrations against the Vietnam War during the '68 Democratic National Convention.
Brett Morgen's tiresome recreation of a watershed 1960s political trial shoots at fish in a barrel -- and misses.
While the story does lightly touch on some of the questionable decisions of the Chicago Seven's leaders, it generates a compelling argument for free speech.
His political heart is in the right place but Brett Morgen can't connect the '60s anti-war movement to the political counter-culture from which it sprung.
Defying chronology and without interviews or narration, Morgen's inventive docu is a colorful chronicle of the Democratic Convention and Conspiracy Trial perfectly tuned to our politically charged times--a call to arms that's not didactic or preachy
In its best moments, and they are considerable, Chicago 10 makes you see 1968, that near-apocalyptic year, with fresh eyes, as an extraordinary turning point in history now at least partly set free from boomer nostalgia and regret.
Brett Morgen's agit-prop documentary augments its excellent assemblage of archival footage with capture-motion animation to rep the courtroom antics, all in the service of an ideologically loaded approach.
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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