Reel Radicals: The Sixties Revolution in Film (2002 TV Movie) User Reviews (2)

film must change with the times

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 27 September 2007]

I had known a little bit about the 1960s change in cinema, but "Reel Radicals: The Sixties Revolution in Film" lays it all out. Probably the main aspect that comes to people's minds is the emergence of sexuality on the screen, as shown by the likes of "Midnight Cowboy" and "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice". But the overall change was a shift away from the 1950s eye candy to more serious topics: race relations ("To Kill a Mockingbird"), the Cold War ("Dr. Strangelove"), the generation gap ("The Graduate") and overall political upheaval ("Medium Cool").

One thing that I wish that they could have gotten into was when movies from that era had a seemingly apolitical plot as the setting for political commentary. For example, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" may look like a wacky comedy, but really seems to be a parable of greed, showing how people will do anything for money.

For the most part, though, I thought that the documentary did a swell job with its topic. It all brings to mind the fact that the 1960s cinematic shift away from escapism led to 1970s cinema focusing on the fruits of the '60s movements, then escapism (particularly high action) resurfaced in the '80s, and then the indies rose in the '90s. It still remains to be seen what specifically 21st century cinema will inhibit.

All in all, worth seeing. I might also note that people talk about TV experiencing its major change in the '70s, with "All in the Family" and "Sanford and Son". I would say that there actually was a little bit of a shift in the '60s. Aside from shows like "Bewitched", "Gilligan's Island" and "I Dream of Jeannie" having a semi-psychedelic look, these shows often contained situations where people from the older generation would come across something unfamiliar, and look ridiculous when they tried to explain it (after all, people not taking part in what happened in the '60s couldn't even begin to explain it). That's my take on things.

But I digress. Definitely a documentary that I recommend.

very good "introductory" overview of the '60's

[mkendra29 · 8/10 · 5 April 2007]

I watched this program on AMC back in 2002 and I must say that it is similar in ambition and scope to "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls" which covers the 1970's in similar fashion, Obviously, the running time is hardly sufficient to cover the decade's films. By necessity, something of this duration is going to leave out cult classics, neglected foreign films and the like, so obviously anyone wanting to do more than skim the surface is best advised to look elsewhere. But for neophytes, this is a great starting point.

The program is structured in segments in which several contributing factors are each analyzed for a few minutes. The increasing popularity of foreign films, the stylistic influence of East Coast live television and the recurring motif of the "antihero" as embodied by Newman and McQueen are given individual segments, as is the politically bent (almost always) leftism brought in during that time. the program tries to work in other issues such as the dissolution of the Production Code and the progressive and antiwar movement; of course, it's hard to encapsulate it all into an hour, but this program does well with what it can.

Interestingly, the film arrives at a segment where it analyzes the two films that they seem to feel embodies the decade most: "The Graduate" and "Midnight Cowboy." The former is unmistakably a sixties film all around; the latter is extremely entertaining despite its flaws (and of course is best remembered as the least likely Best Picture winner ever). This program didn't really go into seventies cinema much other than to talk about the number of careers launched or revived by the sixties. I think it wisely treats the seventies as another discussion altogether. All in all, I think this would make - if one can find it - a great thing to show in a "Film 101" type of class.