UPDATE, 6/4/14: We’ve swapped out the video because it’s no longer available per the original source. Above, the full documentary with Chinese subtitles.
If you haven’t already, watch The Gate of Heavenly Peace, directed by Richard Gordon and Carma Hinton, with writing by Geremie Barmé and John Crowley. The three-hour documentary was released in 1995 to rave reviews — “the atmosphere of the Beijing Spring is conveyed beautifully in all its pathos, drama, hope, craziness, poetry, and violence,” wrote Ian Buruma; “a hard-headed critical analysis of a youthful protest movement that failed,” wrote The New York Times – and remains the best film ever made about the June Fourth Incident. Instead of glorifying the student leaders or condemning the Communist Party, it explains how a peaceful democracy movement could possibly have resulted in martial law and Chinese troops opening fire on their own citizens, and attempts to sift through propaganda to produce a chronicle — within the context of Chinese, not Western, history – that might stand the test of time. Absolutely moving, riveting, and powerful beyond words.
If you’ve already seen it, watch it again.
Part 1 is above; here’s part 2 The deleted videos we’ll leave here in case the original uploader brings them back:
*yawn*
That documentary is very good. I wish it was in Chinese or subtitled in Chinese so I could share it with the few Chinese friends willing to listen. You should subtitle a version and put that up (I’d even pay for a downloadable version if it was subbed).
Hey Amanda I believe this one has Chinese subtitles (at least according to the screenshot on YouTube): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoqnKuBD5AI