For many people, the great protests of the 60s began somewhere around 1966. "Berkeley In the 60s" dispels this notion, delving into the roots of the radical protest movements which began in Berkeley as early as 1960.

Overall, the film is a fantastic historical perspective of the 1960s, providing info about such revolutionaries as Mario Savio and Huey Newton. It is focused almost entirely on Berkeley, California and its magnetic subculture which attracted potential activists from all parts of the country.

Several interviews provide insight into the various causes and allow one to see the events through the eyes of those which played an integral part. Included in the interviews are moving testimonies about the "establishment" which make one wonder how society could have been so restrictive to free speech, especially given the climate of today's college campuses.

It must be noted, however, that the film is decidedly slanted, offering an anti-establishment view complete with taped press conferences of then-Governor Ronald Reagan ("the mess in Berkeley"). Those who are staunch conservatives may find themselves actually arguing with the TV screen as a result of some of the ways facts are presented. I would offer, however, that everyone should view the film as a historical perspective because there were many events which are depicted which have shaped present-day society.

A documentary about militant student political activity in the University of California-Berkeley in the 1960s.

The film highlights the origins of the Free Speech Movement beginning with the May 1960 House Un-American Activities Committee hearings at San Francisco City Hall, the development of the counterculture of the 1960s in Berkeley, California, and ending with People's Park in 1969.

Depending on how you feel about the 1960s and hippies, you may feel one way or another about this film. But as a history, it is a fairly objective look at what was going on in Berkeley, and how that campus has become known -- even 50 years later -- as the most radical in the country, whether or not that is true. The bulk of the interviews are with former students, but even so we can get a rather full picture.

This documentary, focuses on the turbulence of the Berkeley student demonstrations, during the volatile 60s. There's plenty of interviews, with former Berkeley student radicals. Also included, is commentary from members of the Black Panthers, the Berkeley Mayor, local police, and concerned Bay area citizens. Berkeley, and the San Francisco Bay area in general, were the epicenter of political and social unrest, for young people in the 60s. The chaos of the student movement that began at Berkeley, spread to other campuses throughout the nation. Never before, had college students in America been so thoroughly dedicated to positive change, as they were during the 60s.

I lived in the Bay area, just two years ago. And it's undergone a 280-degree turn from its enlightened, progressive character, that was its signature zeitgeist in the 60s. It's become positively inhumane! It's been overtaken by affluent Yuppie WASPs, who have driven the price of housing to astronomical levels. As a result, homelessness is at epidemic levels there. So is unemployment. Even the most highly educated people, have to beg for low-wage jobs there. Racism, and even gay-bashing, now plague the once warm and tolerant Bay area too. High tech geeks are the new gods of the Bay area, and everyone else there is regarded as useless. Bohemians of all stripes, are no longer welcome there. They can't afford to live there anymore, anyhow.

This film is very informative, about how Berkeley students fought valiant battles for social justice in the 60s. It's a real shame, that the Bay area has become a haven for the Capitalist pigs, that the Berkeley students railed against over 40 years ago.