William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe

2009

1h 25m

Documentary

List

79%

28 Reviews

Tomatometer

78%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

The daughters of the late civil-rights lawyer and activist recall his controversial career.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Apr 06

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Critics Consensus

It doesn't even feign impartiality, but this family-made documentary about the famously rabble-rousing attorney shines a light on the life and times of a divisive public figure.

Read Critics Reviews

walter m

Normally, I hesitate whenever there is a documentary about a notable figure by family members, due to their general lack of perspective on the subject.(I'm thinking especially about a disappointing documentary about cinematographer Haskell Wexler.) In the case of "William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe," Kunstler's daughters by his second marriage, Emily and Sarah, actually manage to add perspective to the life of this (in)famous lawyer who was especially interested in seeing that everybody in the court system received representation, no matter what they were accused of. With the assistance of revealing material including home movies and personal reminisces that recall his life from civil rights lawyer to radicalization and beyond, Sarah and Emily Kunstler provide new insights on such already familiar territory like Chicago 8, Attica and the siege at Wounded Knee. For example they talk to one of the jurors on the Chicago 8 trial jury who was also radicalized by the experience. Along with some interviews with notables, this altogether reveals a complex portrait of a complicated man.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Fascinating doc about a fascinating man.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Highly recommended though I don't necessarily support all his clients.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Get to know your Dad on your own time and *then* explain who he was. Given Kuntsler's career, this could've been a tour-de-force of 20th century civil rights, but instead is akin to being shown a family photo album and having them flick past all the interesting pics. Well worth watching if you have no idea who he is, though!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Very very interesting. It starts a bit slow, or for me it did because I knew a lot about the Chicago trial, but the later issues are very thought provoking.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

An interesting film this. I have never heard of WK but his story is certainly an interesting one and one that draws parallels with Lord Longford and the film Longford which focuses on his working for Myra Hindley the moors murderer. A lawyer who believed everyone should have the right to representation. He was a bit of a douchebag with some of the scumbags he represented though. Liked the film but sadly I can't remember much from only a couple of nights ago.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Emily Kunstler

Director

Sarah Kunstler

Director

Harry Belafonte

Actor

Julian Bond

Actor

Jimmy Breslin

Actor

Alan Dershowitz

Actor

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

75%

80%

Mama Africa

80%

67%

Milton Glaser: To Inform & Delight

88%

93%

Neshoba: The Price of Freedom

89%

68%

Hava Nagila (The Movie)

95%

92%

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Critics Consensus: 2012 Isn’t Quite Earth-Shaking

View more photos

Joe Williams

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Like the recent animated documentary Chicago Ten, this is a timely reminder of a era when "change" was more than just a campaign slogan. But it's also a personal portrait, with shadings.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 20, 2010

Full Review

Steven Rea

Philadelphia Inquirer

William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe offers a deeply personal view of a larger-than-life figure. It's a view filtered through a prism of memory and emotion, but one well worth investigating.

Rated: 3/4

Dec 10, 2009

Full Review

Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Leading the defense in the 1969-70 trial of the Chicago Seven, William Kunstler became a radical and a celebrity, and this vivid documentary captures how those two facets of his life worked together in morally urgent and contradictory ways.

Rated: B+

Dec 2, 2009

Full Review

Robert Roten

Laramie Movie Scope

A testament, at least in part, to Kunstler's long and controversial career as a lawyer-activist, defending members of minorities and unpopular causes, and changing the law and the country in the process.

Rated: B

Dec 31, 2010

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Tries to examine and then reconcile Kunstler's legacy as a fighter for causes with his choosing to defend mobsters, terrorists, rapists and drug dealers.

Rated: B

Dec 24, 2010

Full Review

Louis Proyect

rec.arts.movies.reviews

Still worth seeing despite the co-directors' inability to understand that a great lawyer will go out of his or her way to defend people being tried and convicted in places like the NY Post.

Dec 6, 2010

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

The daughters of the late civil-rights lawyer and activist recall his controversial career.

Director: Emily Kunstler, Sarah Kunstler
Producer: Vanessa Wanger
Screenwriter: Sarah Kunstler
Production Co: Off Center Media
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 22, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $57.8K
Runtime: 1h 25m

Most Popular at Home Now