New York has many things, but we do not have a Facets. Founded in Chicago in 1975, Facets Multi-Media is a pioneering non-profit cinematheque, rental house (one of the first to do mail-order rentals) and distributor. They’ve always been committed to releasing challenging and deeply political works, and such is the case for last spring’s dual release of American Revolution 2 and The Murder Of Fred Hampton. Both were directed by Howard Alk, and produced by the Film Group: a production company of television commercials which, after the events of 1968, turned into a radical film collective.
The first is from 1969 and its title, American Revolution 2, was, believe it or not, sincere. The footage is entirely from the protests, rallies and organizational meetings happening around the ’68 Democratic National Convention. No back-story, narration or direct interviews—there was no time for that—it’s a series of vignettes, tightly edited and fast-paced, and filmed in a raw handheld fly-on-the-wall veritéé style. This was back when protests seemed to mean something—enough for the “pigs” to feel so confused and threatened that their only response was brutality. You’ll watch this with your jaw open.
For the group’s next film, they decided to focus on a rising star in Chicago, Black Panther Party chairman Fred Hampton. Unfortunately, he was murdered halfway through production. The crew was called over to the crime scene immediately, and the resulting film, The Murder of Fred Hampton (1972), would go on to provide major forensic evidence proving the killing to be a brutal and premeditated assassination by Chicago’s police force. The footage of his blood-soaked bed, and the 99 bullet holes left in his home, is as disgusting as the reality that no one was ever held accountable. Chairman Fred, just 21 at the time of his death, was quickly rising through the ranks of Panthers, and becoming one of the most revered community organizers of the ’60s. Watching this young man’s brilliant and articulate speeches, you’ll still feel inspired close to 40 years later.
It feels alien to us now, but these films show a time when protests were literally dangerous—back when slang cut like a knife, the leaders were charismatic and convincing and “the man” was genuinely fearful of what might happen.
The first is from 1969 and its title, American Revolution 2, was, believe it or not, sincere. The footage is entirely from the protests, rallies and organizational meetings happening around the ’68 Democratic National Convention. No back-story, narration or direct interviews—there was no time for that—it’s a series of vignettes, tightly edited and fast-paced, and filmed in a raw handheld fly-on-the-wall veritéé style. This was back when protests seemed to mean something—enough for the “pigs” to feel so confused and threatened that their only response was brutality. You’ll watch this with your jaw open.
For the group’s next film, they decided to focus on a rising star in Chicago, Black Panther Party chairman Fred Hampton. Unfortunately, he was murdered halfway through production. The crew was called over to the crime scene immediately, and the resulting film, The Murder of Fred Hampton (1972), would go on to provide major forensic evidence proving the killing to be a brutal and premeditated assassination by Chicago’s police force. The footage of his blood-soaked bed, and the 99 bullet holes left in his home, is as disgusting as the reality that no one was ever held accountable. Chairman Fred, just 21 at the time of his death, was quickly rising through the ranks of Panthers, and becoming one of the most revered community organizers of the ’60s. Watching this young man’s brilliant and articulate speeches, you’ll still feel inspired close to 40 years later.
It feels alien to us now, but these films show a time when protests were literally dangerous—back when slang cut like a knife, the leaders were charismatic and convincing and “the man” was genuinely fearful of what might happen.
