Mark Kitchell's Oscar-nominated 1990 documentary chronicles the "journey of change" that began in May 1960 with a student protest of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and ended in 1969 with the battle waged for the so-called People's Park, in which activists unpaved a parking lot and put up paradise, transforming Berkeley into a combat zone. In between those two events, the '60s happened: the rise of the counterculture, the Civil Rights movement, and the Vietnam War. At once a protest primer and cautionary tale, this film acknowledges both the triumphs and the missteps of the increasingly politicized activists, but mostly wears its leftist sympathies on its sleeve. Berkeley in the Sixties is an old school documentary: interview clips are interwoven with archival footage, presented in a straightforward, protest-by-protest chronology, with little of the editing shenanigans that make Michael Moore's films so suspect (although then-governor Ronald Reagan becomes to this film what Charlton Heston is to Bowling for Columbine). Bowing on DVD, this impressive release features over 80 minutes of bonus material, including additional archival footage and deleted scenes. Highly recommended. (K. Lee Benson)
Berkeley in the Sixties
First Run, 117 min., not rated, DVD: $29.95 Volume 18, Issue 2
Berkeley in the Sixties
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