Neverland: The Rise and Fall of the Symbionese Liberation Army(The Taking of Patty Hearst) poster & wallpaper

Catherine Hearst, Evelle Younger, Marcus Foster

Still a controversial chapter in American history, this documentary investigates the American domestic terrorist group that gained fame for the 1974 kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patty Hearst. The S...( read more  read more... ).L.A.'s motto was "Death to the fascist insect that preys upon the life of the people!" A riveting account of the rise and fall of an organization with utopian ideals that went tragically wrong.

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74% liked it

966 ratings

Unrated, 89 min.

Directed by: Robert Stone

Release Date: June 19, 2004

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DVD Release Date: September 27, 2005

Stats: 56 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (56)

  • RossCollinsUK
    June 15, 2007
    RossCollinsUK
    An amazing story about a piece of forgotten history from 70s America - the anarchists known as the Symbionese Liberation Army and the brainwashing of Patty Hearst, daughter of a media-mogul.
  • jam233
    September 13, 2009
    jam233
    Very well documented and very insightful documentary, skillfully pieced together. Excellent use of footage from the time, good narration. I was always interested in the content.
  • Budgeburgess
    March 7, 2009
    Budgeburgess
    Patti Hearst was an American phenomenon. Daughter of the media tycoon, she was as close as the States gets to royalty. Her abduction by the Symbionese Liberation Army and apparent conversion into a soldier fighting the capitalist system became the media passion of 1974, then 1975...( read more), then ? . Patti became an icon of revolution and discontent as the American media invented the spectator sport of "I'm a celebrity, get me out of here".

    Robert Stone's exploration of the Hearst phenomenon conveys a real sense of the times, an age when a small gang like the SLA - Stone describes them as a 'cult' - becomes the subject of its own self-fulfilling fantasy, spiralling from obscurity into nationwide fame on the hot air of media interest. The SLA had achieved notoriety by murdering a civil servant - hardly the stuff which would inspire a revolution or give it direction. Once Patti is abducted, they suddenly became 'news'.

    Stone captures the reality of the phenomenon. Using previously unshown footage, he demonstrates how the media turned a story into a soap opera. They camped out in front of the Hearst home, routinely reporting the messages which flowed back and forth, covering the show rather than investigating news. It becomes a sensationalised tableau, an event in which celebrity is the currency.

    Stone emphasises that what took place with Patti Hearst was the exposure of America's inability to understand terrorism. He describes the SLA as a 'cult. Terrorism is not a political ideology, it is a tactic. At the height of the Hearst affair, the group was actually living on the same street as the FBI offices, yet so obsessed were the authorities that this was some major conspiracy, U2 spy planes were patrolling the desert, the CIA were involved. The media took the SLA seriously and turned an obscure, small band into a serious political threat, publicising them and creating for them a theatre of significance which raised them above the status of a self-glamorising clique.

    An excellent documentary, following the narrative of the Hearst story, there are superb extras. Stone's commentary on the film is one of the best extras I've ever heard. There is also a short but highly instructive interview (on the Tartan Video edition), while the New Video Group Region 1 version provides extensive tapes of Patti Hearst. Stone explains that he decided against interviewing her for the film - he is portraying a phenomenon, not a person. Significantly, the film closes with Hearst being interviewed on a television programme ? a celebrity welcome extended to her as a 'former terrorist'. Will Bin Laden yet appear on the Jerry Springer show?
  • MECreviews
    March 18, 2008
    MECreviews
    I didn't like this film.
  • brentcarlile
    July 20, 2007
    brentcarlile
    BELEVE IT OR NOT,I KNOW PATTY HEARST,WE HAD A FEW FUN TIMES BEFORE SHE GOT WITH THE S.L.A. THIS WAS A 5 STAR FOR ME!
  • zeiko18
    January 9, 2007
    zeiko18
    Interesting and informative- an excellent documentary about one of those weird stories that could only have happened when and where it did.
  • marxthedude
    October 11, 2006
    marxthedude
    Proof that life is stranger than fiction comes the true story of Patricia Hearst - rich heiress come terrorist. As documentary's go this is engrossing stuff, if a little too matter-of-fact to get too involved in. It's the films bizarre epilogue which make some of the interviews ...( read more)used for this film quite a lucky catch indeed!

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