The Chicago 8 is a 2011 American drama film written and directed by Pinchas Perry and starring Philip Baker Hall, Gary Cole, Steven Culp and Mayim Bialik.The Chicago 8 (2011). Moviefone The film is based on actual court transcripts from the Chicago Seven trial.
Plot The Chicago 8 is a courtroom drama based on actual court transcripts from the trial that resulted when seven young leaders of the Vietnam anti-war movement including Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Rennie Davis, and Tom Hayden and Black Panther Party Chairman Bobby Seale were charged with conspiracy to incite a riot.
Cast Gary Cole as William "Bill" Kunstler Steven Culp as Tom Foran Philip Baker Hall as Judge Julius J. Hoffman David Julian Hirsh as Tom Hayden Orlando Jones as Bobby Seale Peter Mackenzie as David Dellinger Danny Masterson as Jerry Rubin Thomas Ian Nicholas as Abbie Hoffman Bret Harrison as Rennie Davis Aaron Abrams as Lee Weiner Mayim Bialik as Nancy Kurshan Scott Lowell as Richard Schultz Lauren Glazier as Anita Hoffman (née Kushner) Wade Williams as Allen Ginsberg Steven Schub as Phil Ochs Jim Klock as Veteran Spectator
Production Pinchas Perry, Al Bravo, Shirly Brener, Kate Connor, Alain Jakubowicz, and James Mathers all serve as producers. The film is edited by Colleen Halsey and Richard Halsey with James Mathers serving as cinematographer.
Critical response
Jason Bailey, writing for The New York Times, describes the film as "a bizarre oddity that tackles this historical event with the tools and aesthetics of a low-budget direct-to-video erotic thriller," noting that "Perry, who wrote and directed, follows his predecessors by lifting snatches of dialogue from the court transcripts, but shows little understanding of the rhetoric or events, and its slender 90-minute running time is padded with inexplicable sidebars: sequestered jurors arguing over entertainment options, a tender scene between villainous Judge Hoffman and his concerned wife, and, God help us, an Abbie Hoffman orgy scene."
Accolades The film received the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film at the 2011 Beverly Hills Film Festival.
See also Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8 Steal This Movie! Chicago 10 William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe The Trial of the Chicago 7
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