review for Berkeley in the Sixties on AllMovie

Taking a cue from Warren Beatty's Reds, director Mark Kitchell seasons clips of the 1960s protests at the University of California with current-day interviews with assorted activists, musicians (Country Joe and the Fish's Barry Melton, who went on to become a lawyer), and other observers -- in effect, his own equivalent of Beatty's collection of leftist "witnesses." Unfortunately, Mario Savio, the lightning rod for the first round of free speech demonstrations, does not take the stand for Kitchell's inquiry. This is history written mainly by the opposition; officials such as the University's Clark Kerr and the two governors involved, Edmund "Pat" Brown and Ronald Reagan, are seen only in the historical clips. Kitchell's sympathies are clear, but this is not a one-sided interpretation. Some of the witnesses are willing to admit to tactical errors and a full measure of youthful hubris, though they're in agreement on the subject of official overreaction to the protests, particularly from Reagan. His spirit hovers over this film, which was released in the warm afterglow of his popular presidency. Kitchell was certainly not riding a wave of nostalgia for the '60s, which during the Reagan and Bush presidencies became regarded as the era in which America lost its way. That makes the accomplishment of this clear-eyed historical document all the more impressive.