'The Trial of the Chicago 7' is now free to watch on YouTube, but only for 48 hours

To mark the anniversary of the verdict being delivered in the trial of the Chicago Seven, Netflix has made its recent dramatisation of the event free for 48 hours on YouTube.

You can watch the full two-hour feature over on the streaming service's YouTube channel from Friday, Feb. 19. at 12 a.m. PST until Saturday, Feb. 20. at 11:59 p.m. PST.

Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7 tells the story of a group of anti-Vietnam War protest leaders — Abbie Hoffman, Tom Hayden, Jerry Rubin, Rennie Davis, David Dellinger, Lee Weiner, and John Froines, as well as Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale — who were put on trial for conspiracy to incite a riot after protesters and police clashed at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The resulting trial was both political and chaotic.

"When we began shooting The Trial of the Chicago 7, each of us knew we were in rare territory," says Aaron Sorkin in an announcement video shared by Netflix. "We knew that the story we were telling was not only an important chapter of American history, but also chillingly relevant to current events."

"They'd come to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to peacefully protest the Vietnam War, and they were attacked, beaten, arrested, and tried for exercising their rights protected under the constitution," adds Eddie Redmayne, who stars as activist Tom Hayden.

"The events of 1968, 1969, and 1970 revealed injustices and inequalities that continue to this day," says Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who plays Bobby Seale. "And it challenges every generation to march, and to raise their voices, until America lives up to its founding ideals of liberty and justice for all."

You can watch the full movie here: