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.

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.

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.

This is simply nostalgia... those looking for a plot or a point just won't get it, and they're likely under 60 as well. For those of us who were alive and experiencing all this first hand, prepare for a delightful evening with the beloved Michael Caine.

I thought this was going to be an interview with Michael Caine and some clips; it turned out to be a superb documentary on the social revolution I happened to experience. It is the best history of the Swinging Sixties I can imagine. From the social revolution of that time - which is what it was - I found my own history and development. I worked with Duffy, Donovan, Alan Aldridge. Okay, I was on the periphery of so much depicted here, but I was also a classic illustration of it; a working class lad who went to Art School, became an Advertising man, a successful DADA Silver Award winning Art Director, a prize winning illustrator, copywriter, author and painter. Caine was his brilliant self, not showing off, just telling it straight. This has to come out on dvd. And when it does I shall buy it.