The War at Home (1979)

The War at Home: Directed by Barry Alexander Brown, Glenn Silber. With Karleton Armstrong, Betty Boardman, Allen Ginsberg, Henry Haslach. Interviews with people involved with and leading the Madison, Wisconsin area resistance to the Vietnam war.

“I have lived in Madison, WI the majority of my life and my father was a University policeman during the latter part of the anti-war protests. Who knows, maybe he was even pictured in the film – itu0026#39;s difficult to tell as the police are most often shown in their riot gear. Over the years he has related some of his experiences during that time. He attended the UW during the early 60u0026#39;s and wasnu0026#39;t much older than the students involved in what he described as chaotic and sometimes scary encounters. As a result of this, I have always been very interested in the anti-war movement nationally and especially on the UW campus. This film gives me a detailed perspective of the city I lived in during my childhood and shows me how much the Madison of today has been influenced by those events. On a broader level the film demonstrates how Madison was a microcosm (albeit a somewhat extreme example for itu0026#39;s relatively small size) of the national political climate. It all at once makes me wish I had been there but also thankful that I wasnu0026#39;t which I think may be indicative of the schizophrenic nature of our country at that time. Itu0026#39;s a retrospective worth watching not just for its point of view but also as a historical document. Itu0026#39;s a thoroughly informative film which has relevance today both because of the long shadows these events have cast ever since but also given the political issues being raised today over the war in Iraq. Sit back, watch, enjoy and surprise yourself by finding out what you never knew about a seemingly well-documented and recent period of our history.”