The Sixties

2014
The Sixties

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

EP1 Television Comes of Age (1960 - 1969) May 29, 2014

Americans gathered around “the tube,” to be informed and entertained by the news, The Twilight Zone, The Fugitive, I Dream of Jeannie, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, and more. Tom Hanks, Sally Field, Dick and Tom Smothers, Carol Burnett, Dick Cavett, Diahann Carroll, Carl Reiner, Vince Gilligan, Petula Clark and others describe how the ground-breaking, rule-breaking, norm-bending dramas, historical events, and sitcoms reflected and influenced who we were.

EP2 The World on the Brink (1960 – 1963) Jun 05, 2014

The heady days of Camelot were clouded by the political and military tensions between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. Marvin Kalb, Richard Reeves, Robert Dallek, Sergei Khrushchev and more explain how close the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis brought us all to World War III – and how two nuclear superpowers moved from near confrontation to the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

EP3 The Assassination of Kennedy (1963 - 1969) Jun 12, 2014

A documentary examining the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963. Included: a look at the conclusions drawn from the Warren Report; and eyewitness testimony. Remarks by: historians Robert Dallek and Robert Caro; journalists Robert MacNeil and Dan Rather; and Alexandra Zapruder, whose grandfather captured the assassination on film.

EP4 The War in Vietnam (1961 – 1968) Jun 19, 2014

From just several hundred advisors at the start of the decade, to more than 550,000 American troops by the end of it, the escalation of the war in Vietnam – and the fighting and the dying – brought social and political polarization back home. It was also televised – and, the more Americans saw of the war, the more unpopular the conflict became. Tim O’Brien, Frederik Logeval, Karl Marlantes, Neil Sheehan, Andrew Bacevich, George Herring, Tom Hayden, and Philip Caputo discuss the Gulf of Tonkin, and LBJ, for this most complex of American stories.

EP5 A Long March to Freedom (1960 – 1968) Jun 26, 2014

Selma, Birmingham, and the March on Washington are reexamined by eyewitnesses to history. Diane Nash, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Rev. C.T. Vivian, Bob Moses, Diane McWhorter, Taylor Branch, David Garrow, and Isabel Wilkerson give critical context to the lunch counter sit-ins, Freedom Rides, Freedom Summer, integration, and the Children’s Crusade for the moral mission of the Civil Rights Movement.

EP6 The British Invasion (1964 - 1967) Jul 10, 2014

Clips of performances by British bands of the 1960s, including Manfred Mann, the Animals, Peter and Gordon, Joe Cocker, Traffic, Procol Harum, the Troggs, the Kinks, the Yardbirds, the Hollies, and Gerry and the Pacemakers. Host: Casey Kasem.

EP7 The Space Race (1960 – 1969) Jul 17, 2014

Astronaut and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Mike Massimino and Dave Scott, and Walter Issacson, Douglas Brinkley, Tom Wolfe, Andy Chaikin, and Tom Hanks describe the greatest adventure story of all time. The “giant leap” pushed the boundaries of exploration to an unprecedented frontier, inspiring inventions and imaginations around the world for generations.

EP8 1968 (1968) Jul 24, 2014

Tom Hayden, Gloria Steinem, Lance Morrow, Evan Thomas, Dan Rather, Morley Safer, Tim Naftali, and Mark Kurlansky discuss how one of the most dramatic years in American history was punctuated by a Soviet incursion into Czechoslovakia, devastating assassinations, turning points in the wars in Southeast Asia, a decisive and televised end to the Johnson Administration, violence at the Democratic National Convention, and the election of President Nixon.

EP9 The Times, They are A-Changin’ (1960 – 1969) Jul 31, 2014

Gloria Steinem, Robert Kennedy, Jr., former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, Cecile Richards, Marlo Thomas, Douglas Brinkley, and Gail Collins discuss how feminism, civil rights, environmentalism, conservatism, and the gay rights movements were fueled by deep yearnings for freedom by a generation unwilling to wait.

EP10 Sex, Drugs, and Rock N’ Roll (1960 – 1969) Aug 07, 2014

American culture changed fundamentally from the beginning to the end of the 1960s as the tastes, morals, and politics of the Baby Boomer generation came to define America. Jann Wenner, Grace Slick, David Wild, Leonard Steinhorn, Tom Wolfe, Douglas Brinkley, Tom Hanks, and more describe how beatniks, Haight-Ashbury, Andy Warhol, Timothy Leary, hippies, and Hell’s Angels became counter-cultural touchstones that still resonate today.
8.4| 0h30m| TV-PG| en| More Info
Released: 29 May 2014 Ended
Producted By: Playtone
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.cnn.com/thesixties/
Synopsis

The space race, the cold war, "free love," civil rights and more: The decade of the 1960s shaped our history -- and changed the world. In collaboration with Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman and Mark Herzog, CNN explores perhaps the most transformative decade of the modern era in a 10-part documentary series and brings new insights into how those events shaped today.

... View More
Stream Online

The movie is currently not available onine

Director

Producted By

Playtone

Trailers & Images

Reviews

gary-61789 It was fun to see a lot of the TV footage I saw on TV as a kid back in 60s.However, after watching 2 episodes I was quickly disappointed in the content. The series supports the notion of Oswald being a lone gun man of the JFK assassination. No mention of the Church Committee findings that the assassination involved more than one shooter.It has been completely proved that the Zapuder film was edited before it was released to the public.Oswald & Jack Ruby had clear connections of working for the CIA.Vincent Bugliosi makes it obvious. That he is a liar along with Dan Rather and Walter Cronkite. We have several high level government officials lying about the events on the day of the assassination.Spending much time on calling anyone not supporting the official propaganda conspiracy theorist trying to make money off the event.Anyone who has spend time researching the published literature such as Assassination Science by Dr James Fetzer. Can clearly see that the official story of the assassination is a fairy tale.This series is just more social engineering/propaganda to support the establishment view of history of which the majority is based on lies.I for myself am sick of living lies. I will not be able to watch any more of this propaganda BS.
cristolui I Just binged it on Netflix. Very informative and illuminating, But how could you forget the singular entity that greatly impacted sports, religion, politics and race single handedly more than anyone else?! Muhammad Ali. He was just a blurb in the entire series. As in depth as the whole series was, it mostly was told from a white point of view. Black people's impact is usually relegated to racial interest only or just matters of civil rights. Granted that is a major part of the black existence in the history of the United States. But that is not the only part. We certainly did a lot more in American history than be enslaved and Overcome.
gilligan1965 I've watched as much as I could of this series whenever it's been on (when it first came out in 2013; again in 2014; and, once again, last night - June 6, 2015)...and, there's never a dull moment.I know that the 1960s were as great in many ways as they were bad in many others, but, this is a fantastic series if you like nostalgia; especially if that nostalgia is from your childhood and you remember some of it. I was a small child at the tail-end of the 1960s and I remember bits and pieces of what's on this show. I do remember my Dad almost always being 'gone' until I was about five or 6 because he was away in the Navy during the Vietnam War. I also remember the 1960s as being a great time for children as it was still a time where most parents actually took good care of, and, protected, their children...as opposed to what I hear on the news today. I don't remember any of the horrors mentioned on this show as I was shielded from them by a great Dad and Mom.This ten-part series literally covers every notable 'American' national event, (and, many world events), from 1960 to 1969...such as when the TV first came out (in Black & White); the introduction of the late-night talk show; The Vietnam War; both Kennedy Assassinations; The British Invasion; Woodstock: and, much, much more. I don't believe that anything is left out!?!?You have to hand it to Tom Hanks who's produced some great TV series and movies over his award-winning career such as "Band Of Brothers;" "My Big Fat Greek Wedding;" "The Sixties;" and, now he's coming out with two other related TV series..."The Fifties" and "The Seventies."If you're as nostalgic as I am and you love historical documentaries...this is tailor-made for you! :)
jimlacy2003 Over all a pretty interesting series. But way too much emphasis on the hard, bad, the low times of the 60's.Mind you I was mainly a kid during the 60's, but I don't remember it being so dismal. I remember a lot of it being "A gas", "Outta Sight"! The series seems to paint the whole decade as mainly a "bummber man"!Yet still probably educational for people who were are not familiar with the major events (at least as the "news" would see it). Covers the assassination of JFK, the civil rights movement, the Manson family horror, the Hippy scene, the war, etc.The production quality was superb. They brought a lot of old film and TV clips to life expertly done. And the audio was great as well with the masterful use of period tunes.Sure all the mostly negative events they emphasis were sort of front in center if you fixated on them, but what Tom Hanks and crew should have realized that it wasn't all about that. Not everyone lived in San Francisco, nor struggled in New York. Life, beautiful life for those that wanted to live it, went on for the rest of us; enjoyed the good of what the 60's brought us.The show would have been great if it elevated you at least as much as it brought you down.Interesting, somewhat entertaining, just keep all sharp objects out of reach less you slit your wrists over an overly negative view of the decade known as "The Sixties"..