I heard about this documentary on a chat show or news review article, I knew it was about a defining decade in the United Kingdom, and I was most interested to see what topics they would focus on. Presented and narrated by Sir Michael Caine, an icon of the decade himself, this film examines the 1960s, better known as the "Swinging Sixties", and the cultural revolution that occurred in Great Britain. The documentary details the significant changes in the worlds of class (including the Class sketch on The Frost Report with John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett), fashion, sport, and music, as well as discussions of drug taking, the future being shaped by young, and opinions of world conflict. There are clips and talks about British poshness, the contraceptive pill, miniskirts, the British Invasion (British talent going overseas, especially to "break/crack America"), the 1966 World Cup, the Vietnam War, rock music, and The Beatles aka Beatlemania. The key figures and sixties icons that contribute to the film, both in interviews and in the archive footage, are (in alphabetical order): fashion and portrait photographer David Bailey; The Who lead singer Roger Daltrey; singer, songwriter, and actress Marianne Faithfull (who had the hit single "As Tears Go By"); singer, songwriter, and musician Paul McCartney, who achieved worldwide fame as part of The Beatles; fashion designer and fashion icon Mary Quant, who became a figure of the Mod (modernists) subculture; and model Twiggy (Dame Lesley Lawson), who found worldwide fame, appearing on the cover on Vogue and other magazines, and many famous images and advertising campaigns. Caine details his own career along the way, and archive footage of him during the making of his films, in interviews and other captured footage is fitted to match the topic being discussed. Caine, who was born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, discusses that when he went into acting, he was told to change, he intended to be "Michael White", but another Michael White was already performing in London. So, speaking to his agent in a phone booth in Leicester Square in 1954, he looked around for inspiration, and saw the Humphrey Bogart movie The Caine Mutiny was playing at the Odeon Cinema, and adopted the new name Michael Caine (he jokes One Hundred and One Dalmatians was playing elsewhere). There are also clips from Caine's most famous films in the decade, his debut in Zulu, The Ipcress File, Alfie, and The Italian Job. Featuring a terrific soundtrack of sixties hits, including" My Generation" by The Who, "Something in the Air" by Thunderclap Newman, "You Really Got Me" and "Waterloo Sunset" by The Kinks, "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by The Rolling Stones, "Gimme Some Lovin'" by Steve Winwood, "She's Not There" by The Zombies, "Strawberry Fields Forever" by The Beatles, and "Sunshine Superman" by Donovan. With contributions from singer and actress Joan Collins, Donovan, David Hockney, Lulu, and Sandie Shaw. Caine is a great voiceover with his sharp and witty commentary and fascinating anecdotes, the mix of black-and-white and coloured footage is edited perfectly for a distinctive narrative, there are many interesting things to find out, the soundtrack is of course splendid, and it really gives the sense of nostalgia, a most watchable documentary. Very good!
Review of My Generation
