A film about passionate commitment, numbing disillusionment and renewal, Seeing Red is an informed look at the hopes and aspirations of more than a million people who joined the American Communist Party between the Great Depression and the Cold War, and were transformed by their experience. Fighting for the causes of unionization, unemployment and Social Security benefits, and the eight-hour day, they committed themselves to what they believed was the right way for America. Not just a rosy remembrance, Seeing Red looks critically at the party’s connection with the Soviet Union and its lack of internal democracy. An invaluable resource for courses in political science, political sociology, and social movements.
One of the most widely seen theatrical documentaries of the decade, Seeing Red premiered at the Telluride and New York Film Festivals and played in nearly 100 cities, including 10 weeks in New York City, 10 weeks in the San Francisco Bay area, 7 weeks in Boston and Seattle, and 5 weeks in LA. It has been broadcast in over a dozen other countries around the world. In 1989 it was chosen as one of five feature documentaries representing American work in the 1980’s for the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the National Film Board of Canada.