The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

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flyonthewall2983
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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#2 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Sat Feb 02, 2019 10:30 pm

I was going to joke about Jeff Bridges being a shoe-in, but that was Seattle not Chicago.

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Never Cursed
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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#3 Post by Never Cursed » Sat Jun 20, 2020 5:41 pm

This will probably end up with Netflix - I wonder why so many big productions seem to be flowing from Paramount to Netflix lately



Nasir007
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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#6 Post by Nasir007 » Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:47 pm

I am not hella familiar with the story but a theme of protests and injustice. Boy talk about topical. This could be big.

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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#7 Post by Michael Kerpan » Mon Sep 14, 2020 10:13 am

I once argued a motion in front of Judge Hoffman. I got in trouble (a bit) from a boss because I had not gotten a haircut first (my hair was rather longish then). Hoffman was indeed rather intimidating. ;-)

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willoneill
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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#8 Post by willoneill » Tue Sep 15, 2020 9:41 pm

Playing in a real life movie theatre starting October 9th*

* assuming Ontario doesn't go into a second lockdown before then

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Ribs
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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#9 Post by Ribs » Tue Sep 15, 2020 9:47 pm

Netflix’s theatrical windows have gone topsy turvy since the theaters reopened, they no longer advertise the theatrical date so just all the movies will appear at theaters at some point one to two weeks before the announced date. The Devil All The Time, which is added tomorrow, had a small release last Friday at an extremely small handful of theaters dotted around the country. One would hope this movie as one of their bigger titles will have a little higher profile, but I’m unsure that will be the case until NY opens at least.

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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#10 Post by Nasir007 » Wed Sep 16, 2020 9:55 am

The primary reason for even doing a theatrical was to qualify for awards. But the academy has already waived that requirement this year. Netflix has more or less zero interest in theatrical release. They don't really make money off of it and it is basically an expense. The only reason they do it is to prop of filmmaker egos and awards qualification. Otherwise, it makes zero sense for them to release theatrically.

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willoneill
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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#11 Post by willoneill » Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:46 am

Nasir007 wrote:
Wed Sep 16, 2020 9:55 am
The primary reason for even doing a theatrical was to qualify for awards. But the academy has already waived that requirement this year.
That's not exactly what the Academy said... the Academy said that a film will still qualify if it intended to have a theatrical run, but then cancelled that run because of COVID-19. A film that was always intended to go straight to streaming or VOD, with no theatrical run planned, is still not eligible for the Academy Awards. Now that some theatres are open, I wonder if perhaps the Academy has made it known privately that films whose theatrical runs were planned for the fall still have to go through with them (to some degree) in order for that qualification to remain intact.

But yes, more than likely this theatrical run may have been in the acquisition agreement with Sorkin and the production company. And I have heard that Netflix's Canadian office was pretty laisser-faire when it came to collecting the revenue from Canadian theatres showing Netflix films last fall, almost as if they didn't care about the money.

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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#12 Post by Nasir007 » Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:52 am

willoneill wrote:
Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:46 am
Nasir007 wrote:
Wed Sep 16, 2020 9:55 am
The primary reason for even doing a theatrical was to qualify for awards. But the academy has already waived that requirement this year.
the Academy said that a film will still qualify if it intended to have a theatrical run
I think that is hard to adjudicate and I see it as an unenforceable criterion. People could always say they intended a qualifying run all along. For all intents and purposes, I think any film this year could qualify if they want to - they just have to make up some evidence around it.

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willoneill
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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#13 Post by willoneill » Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:58 am

I agree, I'm just pointing out what the Academy specifically stated, as that is different from a blanket allowance of any film. I'm sure if we dig hard enough, we'll find some 2020 film that was explicitly slated to never play in a theatre; that film would still not qualify for the Oscars, based on that statement, I would imagine. Though I would also imagine any film making that statement probably didn't have too much of an Oscar shot anyway :wink:

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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#14 Post by domino harvey » Wed Sep 23, 2020 12:35 pm

Let's hope this deep cut makes the soundtrack (surely the catchiest far, far, faaaaaaar right wing song ever recorded-- been a personal fave ever since WFMU shared it out a decade or so ago)

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Pavel
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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#15 Post by Pavel » Wed Sep 23, 2020 1:11 pm

Oh man, those lyrics are hilarious.

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willoneill
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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#16 Post by willoneill » Sat Oct 10, 2020 6:11 pm

Well, no one ever accused Sorkin of being subtle ...

Saw this last night at its one and only showing in Ottawa, as our theatres (and indoor restaurants and gyms) were shut down at 12:01 am this morning for 28 days. I'm an unapologetic Sorkin fan (yes, even The Newsroom), though rarely have I connected emotionally with his material. Chicago 7, however, is either the most or second-most emotionally powerful Sorkin work, alongside the Season 2 finale of The West Wing. Being Canadian I'll admit I didn't know the history of this trial (I knew there were riots at the 68 Dem Convention, and that's about it) and honestly I was shocked how much of this movie is completely true. I'll spoiler tag a couple of key moments for me, for anyone not aware of the true story who wants to be unspoiled:
SpoilerShow
The chaining and gagging of Bobby Seale was particularly intense. Sorkin's restrained way of filming this moment actually heightens the violence, since it is more hinted at through sound and extreme close-ups. One possible flaw with this film is that for the uneducated, I'm till confused about what the linkage was between Seale and the other 7, since there are no flashbacks to his participation in the riots.

The other key moment for me, in a way the emotional heart of the film, was when John Carroll Lynch as David Dellinger is calmly telling the U.S. Marshalls that they don't need to restrain him physically. Finally on the third time they grab his arm, he swings around and hits one of them, through instinct more than anything, and the pain in his face is palpable as he realizes a lifetime of pacifism has gone down the drain. That moment nearly broke me.
The strongest performance is probably Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman, who is incredible and owns every scene he's in. If there are Oscars this year, I could definitely see him landing a nomination. Eddie Redmayne was good too, probably the first performance of his I've actually liked. I couldn't figure out why the name Tom Hayden sounded so familiar to me, since I didn't know the history, until I realized that he was playing Jane Fonda's future husband.
flyonthewall2983 wrote:
Sat Feb 02, 2019 10:30 pm
I was going to joke about Jeff Bridges being a shoe-in, but that was Seattle not Chicago.
Jokes aside, the Port Huron Statement (and specifically, how Hayden wrote it), actually plays into the plot at one point.

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aox
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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#17 Post by aox » Fri Oct 16, 2020 2:14 pm

Just a reminder that this dropped today. Seems to be getting decent reviews

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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#18 Post by Arrow » Fri Oct 16, 2020 3:10 pm

I saw this in Wheaton, Illinois last Saturday, alone in the theater (with a friend) and enjoyed it a lot. I see a copy of some of the transcript is being sold I’m curious to see how close the script reflects the actual events. I found it to be well crafted and engaging.

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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#19 Post by barryconvex » Sun Oct 18, 2020 8:35 pm

SpoilerShow
willoneill wrote:
Sat Oct 10, 2020 6:11 pm
One possible flaw with this film is that for the uneducated, I'm till confused about what the linkage was between Seale and the other 7, since there are no flashbacks to his participation in the riots.
SpoilerShow
That was the thing with Seale, he had nothing to do with the riots at all and was barely even in Chicago during the convention.His only link to the rest of the group was his political views or rather the way those views were perceived as dangerous by the prosecution team.The whole trial was a disgrace and I thought Seale came across as remarkably restrained considering what was at stake and how blatantly set up he was.I keep wondering about Jerry Rubin, I know very little about him but surely he was more than Hoffman's stoned sidekick in reality. Strong plays him as a proto version of Tommy Chong, a lovable, wasted side dish to Hoffman's main course. I could be totally wrong but I found this a little tough to swallow considering his status in the 60s counterculture and his position of co-founder of one of the era's more well known institutions.

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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#20 Post by TheKieslowskiHaze » Mon Oct 19, 2020 6:36 am

I thought this movie was a bit of a mixed bag. I thought it interesting that Sorkin, whose work often exhibits an uncritical veneration of liberal democracy, has a more despairing view of American institutions here. But there are too many parts that are obvious, overwritten, and/or schmaltzy. Some legitimately great scenes. Some bad ones. The ending is terrible. I recommend it, overall.
domino harvey wrote:
Wed Sep 23, 2020 12:35 pm
Let's hope this deep cut makes the soundtrack (surely the catchiest far, far, faaaaaaar right wing song ever recorded-- been a personal fave ever since WFMU shared it out a decade or so ago)
No joke, I would have liked the movie much more if this played at the end instead of swelling violins.

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aox
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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#21 Post by aox » Tue Oct 20, 2020 3:29 pm

I thought this was a really entertaining film that was just a lot of fun to watch. But man...that ending. I know auteur theory is kind of antiquated (and generally not that helpful) as more people acknowledge the collaborative spirit of cinematic projects, but no one in post-production winced at that ending and at least initiated a conversation with the lead team and Sorkin? Still, solid and mostly great dialogue especially from Cohen's Hoffman. Just the right amount of cheese on the precipice for me.

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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#22 Post by TheKieslowskiHaze » Tue Oct 20, 2020 7:50 pm

aox wrote:
Tue Oct 20, 2020 3:29 pm
But man...that ending. I know auteur theory is kind of antiquated (and generally not that helpful) as more people acknowledge the collaborative spirit of cinematic projects, but no one in post-production winced at that ending and at least initiated a conversation with the lead team and Sorkin?
I cringed pretty hard.
SpoilerShow
Especially when Dellinger's kid stood up, fists raised, music swelling... it felt like parody.

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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#23 Post by FrauBlucher » Sat Feb 06, 2021 2:07 pm

Holy smokes, I got speilberged. That ending was absolutely awful with over the top sentiment and very little factual accuracy. It just ruins the film for me.


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hearthesilence
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Re: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)

#25 Post by hearthesilence » Sat Feb 20, 2021 7:35 pm

FrauBlucher wrote:
Sat Feb 06, 2021 2:07 pm
Holy smokes, I got speilberged. That ending was absolutely awful with over the top sentiment and very little factual accuracy. It just ruins the film for me.
I was afraid of that. One of my school professors actually covered this as a reporter back in the day, and though he didn't dislike Sorkin's film, his comments didn't exactly motivate me to see it.

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