William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe is a documentary film which premiered in 2009.
It was shown on US television (PBS) in 2010; it is an episode of the long-running program POV (Point of View) (season 23 episode 02).
The topic is the life and career of William Kunstler, a famous and controversial American lawyer and civil rights activist who took on cases and defended clients most other lawyers would never touch. Prime examples are:
** The Case of the Chicago Seven
** The Case of the Attica Prison Riot
** The Case of the American Indian Movement
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Producers and directors: Emily Kunstler (born 1978) and Sarah Kunstler (born 1976)
** Narrator: Emily Kunstler
** Run time: 85 minutes
Several persons are interviewed in the film. The complete list is quite long, but I have decided to list all names in order to show you that Emily and Sarah put a lot of effort into this film about the life and career of their father.
Some of the persons who are interviewed here were quite old at the time when they were interviewed. Some of them are no longer alive. Here are the names (listed in alphabetical order):
** Herman Badillo (1929-2014) – US Congressman 1971-1977 – Attica observer
** Dennis Banks (1937-2017) – AIM leader
** Clyde Bellecourt (born 1936) – AIM leader
** Harry Belafonte (1927-2023) – actor - artist – civil rights activist
** Daniel Berrigan (1921-2016) – Jesuit priest – activist
** Julian Bond (1940-2015) – civil rights activist – chairman of the NAACP
** Jimmy Breslin (1928-2017) – journalist
** Alan Dershowitz (born 1938) – lawyer
** Phil Donahue (born 1935) - journalist
** Elizabeth Fink (1945-2015) - lawyer
** Jean Fritz (1915-2017) – juror in the case of the Chicago Seven
** Karin Kunstler Goldman – lawyer – William’s daughter
** Tom Hayden (1939-2016) – student activist – defendant in the case of the Chicago 7 or 8
** Bruce Jackson – professor, SUNY, Buffalo
** Gregory Joey Johnson (born 1956) - activist
** Ron Kuby (born 1956) – lawyer – William’s law partner 1983-1995
** Margaret Ratner Kunstler – lawyer – William’s wife - mother of Emily and Sarah
** Nancy Kurshan (born 1944) - activist
** Gerald Lefcourt (born 1941) - lawyer
** C. Vernon Mason - lawyer
** William Means – AIM leader
** Michael Ratner (1943-2016)
** M. Paul Redd – civil rights activist
** Yusef Salaam = defendant in the Central Park case – convicted 1990 – exonerated 2002
** Bobby Seale (born 1936) - defendant in the case of the Chicago 7 or 8
** Barry Slotnick (born 1939) - lawyer
** Michael Smith – prison guard during the Attica Prison riot in 1971
** Lynne Stewart (1939-2017) - lawyer
** M. Wesley Sweringen (born 1927) – FBI agent 1951-1977
** Madonna Thunderhawk (born 1940) - AIM
** Leonard (Len) Weinglass (1933-2011) – lawyer
Archive footage is used between the talking heads. Archive footage is used to illustrate the life and times of William Kunstler. Archive footage makes it possible for us to meet the main character: William Kunstler (1919-1995). When Emily and Sarah made their film, he was no longer alive.
When a child makes a documentary film about a parent, there is always a risk that something may go wrong. The film may be too positive or it may be the opposite: too negative.
A film which is too positive or too negative will not be of much interest to the general public. In this case, two daughters are making a film about their father. Fortunately, they did not go to extremes.
Emily and Sarah have created a serious and valuable film about the life and career of their father. It is a loving portrait, but it is not uncritical. As far as I can tell, it is honest and fair.
They want to tell us the whole story. They want to tell us all that is relevant. The result is a fascinating account of the life and times of William Kunstler: the man, the father, and the lawyer.
What do reviewers say about it?
Here are some results:
62 percent = Meta
77 percent – IMDb
78 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)
79 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)
As you can see, the ratings are quite good. But if you ask me, they are not good enough.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of 100 percent (five stars).
PS # 1. The title of this film Disturbing the Universe is borrowed from a book by the British-American scientist Dyson Freeman (1923-2020) whose autobiography Disturbing the World was published in 1979.
PS # 2. Who We Are: A Chronicle of racism in America is a documentary film which premiered in 2021.
It is directed by Emily and Sarah Kunstler.
My review of this film was posted in June 2023:
PS # 3. The trial of the Chicago Seven or Eight is the subject of two historical dramas:
** Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8 (1987) – In this movie, the role of William Kunstler is played by Robert Loggia
** The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) – In this movie, the role of William Kunstler is played by Mark Rylance
REFERENCES
# 1. BOOKS BY WILLIAM KUNSTLER
** My Life as a Radical Lawyer (1994) (1996)
** Politics on Trial: Five Famous Trials of the 20th Century (2001) (2002)
** The Emerging Police State: Resisting Illegitimate Authority (2004)
# 2. A BIOGRAPHY
William Kunstler: The Most Hated Lawyer in America by David J. Langum (1999)
*****
The two sisters:
Emily and Sarah Kunstler
(Emily on the left and Sarah on the right)
*****
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