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Movies / On DVD / Chicago 10
Chicago 10

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Chicago 10 (2008)

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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

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

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Peter Keough
Peter Keough
Boston Phoenix

Revisits 1968 as a court room drama, through a fresh cinematic look to avoid period clichés while broadening history's appeal to both boomers and their children.

Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com | comment Comment
12/14/08
Nora Lee Mandel
Nora Lee Mandel
Film-Forward.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: NPR.org | comment Comment
10/18/08
Bob Mondello
Bob Mondello
NPR.org

Chicago 10 isn't perfect, but is required viewing for anyone who wasn't around at the time, if only as a reminder of the effectiveness of citizen action.

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
10/18/08
Jean Lowerison
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
10/01/08
Hollywood.com

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.

Full Review Source: Playback:stl | comment Comment
09/19/08
Sarah Boslaugh
Sarah Boslaugh
Playback:stl

The ultimate lesson? Sometimes you make a noble point by acting like a jackass.

Full Review Source: Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus | comment Comment
09/15/08
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

Director Brett Morgen earns high marks for finding a most innovative way to illustrate a regrettable chapter in American history.

Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment Comment
08/27/08
Kam Williams
Kam Williams
NewsBlaze

...despite its storytelling creativity, it doesn't generate as much inspiration or excitement as I would have expected.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
08/24/08
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Chicago 10 is an art-house rarity that manages to visually dazzle while peeling away the layers of this contentious moment in time, giving viewers an eyeful of social unrest and wondrous screen fantasia.

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
08/21/08
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
DVDTalk.com

Chicago 10 is that nearly perfect marriage of style -- edgy, different -- to documentary subject: 1968, that seminal year so celebrated in 2008 for changing the America that came after it.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
07/17/08
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

The raw, gritty, real stock footage just doesn't match with the spoof-like quality of the animated trial.

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
06/18/08
Austin Kennedy
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine

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.

Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | comment Comment
06/09/08
Robert Davis
Robert Davis
Paste Magazine

Indirectly scolds today's meek populace for letting its war-minded government rage unchecked.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
05/22/08
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

Chicago 10 brandishes enough sickening reality (Chicago police clubbing protestors, etc.) to make the audience gasp with astonishment.

Full Review Source: San Antonio Express-News | comment Comment
04/11/08
Larry Ratliff
Larry Ratliff
San Antonio Express-News

The Chicago riots may have been our parents' history, but this is not our parents' documentary.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
04/11/08
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

Despite the number in its title, this odd but sometimes entertaining documentary/docudrama hybrid looks at seven defendants who were accused of organizing the protests and orchestrating the resulting mayhem.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
04/10/08
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

A documentary that somehow manages to capture the anarchic spirit of those topsy-turvy times without devolving into anarchy itself.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
04/04/08
Josh Rosenblatt
Josh Rosenblatt
Austin Chronicle

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.'

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
04/04/08
Harper Baines
Harper Baines
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A vibrant, unconventional documentary about the conspiracy trial of the so-called inciters of the riots that occurred during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
04/04/08
Lisa Kennedy
Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post
 
 
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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. Opens in new window
More...

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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