Tonight we celebrate the 40th anniversary of 1968 through the work of an underground hero of British documentary film: Peter Whitehead. With Pink Floyd and University students protesting against the Viet-Nam war.

Tonight we celebrate the 40th anniversary of 1968 through the work of an underground hero of British documentary making: Peter Whitehead.  Two films that share a vision while seeming to be wide apart in subject.

Two films tonight....

• Pink Floyd: London 1966 - 1967 (UK, 1967, 30min)
  

This unique document shows Syd Barrett and the Floyd at their most imaginative, using experimental techniques which are considered to herald the music video (an accolade declined by Whitehead).

Also features appearances by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Some reviews...

"Thirty minutes of pure rhythmic genius"

Nicole Brenez from the excellent article she wrote in Rouge magazine

"Semi-legendary film-maker Peter Whitehead has dedicated this film to his friend Syd Barrett, also the subject of his forthcoming novel, The Risen. Based around a Pink Floyd recording session in January 1967, (paid for by Whitehead), the action leaps between there and live footage of the Floyd playing London's UFO club, the nerve centre of the burgeoning psychedelic scene, and their 14-Hour Technicolour Dream Extravaganza held at Alexandra Palace that April.
A valuable insight to a vibrant era suggesting all youth cults deserve a Whitehead of their own. Recommended."

Gavin Martin,New Music Express. Full article here.

• The Fall (UK, 1969, 120min)
  

The Fall, widely considered his masterpiece, is a semi-fictional film on the highly dramatic occupation of Columbia University by students protesting against the Vietnam War in 1968. It blends engaged political cinema with the internal meanderings of the author, capturing in every way possible the spirit of the late 1960's. Shot in New York, the film details the city's highs and lows during one of the most troubled moments in modern US history.

Features Robert Kennedy, Paul Auster, and others.

Some reviews...

"The Fall is an extraordinary piece of filmmaking, an extremely personal statement on violence, revolution and the turbulence within late sixties America"

La Cinematheque Francaise, Paris 

The Fall is "an astonishing hybrid of fiction and non-fiction, a subjective take on the American left and its confrontation with the power elite that was waging war on Vietnam."

Sight and Sound (whole article here)

• About Peter Whitehead

You can read an excellent article on Peter Whitehead's life on the Sight and Sound website here.

The very prestigious Cinematheque Francaise had a season with Peter Whitehead's films at the beginning of 2007. You can see more about it (in French!) here.