Swinging into fall: falling leaves and classic British films

As the autumn leaves turn red and fall arrives in full swing, many may find themselves rewatching old Meg Ryan films or binging the seven seasons of “The Gilmore Girls” (eight if you count “A Year in the Life”) from the comfort of their rooms, drinking tea and enjoying the season before everything else turns gloomy. While next week is sure to provide many a film fright, sending shivers down one’s spine, this week presents an opportunity to break away from the usual fall watchlist.

In large part inspired by the weekly stories posted by The Record’s correspondents in the British Isles, this week’s piece focuses on films of the British Invasion.One cannot speak of the British Invasion without mentioning the cultural revolution brought forth by the arrival of the Beatles, then The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Yardbirds, The Kinks, The Zombies and The Moody Blues (for the elderly among us); the list goes on. Everything from music through fashion to literature changed, and with that, so too did film.

The Beatles, of course, became movie stars that decade, beginning with “A Hard Day’s Night, Help! Magical Mystery Tour” and ending with “Yellow Submarine.”

Worthy of mentioning are also The Who’s rock operas “Tommy” and “Quadrophenia,” while Michael Caine’s “Alfie” and “The Italian Job” also deserve their dues. Since these films are quite well known, this article hopes to showcase the more niche gems of British filmmaking instead.

For your consideration, Michelangelo Antonioni’s “Blow Up” follows a young, in-vogue fashion photographer named Thomas, played by David Hemmings, who believes he has captured a murder while shooting photographs in a park in the middle of the swinging London and mod subculture era. The film is a vivid, though not uncritical, portrait of London in the spring and summer of 1966, taking in all the good, bad and ugly of the then-new counterculture movement, all that is bolstered by an incredible Herbie Hancock soundtrack and a Yardbirds cameo. Does Thomas solve the murder, was there even a murder, was there even a Thomas? All of these are questions you may or may not find answers to if you choose to watch this gem.

Next up is Jerzy Skolimowski’s “Deep End,” which captures the confused adolescence of the first post-war generation, encompassing their hunger for life, bewilderment at the newfound liberation and the haze of teenage desires. The legend goes that Jimi Hendrix was due to provide music for the film, though given his passing in 1970, the opening scene plays to “But I Might Die Tonight” from Cat Stevens’ “Tea for the Tillerman,” which beautifully captures the spirit of the times:

Live and love now, because you may not be here tomorrow. Starring John Moulder-Brown and Paul McCartney’s former flame, model and actress Jane Asher, “Deep End” exists firmly within the milieu of Swinging London, while bringing an outsider’s perspective, with Skolimowski having fled Communist Poland in ’67. The story behind the film is nearly as fascinating as the film itself, though to verify that is up to you, dear reader. The last of the recommended films is not like the others, in the sense that while it is a treatment of the Swinging London era, it was not released in those wild times—the 1960s—but rather in 2021.

Starring Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith and dame Diana Rigg—star of ’69s “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” and 60s television show “The Avengers,” Edgar Wright’s “Last Night in Soho” follows a young girl who arrives in London to study at a fashion academy, only to find herself mysteriously able to enter the 1960s, where she witnesses the difficult life of a singer trying to make it big in what is a modern, valid critique of swinging-sixties London.

The film is a mystery thriller with elements of horror that is more than worthy of your time this fall.

While the British Invasion is often remembered for its music, the films of that era also offer a captivating glimpse into the cultural shifts of the 1960s. Whether through the stylish ambiguity of “Blow Up,” the emotional haze of “Deep End,” or the critique of that period in “Last Night in Soho,” these films reflect the vibrant and sometimes darker sides of a rapidly changing society.

Though these may not be films one immediately thinks of when deciding on what to watch after completing assignments on a fall afternoon, the sights, sounds and spirit of these films raise a compelling case that you’re invited to investigate before the snow falls and the trees are barren.