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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By Biggis
Format:DVD
**Review based on UK DVD release** Chronicling the rise and fall of the 'Earth Liberation Front' in the USA, this is a fascinating insight into why some environmental protesters felt the need to dispense with conventional, legal means of protest and take direct action ... even if it meant being labelled a domestic terrorist.
Even for those who are sympathetic to the cause, sometimes it's easy to dismiss this kind of activism - ecomomic sabotage against specific targets - without really considering why some people feel the need to resort to such tactics. Even though the programme was unbiased and objective, also featuring interviews with those on the 'other side', the activists came across as a group of passionate and caring individuals who simply wanted to protect the environment, and who had become disillusioned with conventional means of protest.
As such, this film constitutes a refreshing and fascinating insight into a group of people who, it seems, are often dismissed as extremists, and the factors that led them onto the path they took.
Even for those who are sympathetic to the cause, sometimes it's easy to dismiss this kind of activism - ecomomic sabotage against specific targets - without really considering why some people feel the need to resort to such tactics. Even though the programme was unbiased and objective, also featuring interviews with those on the 'other side', the activists came across as a group of passionate and caring individuals who simply wanted to protect the environment, and who had become disillusioned with conventional means of protest.
As such, this film constitutes a refreshing and fascinating insight into a group of people who, it seems, are often dismissed as extremists, and the factors that led them onto the path they took.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars
22 reviews
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
HOW -- AND WHO -- DEFINES TERRORISM?
21 Oct 2011
By Robin Simmons
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:DVD
By the middle of the last decade, the FBI determined the Earth Liberation Front to be "(America's) most dangerous terrorism threat." On December 7, 2005, the feds - in a nation-wide raid -- rounded up radical environmentalist associated with the ELF.
Marshall Curry and Sam Culliman's absorbing and disturbing film follows the ELF's rise and fall as told through the experiences of member Daniel McGowan. Part coming-of-age (or is it "coming of rage"?) story and part a crime thriller as we see Daniel radicalized and then arrested with a possibility of life in prison. With ample archival footage - some of it is guaranteed to outrage - and intimate interviews with cell members, prosecutors, family members and even the detectives pursuing them, this film does not flinch from raising the hard questions about our human role in safe-guarding the environment as well as how -- and who -- defines terrorism.
Marshall Curry and Sam Culliman's absorbing and disturbing film follows the ELF's rise and fall as told through the experiences of member Daniel McGowan. Part coming-of-age (or is it "coming of rage"?) story and part a crime thriller as we see Daniel radicalized and then arrested with a possibility of life in prison. With ample archival footage - some of it is guaranteed to outrage - and intimate interviews with cell members, prosecutors, family members and even the detectives pursuing them, this film does not flinch from raising the hard questions about our human role in safe-guarding the environment as well as how -- and who -- defines terrorism.
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
4 Oct 2011
By damian
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Listening to the commentary track of the director et al, I found myself disagreeing completely with their choice to centre the documentary around one person and unfold the story around him. I thought the bigger picture got diminished in his personal story. Whether they were being careful not to offend the authorities or mindful of funding and distribution politics for independent documentaries.....the tone of the documentary appears to be apologetic and defeatist. It appeared to be a documentary about the 'wrong' choices the activists had made and their now regretful feelings. Instead of soliciting a spectrum of radical opinions and looking at the broader social issues and affects of 'destruction' activism, the documentary seemed to wrong-end the telescope and create an impression of a radical minority who had 'gone overboard'. It almost had the feel of a reality-tv soap opera scripted piece. Neutered and washed clean of any affirmation of its politics and focusing on personal emotion, when it could have been a compelling look at a significant social issue.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting film documenting something very complex without choosing sides
21 Jun 2012
By Z. Freeman
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:DVD
Just stumbled across this documentary - I was afraid it might just be a mouthpiece for members of ELF to give their side of the story but really it shows how complicated these types of situations are. By the end the central question seems to be whether members of ELF can be classified as "terrorists" for the destructive actions (arson, mostly) that they have taken. What I appreciated was that this film doesn't attempt to answer that question but really lets you see opinions both from the people who performed the acts (and are now being charged) and the people who had the acts performed to their property. Letting the audience look at both sides really helps show how complicated this is and how sometimes people can think they're doing "the right thing" but actually be misguided (at one point they show that ELF members destroyed a location that was not actually doing the types of testing they were led to believe they were doing). Some reviews here have said this doc is supporting ELF, but I would argue that this doc just tells the incredible story of what they did and what the consequences were. Really interesting and captivating film. The special features are good too, especially a short update that gives information on where various people who were interviewed are two years after the film was made.
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Go to Amazon.com to see all 22 reviews
4.2 out of 5 stars
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