Seeing Red: Stories of American Communists. 1983. USA. Directed by Julia Reichert and Jim Klein. DCP. 100 min.
Seeing Red tells the forgotten history and adventures of ordinary Americans who joined the Communist Party and the high price many of them paid during the Red Scare in the 1950s. Compiled from more than 400 interviews with former and current Party members, Reichert and Klein deliver an engaging, funny, and human portrait of 50 years of Red activism and attack, from its salad days in the 1930s and 40s, through the witch hunts of the 1950s, to its utter collapse following the revelations of Joseph Stalin’s crimes and his denunciation by Nikita Krushchev in 1956. Iconic folk singer Pete Seeger and a dozen other rank-and-file members share personal stories that take on a special resonance given today’s political climate.