4/5 Shows the real hippies
  by Daniel Raphael
Most of this one-hour survey of the Sixties focuses on the hippies, though that word is not used very often. The Diggers, the Hog Farm, Be-ins, Woodstock, communes...all these are shown for varying lengths of time. It's hard to get a lot of solid information into an hour, especially when much of that time are monologues by a handful of people from that era. The choices of people are pretty good--they are very forthright about the spiritual core of the hippie phenomenon, an important point that often gets passed over by the mainstream treatment of it all as being only "sex, drugs, and rock and roll."

One of the things I wish Ms. Law had done more of, is showing footage of various activities and events while the chosen handful were holding forth with their views. There's plenty of film available from the time, and since there was only an hour available, this would have added a good deal to the presentation. Still, what there is covers a good range of topics, and it isn't all just upbeat, mindless happytalk...there is discussion of wars--then and now--and the threat to the planet. Explicit connections are made between the events of the Sixties and the present, and as Steve Crosby points out, most of the people from that era are still alive and active. The closing choice of "Teach Your Children" from Woodstock is very appropriate. We need to carry on the vibe of love and the hope of peace, if future generations are going to have a chance to salvage the possibility of human life worth living. The spirit that moved through and animated the Sixties is the same spirit that has always been available to human beings, and Peter Coyote and others do a good job of making that connection explicit.

Peace.

5/5 A look back on much of what was right about the sixties
  by Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States(cashbacher@yahoo.com))
On occasion, conservative commentators utter negative comments about the sixties in America, at times they seem to think that it is the root of most of what is wrong with the United States at any given time. While there were some bad things, most notably the drug use, many good things came out of that decade. One of the most positive legacies of that and any other decade was the civil rights movement. Many of the elderly black people that voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election were not allowed to vote before the sixties and faced daily discrimination and segregation.
The sixties were also the time when the environmental movement was born and the beginning of the movement for equal rights for women. It is difficult for the modern young woman to fathom the fact that in the sixties, a significant number of career paths were unavailable to women. Many if not most of the major universities did not allow women into most of their graduate programs and when a working woman got pregnant, she was routinely released from her job.
This tape is a look back at that decade, with interviews of celebrities such as Graham Nash, David Crosby, Peter Fonda, Michelle Phillips and Dennis Hopper. The background music is also out of the sixties and there is video of communes, bus races, concerts in Golden Gate Park and of course the highest point, the rock concert at Woodstock. This tape has received many awards and for good reason. For despite the obvious problems of the times, the sixties was a time when a lot of good things were done or at least begun.


5/5 Happy Hippies
  by Michael McMurray (Scotland)
I bought this dvd after reading about it years ago I think it was on the Ken Kesey Merry Pranksters site

But it was never available in the uk even through Amazon so I ended up biting the bullet and buying it from the states instead

The DVD seems to sum up the whole sixties attitude to things and is a great document of the time even down to the homemade feel of the dvd with its stuck on label and the coversleeve looks home printed aswell ..lol

Well worth watching and I think I will end up getting the book to go with it



1/5 Very Disappointing
  by B. Raymond
This video will not give you the type of quality 60s footage you are looking for, just tired philosophic musings from fairly boring people.

5/5 very fun and informative
  by Linda M. Hobson (Columbus, Ohio)
I absolutely love this video....has some profound insights into the origin of the movement of the 1960's. Many great clips of interviews with people who were there, as well as photos and videos from the 60's. Loved seeing what people looked like then and now!! Peter Coyote and Nash and Crosby interviews were my personal faves. Loved how it ended with such hope for the future and for future generations to carry on the message of caring for the earth!