New film uses 40th anniversary of 1968 convention to spur today's youth

A television reporter looks into the camera and speaks about a popular new children's game. We see a group of kids playing as he speaks.

The rules are simple: Half of the players use sticks, plastic bats or fists to simulate beating the others. What is the game called?

The reporter pauses before answering: "Cops and Demonstrators."

This actual 40-year-old news footage is one of the most riveting moments in "Chicago 10," a new film about the bloody violence that surrounded the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and the circuslike federal trial that ensued. The film opened Friday in the city and suburbs.

Though technically a documentary, "Chicago 10" looks and sounds like no documentary you've seen, certainly not one about the often-studied, often-idealized 1960s. The soundtrack contains no Bob Dylan, no Joan Baez, no "Street Fighting Man." Instead, we hear the Beastie Boys, Eminem and Rage Against the Machine.

Visually, the film combines vintage television footage of the riots with courtroom scenes filmed in motion-capture animation, with the "characters" voiced by actors.

The result is a visceral film that captures the spirit of the late-1960s and repackages it for the world today.

"The history of that time is already incredibly well-documented," said "Chicago 10" director Brett Morgen, who was born shortly after the 1968 convention. "I wanted to add something to the canon that was different, and uniquely cinematic. I wanted the audience to feel like they were experiencing those riots."

A nation divided

It had already been a turbulent year in America when the convention took place.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered in April 1968, igniting riots all over the country. In June, U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy, a presidential candidate, was killed. And the Vietnam War continued to divide the nation.

As the start of the convention neared, prominent social activists like Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and Tom Hayden said they would converge on Chicago to demonstrate against the war. Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley vowed that he would not let demonstrations disrupt the convention, and the city refused to grant permits to the protesters.

They arrived anyway. People all over the world watched as police chased, beat and arrested protesters in a series of riots caught on camera.

"It was a devastating time of highs and lows," said Hayden, who participated in a recent panel discussion of "Chicago 10" at Columbia College Chicago, just a few blocks from where some of the riots occurred. "It was surreal."

Instead of talking heads or voice-over narration, Morgen uses actual footage of the protesters and riots to tell this part of the story. Some of it -- like the "Cops and Demonstrators" report, found in CBS' archives -- has never (or rarely) been seen before.

"We checked out every bit of source material that exists, and there is an unbelievable amount out there," Morgen said. "It was a lot of work, but we uncovered so much new stuff. That 'Cops and Demonstrators' piece might be my favorite discovery. I'm not sure that ever even aired."

The 'Chicago 8'

In the wake of the violence, eight people stood accused in federal court of conspiracy and intent to incite a riot: Hayden, Hoffman, Rubin, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Lee Weiner, Bobby Seale and David Dellinger. Judge Julius Hoffman presided over the case.

The trial became a cause celebre for the anti-war movement. Supporters of the defendants called them "the Chicago 8," which later became the "Chicago 7" when Seale, co-founder of the Black Panthers, was tried separately. (Morgen called his film "Chicago 10" because he included the defendants' lawyers, William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass.)

Cameras weren't allowed in courtrooms in 1968, so Morgen knew he would have to re-create the trial for the film. A comment from Rubin about the trial being a "cartoon show" inspired Morgen to use motion-capture animation for these scenes. The result is a look similar to the one achieved by filmmaker Richard Linklater in "Waking Life" and "A Scanner Darkly."

"I knew some people would object," Morgen said. "But I felt the animation would give the trial a fresh feel."

Morgen pulled the dialogue from the more than 23,000 pages of court transcripts of the trial, and hired actors such as Hank Azaria, Mark Ruffalo and the late Roy Scheider to provide voices.

Like the trial itself, Morgen's re-creation alternates between the comic and the chilling. We see the defendants enter the courtroom in judicial robes and blow kisses at the jury. We also watch the trial's most infamous moment, when Judge Hoffman ordered Seale to be bound and gagged in the courtroom.

The jury acquitted all defendants of the conspiracy charge, but convicted five of intent to start a riot. All convictions would be overturned on appeal.

"It seemed like a joke at first," said Hayden, one of those convicted. "But at the end, Abbie said something like, 'I thought this trial was supposed to be funny.'"

40 years later

"Chicago 10" arrives with America embroiled in another unpopular war and people divided politically. Morgen said he hopes the film will inspire people to think about how far they're willing to go in the name of protest.

"I'm not telling people to get their heads bashed in," he said. "But I guess the message of the film is to ask people what they are prepared to do to speak out."

Some critics have complained that the film omits too much of the historical context surrounding the '68 convention. Robert Kennedy's assassination, for instance, isn't mentioned.

Morgen said he struggled with how much background to include.

"I wanted to approach this as something timeless, an example of protest in the face of government repression just like Tiananmen Square," he said. "There are plenty of other sources for a detailed history.

"And the thing is, if you know the history already, you bring that to the film yourself. If you don't know it, 'Chicago 10' still works as a snapshot of the era."

Hayden, a former California legislator who remains active in the anti-war movement, said that while the film doesn't present a complete picture of the 1968 convention or the trial, it does capture the spirit of the times.

"Of course, things are missing," he said after the screening at Columbia College. "It has an Abbie Hoffman slant. But it's essentially true."

The Columbia screening was one of several discussions of activism and protest hosted by Participant Media, the production company behind "Chicago 10," before the film opened. Morgen said that while protest today is less visible than in the '60s -- it has moved from the streets to the Internet, he said -- he believes today's young people are very engaged.

Hayden agreed, though he said it's good that films like "Chicago 10" exist to jump-start the debate.

"A movie like 'Chicago 10' is about shocking the audience into discussing these issues again," he said. "I think it's a great contribution to that effort."