Film
The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time
A 1982 documentary about The Weavers, the folk group destroyed by McCarthyism and Cold War paranoia, reuniting for a triumphant 1955 Carnegie Hall concert. It's a stirring portrait of artistic courage, political conscience, and what it costs to be a musician with principles when the government decides your songs are dangerous.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love folk songs as living history, and want to hear the people who sang them talk about the politics that nearly silenced them.
Skip it if you want a tight narrative or fresh material, since much of it is members talking and reminiscing between songs.
What it asks of you: Unhurried and conversational across a short running time, it rewards settling in and listening rather than skimming.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Woody Guthrie: Ain't Got No Home2006
Explores the life and legacy of the folk singer whose music inspired The Weavers. A moving portrait of an artist committed to giving voice to the dispossessed, even when it meant poverty and obscurity.
But Feels more like a museum piece than cinema; some archival footage is degraded and the pacing moves at academic speed rather than dramatic speed.
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song2007
Documentary about one of The Weavers' central figures, showing how folk music became a weapon for social change. His refusal to compromise under government pressure is quietly heroic and wholly inspiring.
But Pete's story inevitably overshadows the group story here, and if you haven't heard of him before, the impact might land softer. Some political preaching, which not everyone finds cathartic.
Bound for Glory1976
David Carradine as Woody Guthrie in this narrative film about the same folk-music moment and movement. Beautifully shot, sympathetic to how art and politics collide, and Carradine's performance is deeply felt.
But A fiction film, not a document, so it invents and compresses. Some dramatic choices feel dated now. Slower than you'd expect for a biopic.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Anvil! The Story of Anvil2008
Both are about artists willing to sacrifice everything for their work and their principles, showing what artistic integrity looks like when the world doesn't care what you believe.
A documentary about an obscure Canadian heavy-metal band refusing to stop playing for forty years despite total indifference and poverty. A mirror-image story: artists with conviction but no audience, as opposed to artists with conviction who then lost their audience to fear.
But It's funny but the joke can feel cruel. You watch people fail repeatedly and have to decide if you're laughing with them or at them. Some viewers find it more sad than inspiring.
More like this (3)
Little Voice1998
Not a folk documentary, but a film about a shy woman whose voice becomes her salvation and whose mother nearly destroys it. Captures that ache of talent misunderstood and the cost of being heard on someone else's terms.
But Tonal whiplash between comedy and darkness. Jane Horrocks's voice work is extraordinary but the film around it is uneven. British working-class melodrama won't appeal to everyone.
Harlan County U.S.A.1976
A documentary about Kentucky coal miners' strike where folk music becomes the language of resistance. Shows exactly what The Weavers were singing about: ordinary people fighting for dignity when the system says no.
But Bleak and sometimes brutal. Unflinching about violence and poverty means it's not comforting to watch. It's long and immersive rather than neatly structured.
The Decline of the American Empire1986
Denys Arcand's ensemble film captures a moment of artistic and intellectual crisis, people trying to figure out what they believe. A different medium, but the same era's reckoning with Cold War legacy.
But It's a Canadian art-house film about ideas; if you need plot momentum or emotional catharsis, it won't give either. Bleak without redemption.
People
Cast
- Ronnie GilbertSelf
Arlo GuthrieSelf- Lee HaysSelf
- Fred HellermanSelf
Pete SeegerSelf
Don McLeanSelf- Harold LeventhalSelf (Weavers manager)
Holly NearSelf
Harry ReasonerSelf
Studs TerkelSelf
Mary TraversSelf
Directing
- Jim BrownDirector
Writing
- Lee HaysWriter
Production
- George C. StoneyProducer
- Ginger BrownProducer
- Harold LeventhalProducer