Chicago 10 (2007)

80% of critics liked it
(82 reviews)
76% of users liked it
(2,498 ratings)

The Kid Stays in the Picture director Brett Morgen turns his unique eye toward the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention in this 2006 documentary. Using a star-studded voice cast along with a blend of archival footage and animation, Morgen tells the story of the eight demonstrators who were… More The Kid Stays in the Picture director Brett Morgen turns his unique eye toward the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention in this 2006 documentary. Using a star-studded voice cast along with a blend of archival footage and animation, Morgen tells the story of the eight demonstrators who were arrested and tried for conspiracy in the wake of the violent anti-war protests. Featuring the voices of Nick Nolte and Mark Ruffalo among others, Chicago 10 premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Brett Morgen
Written By: Brett Morgen
Genres: Documentary, Drama, Animation

In Theaters: Feb 27, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Aug 26, 2008
Studio: Roadside Attractions

Critic Reviews

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
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.
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
A vibrant, unconventional documentary about the conspiracy trial of the so-called inciters of the riots that occurred during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
Given the filmmaker's privileged perspective of hindsight, to notconsider the real-world repercussions of their theater, to not connect the dots between 1968 and 2008 is a squandered opportunity.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
If you accept the premise that it's a multimedia happening rather than a history lesson, the half-documentary, half-cartoon Chicago 10 is a smash of a mash-up. Call it 1968, the Remix.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It's a fresh and important new take on one of the most tumultuous periods in American history.
Claudia Puig, USA Today
A cacophony of sights and sounds and a disjointed narrative dilute the message.
Kelly Vance, East Bay Express
Chicago 10 is definitely worth a look for skeptics young and old.
Ian Buckwalter, DCist
It may be most effective for audiences who do need a spoonful of sugar to make the historical medicine go down.
Nora Lee Mandel, Film-Forward.com
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.
Jean Lowerison, San Diego Metropolitan
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.
Sarah Boslaugh, Playback:stl
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.
Bryant Frazer, Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus
The ultimate lesson? Sometimes you make a noble point by acting like a jackass.
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
an ideological bum rush that hits you with the force of its conviction and keeps you enthralled with a mesmerizing mixture of documentary footage and motion-capture animation
Kam Williams, NewsBlaze
Director Brett Morgen earns high marks for finding a most innovative way to illustrate a regrettable chapter in American history.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
What should have been a gripping and informative documentary experience is made unwatchable with crappy stop-motion animation.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...where the film should have lighted a fire under the viewer, it tends often to fizzle. Nevertheless, its subject matter is too important to miss.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...despite its storytelling creativity, it doesn't generate as much inspiration or excitement as I would have expected.
Brian Orndorf, DVDTalk.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.
Austin Kennedy, Sin Magazine
The raw, gritty, real stock footage just doesn't match with the spoof-like quality of the animated trial.
Robert Davis, Paste 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.

Read all 20 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Ken S

Entertaining and informative, but lacking depth
William G

Animated trial segments with celebrity voice actors distract from more gripping news footage about those who protested a government which denied its citizens their rights.
matt s

I turned this documentary off. How could you fuck this up? Seriously. I tell you how. You mix terrible animation with Rage Against the Machine playing the first five minutes during the set-up of this damned thing. Yeah, the film's about something from the '60s and RATM is… More
I turned this documentary off. How could you fuck this up? Seriously. I tell you how. You mix terrible animation with Rage Against the Machine playing the first five minutes during the set-up of this damned thing. Yeah, the film's about something from the '60s and RATM is playing. NICE CHOICE ASSHOLES! And I couldn't hear a damn thing cuz Tom Morello is SOLOING HIS BALLS OFF and the animation makes me want to cry. UGH!!
MJS M

This is a documentary about the protest at the 1968 Democratic convention and the trial that followed. This is an important story worth telling, and the actual documentary footage works pretty well, but the film shoots itself in the foot with its animated recreations. The first… More
This is a documentary about the protest at the 1968 Democratic convention and the trial that followed. This is an important story worth telling, and the actual documentary footage works pretty well, but the film shoots itself in the foot with its animated recreations. The first problem is that the animation in these reenactments looks horrible; it?s a form of rotoscope animation drawn over live actors, but it isn?t done anywhere near as well as it was in Richard Linklater?s films, it looks like something that would have been used in a computer game from 1995. Secondly the voice acting is ridiculous on a regular basis, particularly with the judge whose voice sounded like a mix between Mr. Magoo and Froghorn Leghorn, the facts of this trial are more then enough to feel like a miscarriage of justice, the added effect is cheesy and unneeded. The film uses modern protest songs by the likes of Rage Against the Machine and Eminem, this initially felt out of place, then again the last thing the world needed was yet another montage of 60s civil disobedience to the tune of Buffalo Springfield. I think what the film really needed was some contemporary interviews looking back, six of the ten are still alive and I would have loved to hear their take today.
Jason R

Chicago 10 delves into the chaotic world of the 1960's where the 1968 Democratic National Convention was the setting for one of the darkest times in history as Chicago becomes more like a police state in trying to control anti-war protesters, and what follows is a trial for eight… More
Chicago 10 delves into the chaotic world of the 1960's where the 1968 Democratic National Convention was the setting for one of the darkest times in history as Chicago becomes more like a police state in trying to control anti-war protesters, and what follows is a trial for eight high profile leaders of the anti-war movement which was as ludicrous as the Vietnam War itself. Chicago 10 mixes animation and archived footage to tell an effective story about what the people can do if pushed to get their voices heard. The film features a great cast including Jeffrey Wright, Hank Azaria, Mark Ruffalo, and the late Roy Scheider, who portray the major players of the Chicago Conspiracy Trail in 1969. Some 40 years later the events that unfolded in Chicago in 1968 are still just as socially relevant as they were back then, and Chicago 10 is a very engaging film that you shouldn't miss.