Black Red Guard’s Revolutionary Movie List

Film is a medium that, like all artistic mediums, has a class content and character. Here is a list of films that I personally enjoy and would be good for comrades to hold organizational/community movie nights to build solidarity, educate cadre/the masses, and spark discussion. This list will be continuously updated as I watch new films and determine their value to the revolutionary movement.

The Spook who Sat By The Door (1973) — Adopted from the novel of the same name, this film follows the story of a Black former CIA agent who applies his training and skills in turning a street gang into a revolutionary foco. This film was banned for years.

Deacons for Defense: Fictionalized account of the struggle to found the Deacons of Defense in Bogalusa, Louisiana. This formation would go on to defend MLK and SNCC workers during the Freedom Summer campaign/boycotts.

Red Ant Dream — An excellent documentary account of the People’s War in India.

Buhay Komunista — A documentary account of the People’s War in the Philippines.

Inside The New People’s Army — A documentary account of the struggle waged by the New People’s Army in the Philippines.

People of the Shining Path — A documentary account of the People’s War in Peru.

Finally Got the News — An account of the organizing of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers in Detroit.

They Say They Will — A documentary produced by the Revolutionary Communist Party (USA) in the late 1980s.

Battle of Algiers — The most seminal revolutionary film of the 1960s. A fictional account (based in reality) of the guerrilla war against the French colonizers in Algiers, Algeria, in the 1950s.

Panther — A fictional account of the development and struggle of the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California.

The Murder of Fred Hampton — A documentary film following the activities of Chairman Fred Hampton and the Chicago Black Panther Party branch. During the film’s production, Hampton was murdered.

The Future Coming Towards Us: Documentary account of the struggle for production and increased living standards in revolutionary Grenada under the leadership of the New Jewel Movement (1979–1983).

Founding of a Party/Founding of an Army/Founding of a Republic — Fictionalized portrayals of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, the People’s Liberation Army, and the People’s Republic of China. All were produced by the revisionist CCP but still good for historical value.

American Revolution II: A documentary account of the events of the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, Illinois and the revolutionary movement around the city at that time.

Black August: A fictionalized account of the last few months of Black Panther Party Field Marshal George Jackson’s life.

How Yukong Moved the Mountains: A documentary account of the lives of various individuals and groups during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

The Red Detachment of Women: A fictionalized account of the exploits of a real-life detachment of women Communist guerillas on Hainan Island during the Chinese Civil War.