Underground

After reading Prairie Fire: Political Statement from the Weather Underground in 1974, filmmaker Emile de Antonio determined to make a “new kind of didactic, revolutionary film”—a “film weapon.” He formed a collective with fellow filmmakers Mary Lampson and Haskell Wexler, and through a series of “cloak-and-dagger meetings” the trio arranged to interview active members of the radical political group the Weather Underground. Living with the fugitive activists in a safe house for three days, the filmmakers interviewed them about their ideological opposition to the American government and their personal paths to the controversial Weather Underground. Wexler, the cinematographer, was forced to film the activists either from behind or through a scrim to conceal their visual identities.

When the film became known to the FBI, de Antonio, Lampson, and Wexler were subpoenaed and ordered to turn over all of their negatives and tapes. The filmmakers argued that the subpoena violated their First Amendment rights, and represented prior restraint. After they were backed up by the ACLU and numerous Hollywood stars including Harry Belafonte, Warren Beatty, Jeff Bridges, and Mel Brooks, the subpoena was dropped. The completed film Underground was released in 1976. That same year Folkways released the soundtrack to the film, which includes the entire audio of the documentary. Liner notes offer a detailed account of the filming process, written by Peter Biskind and Marc N. Weiss.