The Angry Brigade: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Britain's First Urban Guerilla Group (DVD)
“You can’t reform profit capitalism and inhumanity. Just kick it till it breaks.”
— Angry Brigade, communiqué.
Between 1970 and 1972 the Angry Brigade used guns and bombs in a series of symbolic attacks against property. A series of communiqués accompanied the actions, explaining the choice of targets and the Angry Brigade philosophy: autonomous organization and attacks on property alongside other forms of militant working class action. Targets included the embassies of repressive regimes, police stations and army barracks, boutiques and factories, government departments and the homes of Cabinet ministers, the Attorney General and the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. These attacks on the homes of senior political figures increased the pressure for results and brought an avalanche of police raids. From the start the police were faced with the difficulty of getting to grips with a section of society they found totally alien. And were they facing an organization—or an idea?
This documentary, produced by Gordon Carr for the BBC (and first shown in January 1973, shortly after the trial), covers the roots of the Angry Brigade in the revolutionary ferment of the 1960s, and follows their campaign and the police investigation to its culmination in the “Stoke Newington 8” conspiracy trial at the Old Bailey—the longest criminal trial in British legal history. Produced after extensive research—among both the libertarian opposition and the police—it remains the essential study of Britain’s first urban guerilla group.
Extra: The Persons Unknown (1980, 22 minutes)
The so-called “Persons Unknown” case in which members of the Anarchist Black Cross were tried (and later acquitted) at the Old Bailey on charges of “conspiring with persons unknown, at places unknown, to cause explosions and to overthrow society.” Featuring interviews and footage of Stuart Christie, Nicholas Walter, Crass and many other UK anarchist activists and propagandists of the time.
Below Video of Poison Girls: Persons Unknown is not on the DVD but was inspired by the case and has some great shots!
See and hear author interviews, book reviews, and other news on Gordon Carr's page HERE
You May Also Like
The Red Army Faction, A Documentary History - Volume 1: Projectiles For the People
The first in a series, this is by far the most in-depth political history of the Red Army Faction ever made available in English.
Wobblies and Zapatistas: Conversations on Anarchism, Marxism and Radical History
Wobblies and Zapatistas offers the reader an encounter between two generations and two traditions.
Let Freedom Ring: A Collection of Documents from the Movements to Free U.S. Political Prisoners
Collecting dozens of documents from the past three decades of struggle to free US political prisoners, this resource book is designed for action!
The Story of Crass
Crass was the anarcho-punk face of a revolutionary movement founded by radical thinkers and artists Penny Rimbaud, Gee Vaucher, and Steve Ignorant.
Arena One: On Anarchist Cinema
The essential publication for everyone interested in radical ideas, culture, and new writing.
The Angry Brigade: A History of Britain's First Urban Guerilla Group
Based on extensive research, this book remains the essential study of Britain's first urban guerilla group.
Black Mask & Up Against the Wall Motherf**ker: The Incomplete Works of Ron Hahne, Ben Morea, and the Black Mask Group
Ten issues of Black Mask (1966–1967), together with a generous collection of the leaflets, articles, and flyers generated by Black Mask & UATW/MF, plus Free Press and Rolling Stone reports on UATW/MF.
Creating a Movement with Teeth: A Documentary History of the George Jackson Brigade
A powerful illumination of a forgotten chapter of the radical social movements of the 1970s in which diverse interests combined forces in a potent rejection of business as usual in the United States.
Recently Viewed
Peace! Books! Freedom!: The Secret History Of A Radical London Building
This new book charts the history of 5 Caledonian Road, which has survived as a radical oasis in central London for over 60 years.
Wobblies and Zapatistas: Conversations on Anarchism, Marxism and Radical History
Wobblies and Zapatistas offers the reader an encounter between two generations and two traditions.
Life and Ideas: The Anarchist Writings of Errico Malatesta
These selections showcase Malatesta’s classical anarchism: a revolutionary, nonpacifist, nonreformist vision informed by decades of engagement in struggle and study.