Airing on KQED TV9: April 27, 2004 at 10pm
as part of the Independent Lens series

This documentary film follows the rise and fall of the Weather Underground -- a group of several hundred young women and men who tried to spark a socialist revolution in America during the 1960s and 1970s. Outraged by the Vietnam War and racism in America, the Weathermen battled police in the streets, bombed two dozen buildings (including the US Capitol), broke Timothy Leary out of prison and issued communiqués that were printed everywhere from The New York Times to the underground press. For almost a decade, they evaded one of the largest FBI manhunts in history, until the group fell apart at the end of the 70s. During their time, the Weathermen were extremely controversial -- they were revolutionary outlaws whose Bonnie-and-Clyde style and radical politics inspired many young people. At the same time, most of America -- and much of the Left -- thought they were criminals and that their violence was wrong. This film looks at the past in order to make sense of the present. It uses the story of the Weather Underground as a parable to raise provocative questions about justice, violence, terrorism and moral responsiblity in America today.