My Generation

Turns out the crumbling of crusty upper class Britain was engineered by a bunch of long haired art hooligans who made dreary old London swing with a rainbow of colours. And who better to flashback to the mid-sixties than Michael Caine?

Don't answer that, just see the movie.

With a bevy of jovial (off screen) interviews, Caine reminisces revolution with old pals McCartney, Daltrey, Twiggy and Marianne. The stories are great, and we are treated to some primo era footage, but it all rests on Caine's ample shoulders. As a Cockney in a princely movie industry, he helped usher in the working class bloke as a screen presence. A significant moment, aligned with the rock and roll explosion, contemporary art and fashion waves, it signalled a way out of the stodgy career paths previously devoid of any detours.

More of a history lesson than exploitation flick, a classy bit of cinema this.

Watched this last night and it took me back to a time in my life that i loved. being born in 1964 some of this was before my time and some was after but i could relate to it all as stories around my Home in the early days with the older members of the family were on this subject. Everything from fashion, music, transport, fads and life in general is covered in this. Michael Caine is a Legend and so him fronting it was just peachy. In simple terms it took me back and threw me into an era before the internet, mobile phones and social media. at the end of the film i was left sat there not knowing where i was and what to do, my Partner even asked me 'are you ok?' i thought i was but i guess it opened my mind with all my personal memories, it was a time warp. a must see to get you all nostalgic.

It's always a treat to see Michael Caine being interviewed; he has so many stories and they're all funny. But for a comprehensive statement about what Britain in the 60's was all about, we need more. The painters who refashioned the visual arts are barely mentioned: David Hockney, Richard Hamilton (whose Just What is it that Makes Today's Homes...? blasted its way into my teenaged mind), R. B. Kitaj and more all deserve more coverage. Instead we get lots of footage of David Bailey, Brian Duffy and other photogs--frankly it just isn't that interesting. If there was a novel or book of poems published during this decade we never hear of it.

The political turmoil of the time isn't mentioned. Tariq Ali, Caroline Coon and Michael X don't get name-checked; you'd never know that Godard made One plus one/Sympathy for the Devil with the Stones and all the London activists he could find. But you can ignore these criticisms and just sit back and enjoy a well-constructed time capsule.

I really enjoyed this. I'm not Michael Caine's greatest fan but he does well here and where the voice of him today relates an instance in the past that we see in an old clip and another in the same clip also speaks from today the effect can be electrifying. Some have spoken of the simplicity and cheapness of putting something like this together and I couldn't disagree more. This is so seamless, even when clearly the clips are from different sources, that there is an excitement in simply watching this come together before us. The script by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, which might seem unnecessary is quite the opposite because the visuals have to constantly be given the right context. Not sure this would be quite so thrilling for anyone born in later years, but I loved it and was incredibly impressed by hitherto unseen clips.

Brought together everything 60's. Good bad or indifferent. Excellent look at the time. Brings the viewer to a kaliedescope of variables. From the early 60's to Nixon. The best and worst of the times.