Emile de Antonio

Emile de Antonio (1919-1989) was a leftist documentary filmmaker who attended Harvard in the same class as John F. Kennedy and described himself as a “Marxist among capitalists.” De Antonio worked primarily with pre-existing footage, relying solely on editing (he disdained narration as “inherently fascist”) to create his stinging, often riveting critiques of the American establishment. He continually ran afoul of the government and the FBI and on one occasion, during the making of a film about the radical Weather Underground movement, received support in his battle for artistic freedom from a number of Hollywood figures including Warren Beatty, Hal Ashby, Mel Brooks and Jack Nicholson. —TCM.com