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Chicago 10
EMAILPRINTRoadside Attractions

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 24 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 8 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Animation | Documentary
Written by: Brett Morgan
Directed by: Brett Morgan
Release Date:
Theatrical: February 29, 2008
Running Time: 100 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for language and brief sexual images
Starring Hank Azaria, Dylan Baker, Nick Nolte, Mark Ruffalo, Roy Scheider, Liev Schreiber, and Jeffrey Wright
Chicago 10 tells the story of the buildup and unraveling of the Chicago Conspiracy trial--not as history but as an electrifying experience felt with up-to-the-moment immediacy. Interweaving footage of the brutal clashes between police and demonstrators at the 1968 Democratic convention with 3D animated reenactments of the outrageous trial that followed it, the audience becomes eyewitnesses of violent turmoil, as well as absurdist spectacle. Set to a blazing soundtrack that ranges from Black Sabbath and Steppenwolf to the Beastie Boys and Eminem, "Chicago 10" is a stirring account of young Americans taking a stand in the face of an oppressive government--a story that resonates deeply in our world today. (Roadside Attractions)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Morgen plunges viewers completely into the anarchic, exhilarating, finally ambiguous world of 1968 America; his final stroke of genius is his choice of music, which includes a breathtaking use of Eminem's "Mosh."
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
Brett Morgen (The Kid Stays in the Picture) has made an electrifying picture.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
The result is Grade-A agitpop, a mixture of archival footage and cheeky, creative animated reconstruction that's funny and frightening in equal measure.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
Sometimes the best way to relate history is to tinker with it and make it feel like a living thing.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
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.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
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.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Sid Smith
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.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson
Chicago 10 is a lot of fun, but it could stand to take its subjects a little more seriously, if only because they themselves are so frequently goofy that mocking them is complete overkill.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
The movie conveys the drama of the moment but eschews context. The result is an arresting yet frustrating experience.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
Worth seeing for the expert archival selections, but a decidedly mixed bag for anyone familiar, or unfamiliar, with the times.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White
Offers compelling footage, but its revisionism can be distracting.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
The defendants – especially Hoffman and Rubin – baited elderly Judge Julius J. Hoffman, who never failed to take the bait; Seale was so obstreperous that Hoffman had him gagged and bound to a chair, another indelible image.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
A provocative reflection of its rule-breaking subjects, Brett Morgen's political documentary re-examines the past while drawing unmissable parallels to the present.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano
Morgen's decision to avoid talking heads recounting events and find a way to dramatize them instead is consistent with his intention for the film. 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.
Read Full Review >Variety Todd McCarthy
A vibrantly crafted evocation of a convulsive moment in 20th century American history, Chicago 10 is far less interested in offering a fresh, probing look at what took place on the streets during the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the circus trial that followed than it is in celebrating the stars of the anti-war movement and rallying the current generation to follow their examples.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Jeremy Mathews
The movie stylishly portrays the story of the Chicago Seven with archival footage and animated sequences. Without reference to or retrospection from the present, Morgen crafts a film that is as pertinent as ever.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Josh Rosenblatt
Equal parts tragedy and comedy, high drama and low farce.
Read Full Review >Premiere Glenn Kenny
The courtroom scenes are the animated ones…and said animation looks rather cruder than your average PS3 game.
Read Full Review >Village Voice J. Hoberman
However authentically chaotic, Chicago 10 is insufficiently frenzied.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
An ambitious and occasionally illuminating hybrid documentary. But a cacophony of sights and sounds and a disjointed narrative dilute the message.
Read Full Review >The New York Times A.O. Scott
Brett Morgen’s semi-animated, semi-documentary attempt to make the ’60s cool for a new generation of kids, does the opposite. It is a narrow, glib dollop of canned history, an affirmation of received thinking rather than a challenge to it.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Chicago 10 has interesting moments, but basically it's a teaser for Steven Spielberg's upcoming feature on the trial.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Given the filmmaker's privileged perspective of hindsight, to not consider the real-world repercussions of their theater, to not connect the dots between 1968 and 2008 is a squandered opportunity.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
The movie's effectiveness is distorted by its hero-worship of the Chicago defendants.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.8 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Ken G gave it a9:
As an extensive history lesson this is a bit fuzzy, but what this film does very well is capture the spirit, mood and the tone of both events (the riots and the trial) in a way that is intense, powerful, and harrowing.
Jay H. gave it a7:
Great subject, very informative, but the animated segments are irritating and distract from the power of the subject matter. It's amazing that it all happened to begin with.
John R. gave it a0:
Pretentious, boring and manipulative.
Dave gave it a9:
Very interesting film. Since I was very young during the DNC in Chicago in 1968, this was very educational to me. I thought there would be more animation, but overall very good.
Djd gave it a2:
Pretentious and tedious, this film tries so hard to be hip it might as well have prohibited any viewing except on the 16 GB iPhone. Morgen's very self-conscious direction provides no context for the events of the film leaving most viewers scratching their heads and unmoved. This lack of background does a disservice to his heroes by not showing the tiniest bit of the reasoning and provocation for their actions which would've humanized them. Instead, they come across as immature pranksters. When the climax of the film comes, the protesters being throttled by the police, all Morgen can do to try and make you feel something is crank up the score which just feels manipulative and diminishes the emotions that could've been felt. A perfect example of style over substance. Is it that hard to achieve both?
