THE MANY FACES OF MICHAEL CAINE

Oi, you ugly git – what are you looking at? That’s right – you – the banana who has their ugly mug glued to this bloody machine! WHAT? Oh! You’re looking at me? Fair enough, just as long as you can prepare yourself for this 60 minute documentary made in 2011, about British actor, Michael Caine. I can’t say no more, now, can I?


Michael Caine - Acting in Film - What's It All About?


THE STORY:
Icon – two-time Oscar winner – actor extraordinaire – and cockney – Michael Caine – who the f*ck is he then? Well, according to this one-hour feature, he is a man of many faces, yet presents the same one within a life span of movie-dom.

Now to help illustrate this fact with a certain degree of decorum, the female narrator of this piece – sexy-voice – is able to illustrate this by presenting a shed load of archives film clips, many static images, a few graphically enhanced links, and plenty of interviews by Michael’s co-stars, directors, and critiques alike.

Here, check out this brief low-down on how the documentary is structured:

• IN THE BEGINING: Michael started his acting career in repertory, and after ten years of hard graph, he made his way through theatre, small roles on live television, and smaller roles on the big screen. Unfortunately, though, he was always hampered to progress his career any further than he was allowed, due to his South London roots, and his grounded talents.

• A STAR IS BORN: With a bit help from actor, Stanley Baker, Michael was able to get himself a role on the epic war-time movie 'Zulu', a part that propelled him into such film as 'The Ipcress File' and 'Alfie'. Then, after this brief stint, actress, Shirley McClain, got Michael a role on her film, 'Gambit', which then additionally gave Michael the grounding to make 'The Italian Job', 'The Man Who Would Be King', and 'Get Carter'. The rest is now history.

• CHANGING WITH THE TIMES: Starting to progress in years, Michael was then able to adapt his talents to the more malleable role’s given to him. This was exhibited in such films as 'Educating Rita', 'Hannah and her Sisters', and 'Jack the Ripper'. Moreover, ‘malleable' does not necessarily mean ‘smaller’, as Michael proved to the public that age does not necessarily diminish talent – and if anything – it enhances it.

• THE ‘I’M NOT DEAD YET’ YEARS: As soon as Michael got his bus pass, his life went into overdrive, due to the fact that he adapted his career to his more mature appearance. However, this time, he was fortunate enough to pick and choose his parts more selectively. For example, box-office biggies such as 'Batman Begins' and 'The Prestige', and other lower-budget movies such as 'Little Voice', 'Harry Brown', and 'Is Anybody There?'. Thankfully, in each case, Michael was able to delve into his own resolve, no matter the status of the respective film.

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THE REVIEW:
I love Michael Caine I do. I think that he is one of the most influential and pertinent film stars in recorded history. He has evolved as an actor - he has always given a great performance - plus on top of that, he is bloody iconic too.

'You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!' - 'Not a lot of people know that?' - and 'Oi!'. How many actors do you know, both alive or dead, whom can convey dwindling phrases such as these with a life on there own? Not many – I am sure. And that is precisely what this documentary tries to highlight in very thoughtful way, and without taking the piss, like...

So how does this program do this, huh? This 'humble take' on Michael. Well, for a start, it gives us nothing new – just a handful of related clips that we have all seen before. Next, it presents to us nothing new again – just a structure of highlighted ‘key’ moments in Michael's film life. But finally, to make what is tried and tested much more fuller in tone and content – the people who are interviewed give this piece much more substance and worth than normal.

Overall, I found that all of the actors, directors, and critiques, whom spoke about Michael, had an intellectual grounding to there words, which gave them more than just ‘stock phrases’, but rather an insightful commentary about a man and his work. In many ways it was like they all swatted before there respective interviews for this program, and really thought about what they were going to say before they were going to say it.

Personally speaking, I especially liked the sexy black haired film critique – I forgot her name – as not only did she make me feel horny, but she also had an incite about Michael and his career, that is very honest and respectful at the same time. In addition to this, there were also a number of ‘behind the scenes’ archive clip’s that I do not think I have seen before – which is always a bonus, right?

All in all I did like 'The Many Faces Of Michael Caine'. Granted, I would have liked to have known more about Michael's personal life as well as just his film career – but you can’t win them all, huh? Still, the presentation was slick, the structure was solid, the interviews were pertinent, and the complete package ticked many boxes were the main though-line was concerned.

Honestly, I think that this show is a great way for people to get to know Michael's work, as well as for fledgling actors to gage how to adapt with the times, and not just there yearnings. Nice program.

THE RATING: B+