My Generation

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.

A very easy-to-watch reminisce of swinging 60s London, with old mate Michael Caine. For those like me, who always wished we experienced the 60s, this is as close as we'll ever get.

There's a lot to like here: Michael Caine, the 1960s, Britain, Beatles, The Who, The Stones, attractive models. It captures the feel and atmosphere of the 1960s well, albeit while being a bit all over the place. But weren't the 60s like that anyway?

It's also a documentary about youth. Something to put on whenever you feel like you're turning into a grumpy old nag. "My Generation" has a killer soundtrack and interesting footage - is like having a time machine back to the 60s, featuring the ingredients that brought about change.

It was fascinating to hear how Michael came up with his "Michael Caine" name, as well as the challenges he faced due to his cockney accent (forced to get rid of it for his first role!). At times it felt like there was too much emphasis on 60s fashion, modeling and photography - though if you're into that, this is the film for you.

Fairly sure I fell in love with every 1960s girl during in this.

The fast montages towards the end made me feel like John Lennon had slipped some LSD into my cup of tea - which I guess was the point while covering drug use of 1960s culture. It wraps up with Michael Caine giving us a mini-inspirational pep talk:

"Never ever look back in anger, always look forward in hope - and never dream small"

I want to go binge Michael Caine's filmography now!

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.

With all due respect to Sir Michael Caine, whom I admire greatly, this '60s nostalgiafest has been done to death. This film offers nothing I haven't seen or heard a million times before.

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.