1
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Here, sweet Lord, at your service.

2
00:00:04,100 --> 00:00:07,780
Michael Caine is one of Britain's
most successful movie stars.

3
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Good night, sweet prince.

4
00:00:09,460 --> 00:00:15,780
We've watched, as boyish good looks
and curly blond hair
have matured and aged.

5
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Tell me again and again.

6
00:00:17,860 --> 00:00:20,420
He's played a whole
lifetime of roles.

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Roles that range
from Jack the lad...

8
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You drop a tanner,
look around, and what do you find?

9
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Ruby!

10
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..to fading geriatric.
Oh!

11
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Great performances, set over
50 years of change in the movies.

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He's spent a lifetime
on our screens.

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Your life changes, buster.

14
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Not always for the better.

15
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He kind of made it possible
for people like me

16
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to be in films,
or to be taken seriously.

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If you can get Michael Caine
in any part in your movie,

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over the title,
you've got box office.

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It just seemed exactly right.

20
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Michael looked, sounded, behaved,
like a movie star.

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He's been acting since
before most of us were born.

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We've watched him grow up to be
a huge international star.

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Now we can look back
at the many faces of Michael Caine
as they happened.

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He's always very current.

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He's moved with the century, I think,
you know.

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His development as a person,
a human being and an actor

27
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has developed
as the century's gone on.

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With a wife like Ruby,
you wouldn't want

29
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nothing on the side,
you know what I mean?

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GIGGLING

31
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I think what his career has done
is span an enormous number of
different styles of film-making

32
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and the evolution of cinema,
both in Britain and in Hollywood.

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That's the strength of
his presence as an icon.

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He represents so many
different kinds of film-making.

35
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There are other people, you know,
Palmer. Why don't you try them?

36
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Michael Caine is iconic
because of the way he looks,
the way he sounds, the way he acts.

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He's like a national monument.

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If there was a Mount Rushmore
of Hollywood stars,

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Michael Caine's face
would be up there.

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As a teenager, Caine already had
an eye for the girls.

41
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And it was the opposite sex
that first drew him
to the Clubland Youth Centre.

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Here he discovered a new passion.

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Right here is where I started.

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The very first time,
at the age of 14,

45
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I came on to this stage to do a play
called Rossum's Universal Robots.

46
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I got very good reviews
for the play.

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Everybody thought I was marvellous
in this play,

48
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but what I must point out is
what I was playing was a robot -

49
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completely stiff, expressionless,
with a flat voice,

50
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and I came on, and of course I was
really, really right in the part.

51
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In the very early days of
television, he took bit parts
in plays that went out live.

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His first ever appearance
was in The Lark,

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as a walk-on soldier,
Boudousse.

54
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Hey there, Boudousse.

55
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Take her away and give her a ducking,
and then lock her up.

56
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You can send her back
to her father tomorrow.

57
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But no beating, I don't want
any trouble, the girl's mad.

58
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You can lock me up, my Lord,
I don't mind that,

59
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but when they let me out tomorrow
evening I shall come back again.

60
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It will be simpler if you let me
talk to you now. Million thunders!
Don't I frighten you?

61
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No, my Lord. Not at all.

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Well, get back to your post.

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You don't need to stand here
listening to this.

64
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So that was Michael Caine's first
television entrance, and later
we actually hear him speak.

65
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Boudousse.

66
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I'll take her out
and give her a ducking, sir.

67
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No, you idiot. Fetch her some
britches and bring a pair of horses,
we're going for a gallop together.

68
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But the council, sir, it's four
o'clock. It can wait till tomorrow.

69
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I've used my brains
quite enough for today.

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He spent ten, hard,
penniless years as a minor actor,

71
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but it wasn't his talent on stage
that earned Michael Caine his
ambition of being on the big screen.

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It was his time in National Service,
as a real-life soldier in Korea.

73
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Well, A Hill In Korea was
a very small-budget movie.

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He wrote to them and said he had been
in the Korean war, so they saw him.

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He looked like a National Serviceman,

76
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and his knowledge of
the war in Korea,

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he knew how the wear the uniform
and things like that.

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He got the job, and it was
no skin off their nose

79
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because it wasn't an important part,
so he couldn't ruin anything.

80
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We arrive in Portugal
where we were shooting it,

81
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go to the hotel,

82
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and we see that Stanley Baker,
George Baker and Harry Andrews
have got a room each.

83
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Small budget, you've all got to pair
off and have a bedroom between two.

84
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Michael and I ended up in a room.

85
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He hadn't been to drama school.

86
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He had no pretensions to
Shakespeare or the grand theatre.

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Here, tell you what.

88
00:05:34,180 --> 00:05:36,340
Let's have this war
out on Arsenal's ground.

89
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Standard prices,
our boys versus the Chinks.

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Character actors like Victor Madden
and Michael Medwin were in every
bloody film, and it was all fixed.

91
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Private Docker, the world's
leading tank buster-upper.

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It's 1956,
and a classic British war film.

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Stanley Baker takes on
the entire Chinese army.

94
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You dirty little yellow...

95
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Things don't work out
for Stanley's character.

96
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Ugh!

97
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But he does cue Michael Caine's
big-screen debut. Pity.

98
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He was the toughest bloke we'd got.

99
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I used to see him in the pub,
in the Salisbury,

100
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where all out-of-work actors
used to meet.

101
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You know, we were all out of work,
Sean Connery, all the lads,

102
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and Michael was going up for Zulu.

103
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Now the thing is that...

104
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the snobbery of this country

105
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was such that we hadn't quite
got over

106
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the Phyllis Calvert,
Dulcie Gray syndrome

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of where you had to say,

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POSH VOICE: "Hello Harry,
how are you?"

109
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You couldn't be a leading player
unless you spoke like that
in those days.

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You've seen all those
old black-and-white movies.

111
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Take a look at that hill
beyond the village.

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That jolly-looking building
must be a temple.

113
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Americans don't have that prejudice.

114
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They rather like the Cockney voice,

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and they don't see it in the class
barrier way that the English do.

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Whistle up the Korean. Kim!

117
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Now what's cooking?
Think I'll go home.

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Not without you've plugged
your ration of Chinks, Jackie.

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It's what you were stood
this lovely trip for.

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There was no way that a Cockney
actor could play a diplomat,

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or a university professor
in this country

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until you're famous, and then,
as a film producer said to me
many years later,

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"If you can get Michael Caine
in any part in your movie,

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"over the title,
you've got box office."

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That kind of success was still
nearly ten years away.

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Life was tough for Michael Caine,
right through his 20s.

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Then, at age 31, in 1964, Michael
"Cockney" Caine got his break.

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Stanley Baker, the actor he had met
on A Hill in Korea,

129
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arranged for Michael
to meet producer Cy Endfield,
who had a big project.

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The screen test
was actually terrible,
and I think most screen tests are.

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All you do is photograph
somebody's fear, not their talent.

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And any way, that was done
on a Friday, and on a Saturday night

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I went to a party, and quite by
coincidence Cy Endfield was there,

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and I thought, "Well,
have I got the part or not?"

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And he came in and he just said,
"Good evening" and walked by.

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And my eyes followed him all round
the room, waiting for him
to say something.

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At least say,
"You haven't got the part."

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And he finally, he came up to me
and he said,

139
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"You did, yesterday,
probably the worst screen test
I've ever seen in my life."

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He said,
"Stanley Baker and I may be mad, but
we're going to give you the part."

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It was Zulu.

142
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Caine looked the part of the English
gentleman soldier, but there was
still the issue of that accent.

143
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I was nervous when I first did it,
because your first film is always
the most nerve-wracking.

144
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I could probably do it better now.

145
00:09:15,220 --> 00:09:18,380
I remember Cy Endfield,
when he did the first take,

146
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said "Cut", half way through
the very first take, and he said,

147
00:09:21,780 --> 00:09:24,940
"Michael, your voice has
gone up about three octaves."

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My voice was up here with nerves,
and they could hardly record it,

149
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and we had to start again
and then I brought my voice down.

150
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But what had happened was, everybody
came out of the production offices

151
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because they were sure this
Cockney couldn't speak like that.

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I was sitting on this horse,
and I suddenly turned round
and there was the entire crew -

153
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office, people's staff,
producers, everybody - who had
never been on the set before,

154
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just standing there staring at me,
and I was sitting on this horse.

155
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This is what threw me
for the first take.

156
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Bromhead.

157
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24.

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That's my post. Up there.

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And nothing has ever thrown me on a
take since, and I'm sure never will.

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Lamps fall over and I still keep
going straight through it, because
I think I'm in live television

161
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and no matter what happens, you've
got to keep going till the end.

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Just like his screen character,

163
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Michael Caine the actor
was transformed in Zulu.

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This was his big break.

165
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Sir! Are you all right?

166
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Take...command.

167
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Corporal!

168
00:10:33,020 --> 00:10:34,780
Tell the professor...

169
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Take command. Lance Corporal!

170
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Now listen, old boy,
you're not dying.

171
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We need you. Damn you, we need you!

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00:10:46,180 --> 00:10:50,180
Zulu launched Michael Caine, but
it didn't make him a millionaire.

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He was tall, good looking,
and at 31 years of age,

174
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an actor with a big future.

175
00:10:55,660 --> 00:10:59,780
James Bond producer Harry Saltzman
saw a smart investment.

176
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I was quite impoverished.
I had made Zulu,

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00:11:02,500 --> 00:11:06,740
but I got paid £4,000 for Zulu,

178
00:11:06,740 --> 00:11:10,020
and I was sort of broke
at the end of it.

179
00:11:10,020 --> 00:11:13,620
And so this was this incredible
opportunity, and I mean,

180
00:11:13,620 --> 00:11:18,060
the first year of the contract was
£100,000 or something like that,

181
00:11:18,060 --> 00:11:20,540
you know,
which to me was like £12 million.

182
00:11:20,540 --> 00:11:24,460
The Ipcress File is
a highly stylised feature film.

183
00:11:24,460 --> 00:11:26,660
A Cold War spy story.

184
00:11:26,660 --> 00:11:28,140
Look out!

185
00:11:33,100 --> 00:11:40,140
Reluctant and irreverent spy
Harry Palmer is caught up in a web
of double bluff and brainwashing.

186
00:11:40,140 --> 00:11:44,420
Congratulations Palmer, you've
just killed an American agent.

187
00:11:52,980 --> 00:11:55,740
We wanted him to be
the antithesis of Bond.

188
00:11:55,740 --> 00:11:58,220
It obviously wasn't
any competition for Bond.

189
00:11:58,220 --> 00:12:01,300
It wasn't another great suave spy.

190
00:12:01,300 --> 00:12:05,900
It was more like a real spy,
an ordinary guy who you wouldn't
look at twice in the street.

191
00:12:05,900 --> 00:12:07,420
You know, that kind of thing.

192
00:12:10,180 --> 00:12:12,580
Oh. Good morning, sir.

193
00:12:14,260 --> 00:12:16,100
Champignons.

194
00:12:16,100 --> 00:12:20,260
You're paying ten pence more
for a fancy French label.

195
00:12:20,260 --> 00:12:23,820
If you want button mushrooms, you'll
get better value on the next shelf.

196
00:12:23,820 --> 00:12:27,260
It's not just the label.
These do have a better flavour.

197
00:12:27,260 --> 00:12:30,940
Of course. You're quite a gourmet,
aren't you, Palmer?

198
00:12:30,940 --> 00:12:34,580
'When they saw the first rushes,
he said "He's wearing glasses.'

199
00:12:34,580 --> 00:12:38,100
"Is he short-sighted,
does he have to wear glasses?"
"No, that's part of the character."

200
00:12:38,100 --> 00:12:44,700
He said, "Well, there's never been a
leading man since Harold Lloyd who
had glasses, and he was a comedian!"

201
00:12:44,700 --> 00:12:47,260
Do you always wear your glasses?

202
00:12:47,260 --> 00:12:48,500
Yes.

203
00:12:49,580 --> 00:12:51,540
Except in bed.

204
00:12:51,540 --> 00:12:57,020
'I saw Sean having a difficulty
trying to get away from James Bond
and I thought,'

205
00:12:57,020 --> 00:13:01,180
the minute I take these off,
it's not Harry Palmer,
which proved correct.

206
00:13:02,820 --> 00:13:05,900
And then they saw the rushes
where I cook the meal for the woman.

207
00:13:05,900 --> 00:13:09,900
And they went, "Everybody will say
it's a fag! I mean, cooking.

208
00:13:09,900 --> 00:13:13,540
"I mean, this is a fag, John Wayne
wouldn't cook anything for anybody."

209
00:13:15,580 --> 00:13:18,020
You're very professional.

210
00:13:18,020 --> 00:13:19,980
Yes, so are you.

211
00:13:19,980 --> 00:13:26,180
Harry said to me one day, "I'm
putting your name above the title."

212
00:13:26,180 --> 00:13:29,940
I said, "Do you think I was good in
it?" He said, "No, it's just that

213
00:13:29,940 --> 00:13:32,740
"if I don't think you're a star,
who the hell else is going to?

214
00:13:32,740 --> 00:13:34,700
"I'll put your name up there
anyway."

215
00:13:40,180 --> 00:13:42,100
Have you seen everything?

216
00:13:44,300 --> 00:13:46,020
Yes.

217
00:13:46,020 --> 00:13:50,540
I read this review, and I knew that
I had a career in movies,

218
00:13:50,540 --> 00:13:54,140
in leading characters,
if not the star role.

219
00:13:54,140 --> 00:13:57,540
And I knew I had a future,
and I was 31,

220
00:13:57,540 --> 00:14:03,700
and for the first time in my life,
I knew I had a future
in this business.

221
00:14:03,700 --> 00:14:06,300
You have forgotten your name.

222
00:14:06,300 --> 00:14:11,620
In truth, his name is Michael Caine,
and no-one will forget his name.

223
00:14:11,620 --> 00:14:13,900
Michael Caine.

224
00:14:13,900 --> 00:14:16,340
His name was Michael Caine.

225
00:14:16,340 --> 00:14:22,180
Even before the film was released,
the buzz in London's film business
said a star was born.

226
00:14:22,180 --> 00:14:24,620
Americans became very interested

227
00:14:24,620 --> 00:14:26,900
in this sort of working-class
British persona,

228
00:14:26,900 --> 00:14:29,700
and it was coming through
coming through in music as well.

229
00:14:29,700 --> 00:14:34,420
It's interesting that Michael
Caine came through with his regional
accent, his Cockney accent,

230
00:14:34,420 --> 00:14:38,660
at the same time that The Beatles
were the sort of iconic British
people the world over,

231
00:14:38,660 --> 00:14:43,140
with their Scouse accent.
You also had Sean Connery with
his unapologetic Scottish accent.

232
00:14:44,660 --> 00:14:49,580
And the timing was perfect to
unleash the Cockney accent in Alfie.

233
00:14:49,580 --> 00:14:51,260
Going up in the world, in't I?

234
00:14:51,260 --> 00:14:56,580
In his world
of endless sexual encounters,
women are disposable objects.

235
00:14:56,580 --> 00:14:58,340
She's in lovely condition.

236
00:14:58,340 --> 00:15:01,580
He is, you know,
he's the living image of

237
00:15:01,580 --> 00:15:04,940
that kind of new,
confident man of the '60s,

238
00:15:04,940 --> 00:15:08,180
a man who's embracing
the permissive society,

239
00:15:08,180 --> 00:15:12,580
is in no way a feminist, you know,
not a progressive, not a radical,

240
00:15:12,580 --> 00:15:16,460
but a man who's enjoying the fruits
of that consumer culture,

241
00:15:16,460 --> 00:15:20,980
and women are just another thing
that he wants to eat and swallow up.

242
00:15:20,980 --> 00:15:26,700
I remember seeing Alfie
as a younger woman and feeling
extremely angry and offended by it,

243
00:15:26,700 --> 00:15:30,700
finding it very condescending,
very unpleasant in the humour,

244
00:15:30,700 --> 00:15:33,740
and the way it regards
its female characters,

245
00:15:33,740 --> 00:15:39,100
but having revisited it recently,
I saw a real darkness there and
a real complexity to his character

246
00:15:39,100 --> 00:15:41,620
that I hadn't really caught
the first time round.

247
00:15:44,100 --> 00:15:46,420
You're a little sex pot, in't you?
Am I?

248
00:15:46,420 --> 00:15:52,980
His performance in it is interesting,
because as well as the obvious
laddish charm and sex appeal

249
00:15:52,980 --> 00:15:57,260
that the film was sold on,
there's a real vulnerability there,

250
00:15:57,260 --> 00:16:01,460
and I think that's a very interesting
element of his presence as a star

251
00:16:01,460 --> 00:16:05,940
and as a sex symbol, is that there's
something almost feminised about him.

252
00:16:05,940 --> 00:16:07,860
There's a weakness always.

253
00:16:07,860 --> 00:16:10,940
Even as simple a fact as
wearing glasses as a leading man.

254
00:16:10,940 --> 00:16:14,780
You see him cooking in The Ipcress
File. You see him crying in Alfie.

255
00:16:14,780 --> 00:16:18,020
These are sort of unusual things
for a heroic male lead,

256
00:16:18,020 --> 00:16:22,820
and I think what you see in Alfie
is the sort of breakdown
of a certain kind of masculinity.

257
00:16:22,820 --> 00:16:24,380
Don't go in there.

258
00:16:36,180 --> 00:16:39,340
He leaves a trail of emotional
devastation in a story that shows up

259
00:16:39,340 --> 00:16:42,900
the swinging '60s
as being mainly a male creation.

260
00:16:46,620 --> 00:16:50,980
He begins to realise it's
a lifestyle that comes at a cost.

261
00:16:55,980 --> 00:17:00,060
And nothing stays the same.
Even in the movies.

262
00:17:00,060 --> 00:17:01,660
He's younger than you are.

263
00:17:03,380 --> 00:17:05,300
You got it?

264
00:17:07,380 --> 00:17:12,660
Michael Caine's performance in Alfie
won him an Oscar nomination.

265
00:17:12,660 --> 00:17:16,940
It earned him influential friends
and a place at the movie world's
top table.

266
00:17:16,940 --> 00:17:22,380
One of the most difficult things for
a British actor to do is to get

267
00:17:22,380 --> 00:17:28,060
a leading part in a Hollywood movie,
opposite a major American star.

268
00:17:28,060 --> 00:17:30,700
And I managed this.

269
00:17:30,700 --> 00:17:35,820
I say I managed this.
The reason I got this was
because of the generosity

270
00:17:35,820 --> 00:17:38,020
of Shirley MacLaine.

271
00:17:39,100 --> 00:17:42,380
She was doing a film called Gambit,

272
00:17:42,380 --> 00:17:47,340
and they said,
"Who would you like in the movie?"

273
00:17:47,340 --> 00:17:52,700
And I'd never met her, I'd never
been to America, and suddenly
I got a call one day and it said,

274
00:17:52,700 --> 00:17:56,540
"You're in a movie
with Shirley MacLaine.
We'll send you the script."

275
00:17:56,540 --> 00:17:59,980
I said, "Don't worry, I don't want
to read it, I'll just come."

276
00:17:59,980 --> 00:18:03,820
If you will read the magazine
as I asked, you will see

277
00:18:03,820 --> 00:18:08,420
that he does not make appointments
because he is a recluse.

278
00:18:08,420 --> 00:18:10,340
Well, then why does
he want to see us?

279
00:18:10,340 --> 00:18:12,340
A recluse doesn't see anybody, Harry.

280
00:18:12,340 --> 00:18:14,460
A recluse... That's why.

281
00:18:14,460 --> 00:18:16,660
That's why.

282
00:18:16,660 --> 00:18:19,260
Who was this? His wife?
Was his wife. She's dead.

283
00:18:22,100 --> 00:18:24,140
You made me look like this dead lady.

284
00:18:24,140 --> 00:18:28,780
Exactly, and when
Shahbandar learns about you,
we will be invited to meet him.

285
00:18:28,780 --> 00:18:30,460
Hollywood is a very closed shop,

286
00:18:30,460 --> 00:18:33,500
and the fact that Shirley MacLaine
wanted Michael Caine

287
00:18:33,500 --> 00:18:35,300
to come and be with her in Gambit

288
00:18:35,300 --> 00:18:39,980
was an enormous opening for him. I
mean, she could have picked anybody.

289
00:18:39,980 --> 00:18:42,580
She was a wonderful star at the time.

290
00:18:42,580 --> 00:18:44,460
Don't forget,
her brother is Warren Beatty.

291
00:18:44,460 --> 00:18:49,500
She was really in with the in crowd,
and the fact that she had this

292
00:18:49,500 --> 00:18:56,660
great knowledge and plucked him - I
don't want to say from obscurity, but
plucked him from the British milieu

293
00:18:56,660 --> 00:19:00,260
was an enormous feat, I think,
an enormous achievement for him.

294
00:19:00,260 --> 00:19:04,740
And also, let's not forget
why people are stars.

295
00:19:04,740 --> 00:19:10,100
I mean, Michael Caine is iconic
because of the way he looks,
the way he sounds, the way he acts,

296
00:19:10,100 --> 00:19:12,460
and Shirley MacLaine
can pick a winner.

297
00:19:14,060 --> 00:19:17,180
The '60s were a prolific time
for Michael.

298
00:19:17,180 --> 00:19:22,620
There were two more Harry Palmer
films - Funeral In Berlin
and Billion Dollar Brain -

299
00:19:22,620 --> 00:19:25,740
but one film has unexpectedly
become a classic.

300
00:19:25,740 --> 00:19:31,180
It's a film with a line of dialogue
that has become forever attached
to Michael Caine.

301
00:19:38,300 --> 00:19:41,540
You're only supposed to blow
the bloody doors off!

302
00:19:42,380 --> 00:19:46,380
The Italian Job celebrated
London's swagger and style.

303
00:19:48,260 --> 00:19:53,460
London at the time was, as everyone
knows, it was the Swinging Sixties.

304
00:19:53,460 --> 00:19:56,420
It was the time of Carnaby Street,
it was the time of King's Road.

305
00:19:56,420 --> 00:20:01,140
To me, it was just a barrel of
laughs. We were going off to Turin.

306
00:20:01,140 --> 00:20:03,260
At 22, I was going to Turin,

307
00:20:03,260 --> 00:20:05,860
I was going to be paid per diems.

308
00:20:05,860 --> 00:20:09,820
And I was going off for weeks
to make this film,

309
00:20:09,820 --> 00:20:15,340
and I only had one line, so I
didn't have to stay completely sober.

310
00:20:15,340 --> 00:20:19,220
I am going in the front,
you are going in the back.

311
00:20:19,220 --> 00:20:21,700
He says he wants to sit up
in front with the driver!

312
00:20:21,700 --> 00:20:26,500
I always get sick in the back.
Listen, if I go in the back, I get my
migraine, I'll be out like a light.

313
00:20:26,500 --> 00:20:30,100
You are not going to be sick, you're
not going to have your migraine,

314
00:20:30,100 --> 00:20:32,980
and everybody is going to sit
in the back of the motor.

315
00:20:32,980 --> 00:20:38,300
Now I have to go back and look at it
through the perspective of
a 22-year-old actor.

316
00:20:38,300 --> 00:20:45,100
His eyes are so wide-open and
his jaw is so low in astonishment.

317
00:20:45,100 --> 00:20:47,060
It was just watching Michael.

318
00:20:47,060 --> 00:20:50,260
I mean, we were lumped together and
we all did our job,

319
00:20:50,260 --> 00:20:54,060
but every day Michael arriving
in a Roller on the set, you know,

320
00:20:54,060 --> 00:20:58,740
and don't forget,
he also had his extraordinarily
beautiful consort as well.

321
00:20:58,740 --> 00:21:01,140
He was with Bianca at the time.

322
00:21:01,140 --> 00:21:03,380
So, you know, and we're all...

323
00:21:03,380 --> 00:21:06,060
But it just seemed exactly right.

324
00:21:06,060 --> 00:21:10,060
Michael looked, sounded,
behaved like a movie star.

325
00:21:10,060 --> 00:21:13,900
The plan was that we stay here.
The plan's changed.

326
00:21:13,900 --> 00:21:15,540
But why, Charlie?

327
00:21:15,540 --> 00:21:17,620
Why? Because you're a liability.

328
00:21:17,620 --> 00:21:22,220
I don't think there was a buzz
about The Italian Job, I think
it was just another film,

329
00:21:22,220 --> 00:21:27,460
and the genius of having
Remy Julienne do those stunts
with the Minis,

330
00:21:27,460 --> 00:21:29,220
that was the masterpiece.

331
00:21:29,220 --> 00:21:32,460
I mean, the film was a lovely film,
very charming film,

332
00:21:32,460 --> 00:21:36,540
but without the three minutes,
it would have been
just another caper film.

333
00:21:38,140 --> 00:21:40,460
Hang on a minute, lads.

334
00:21:40,460 --> 00:21:42,180
I've got a great idea.

335
00:21:42,180 --> 00:21:47,700
He has this really great period
in the mid to late '60s
and the beginning of the '70s,

336
00:21:47,700 --> 00:21:53,020
where he gets these parts
that really speak to those
precise historical moments.

337
00:21:53,020 --> 00:21:55,820
You know, he gets to embody
swinging London.

338
00:21:55,820 --> 00:21:59,220
He gets to do kind of the colonial
hero as well,

339
00:21:59,220 --> 00:22:05,220
a really important figure in
the '60s, you know, those uniforms,
Sergeant Pepper.

340
00:22:05,220 --> 00:22:10,060
People are thinking about empire
in that period, and Britain's place
in the world.

341
00:22:10,060 --> 00:22:16,260
And then he gets to do Get Carter,
which, if anything, if it's anything,

342
00:22:16,260 --> 00:22:21,460
is a kiss goodbye
to the carefree '60s
and a sign that Britain is entering

343
00:22:21,460 --> 00:22:24,220
a tougher, a more glacial
kind of period.

344
00:22:24,220 --> 00:22:28,100
You know, in that film,
he's a sort of spirit of vengeance

345
00:22:28,100 --> 00:22:31,900
who's sent up to the difficult,
cold, grimy, violent North.

346
00:22:31,900 --> 00:22:33,940
Goodbye, Eric!

347
00:22:33,940 --> 00:22:39,060
This isn't the same country
that Alfie takes place in.

348
00:22:39,060 --> 00:22:40,620
It's an entire world away.

349
00:22:41,660 --> 00:22:43,700
Open that door and go inside.

350
00:22:49,820 --> 00:22:51,260
What are you going to do?

351
00:22:51,260 --> 00:22:53,500
I'm going to sit in the car
and whistle Rule Britannia.

352
00:22:53,500 --> 00:22:55,980
You're coming back!
How could I stay away?

353
00:23:10,300 --> 00:23:13,820
Get Carter closed a chapter
in Caine's career.

354
00:23:13,820 --> 00:23:17,660
The world was changing,
and so was the movie business.

355
00:23:25,580 --> 00:23:29,860
In the '70s, television challenged
cinemas for audiences.

356
00:23:29,860 --> 00:23:34,620
Hollywood's answer was the epic, a
film like The Man Who Would Be King,

357
00:23:34,620 --> 00:23:38,740
a must-see movie event directed
by the legendary John Huston.

358
00:23:40,500 --> 00:23:47,460
Caine really hadn't been in any
really, really massive epics
in that particular decade,

359
00:23:47,460 --> 00:23:53,500
and I think that starring as
a one-two punch with Sean Connery
and a cast literally of thousands

360
00:23:53,500 --> 00:23:56,260
was an enormous step up
for his career,

361
00:23:56,260 --> 00:24:00,740
because this is the kind of film
that Hollywood was making
to challenge television.

362
00:24:00,740 --> 00:24:05,700
You know, "We couldn't put this on
in television, you have to come
and see it on the big screen."

363
00:24:05,700 --> 00:24:08,460
Michael Caine was now mixing
with Hollywood's royalty

364
00:24:08,460 --> 00:24:13,300
in roles first envisaged for
Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart.

365
00:24:13,300 --> 00:24:17,580
It was a long dream come true
for even John Huston,

366
00:24:17,580 --> 00:24:22,500
who had wanted to make the film
many years ago. But if he'd done it,

367
00:24:22,500 --> 00:24:26,300
then neither Michael Caine,
nor Sean Connery, nor I
would have been in it!

368
00:24:26,300 --> 00:24:27,580
So the timing was right.

369
00:24:28,540 --> 00:24:33,060
If they're that far back,
there are not all these many people
right up here, you see.

370
00:24:33,060 --> 00:24:37,820
First and foremost,
to work with Huston,
I wanted to work with Huston.

371
00:24:37,820 --> 00:24:40,140
I've always been
a great admirer of his.

372
00:24:40,140 --> 00:24:43,740
Also, of course,
the part is marvellous,

373
00:24:43,740 --> 00:24:45,620
it's a fabulous part to play,

374
00:24:45,620 --> 00:24:48,340
and it's the type of film
I wanted to be in,

375
00:24:48,340 --> 00:24:52,300
and I think it's the type of film
we basically should be making,

376
00:24:52,300 --> 00:24:55,420
instead of, um...

377
00:24:55,420 --> 00:24:57,820
kind of competing with Kojak
or something,

378
00:24:57,820 --> 00:24:59,860
which people can see for nothing.

379
00:24:59,860 --> 00:25:03,060
You know, you've got to make...
This is what I call a movie movie.

380
00:25:08,820 --> 00:25:12,140
WHISTLE BLOWS
How was it, Eric?

381
00:25:12,140 --> 00:25:14,340
Not very good. How was it for you?

382
00:25:14,340 --> 00:25:17,140
Not absolutely perfect all
the way through. Once more, please!

383
00:25:18,740 --> 00:25:20,820
GUNFIRE AND SHOUTING

384
00:25:22,060 --> 00:25:27,460
WHISTLE BLOWS
Well, was the shot no good,
then? Ah...

385
00:25:27,460 --> 00:25:30,660
the mules don't go over the side,
that's what we're trying to do.

386
00:25:30,660 --> 00:25:32,540
Nothing happened with the mules.

387
00:25:32,540 --> 00:25:34,620
Not a goddamn thing happens
with the mules.

388
00:25:34,620 --> 00:25:38,940
It just looks strange that if
they get in and then they turn around
to shoot, we come in, we leave them,

389
00:25:38,940 --> 00:25:41,900
the camera goes with us and it looks
as though we're shooting them.

390
00:25:41,900 --> 00:25:45,620
Well, let's do the same thing as
come back up through them again.

391
00:25:45,620 --> 00:25:47,380
Yeah. What's that?

392
00:25:47,380 --> 00:25:49,900
Do you want us to come back
up through them again? I think so,

393
00:25:49,900 --> 00:25:52,060
because we left you at this end,
you were the last two.

394
00:25:52,060 --> 00:25:53,900
You just wait one jiffy!

395
00:25:55,340 --> 00:25:59,100
Michael said to me, he said,
"Saeed, I'm doing a film next year,

396
00:25:59,100 --> 00:26:02,660
"I think there's a part in it
that you'd be absolutely right for."

397
00:26:02,660 --> 00:26:06,460
And he did mention my name
to the producers,

398
00:26:06,460 --> 00:26:11,180
but we still had to screen-test
five other people and so on.

399
00:26:11,180 --> 00:26:14,380
Rifleman Majendra Bahadur Gurung!

400
00:26:14,380 --> 00:26:16,940
Known to my regiment as Billy Fish.

401
00:26:16,940 --> 00:26:20,780
And we had this tall gay dresser

402
00:26:20,780 --> 00:26:26,740
and I... He kept saying,
"Billy Fish number one, coming up!

403
00:26:26,740 --> 00:26:29,660
"Billy Fish number two, coming up!"

404
00:26:29,660 --> 00:26:34,260
And I prayed to God, I said,
"Please, God, give me the prayer

405
00:26:34,260 --> 00:26:40,180
"so this guy learns to call us
by our names and not Billy Fish
number one, two and three!"

406
00:26:40,180 --> 00:26:43,180
And God granted me the prayer,
and I got the part.

407
00:26:43,180 --> 00:26:48,460
SPEAK IN NATIVE LANGUAGE

408
00:26:48,460 --> 00:26:51,140
He wants to know, are you gods?

409
00:26:51,140 --> 00:26:54,340
Not gods, Englishmen,
which is the next best thing.

410
00:26:59,940 --> 00:27:02,300
I ofttimes tell Luther
about Englishmens,

411
00:27:02,300 --> 00:27:05,220
how they give names to dogs
and take off hats to womans

412
00:27:05,220 --> 00:27:07,500
and march into battle,
"Left, right, left, right,"

413
00:27:07,500 --> 00:27:09,420
with rifles on their shoulders!

414
00:27:09,420 --> 00:27:11,780
Bringing enlightenment
to the darker regions of the earth.

415
00:27:11,780 --> 00:27:14,300
Michael was wonderful.

416
00:27:14,300 --> 00:27:18,580
He said, "Saeed, if you play
one of the leading roles in a movie,

417
00:27:18,580 --> 00:27:22,980
"make sure you get to know the
whole company by their first name,

418
00:27:22,980 --> 00:27:28,660
"then the company feels like
a family, and the work smiles
on that screen."

419
00:27:28,660 --> 00:27:30,460
Absolutely true.

420
00:27:30,460 --> 00:27:33,780
Sean Connery realises his dream
of being as rich as a king,

421
00:27:33,780 --> 00:27:36,380
but his mortal desire leads
to their undoing,

422
00:27:36,380 --> 00:27:38,660
and they're forced
to make a run for it.

423
00:27:38,660 --> 00:27:42,340
They've twigged it, Danny,
you've had it.

424
00:27:44,380 --> 00:27:47,220
The gig's up!

425
00:27:47,220 --> 00:27:49,220
I... For God's sake!

426
00:27:51,100 --> 00:27:54,980
As the '70s gave way to the '80s,
times continued to change

427
00:27:54,980 --> 00:27:58,180
for the movie industry
and for Michael Caine.

428
00:27:58,180 --> 00:28:01,900
He even tries on lipstick
and lingerie in Dressed To Kill.

429
00:28:01,900 --> 00:28:04,060
It's a crucial time.

430
00:28:04,060 --> 00:28:06,900
Now approaching 50,
he enters a twilight zone

431
00:28:06,900 --> 00:28:11,380
where starring
roles in the Hollywood tradition
become harder to find.

432
00:28:11,380 --> 00:28:15,540
But British cinema offers
interesting parts
for a more mature man.

433
00:28:15,540 --> 00:28:17,460
Caine says to me an interview once,

434
00:28:17,460 --> 00:28:20,380
"I was handed a script
and automatically I looked for

435
00:28:20,380 --> 00:28:23,380
"the lover role and realised
that it was quite short,"

436
00:28:23,380 --> 00:28:26,620
then the director informed him, "No,
we haven't cast you as the lover,

437
00:28:26,620 --> 00:28:29,260
"we've cast you as the father figure,
but it's a huge role."

438
00:28:29,260 --> 00:28:32,740
That's when he realised, "OK, I may
not get the girl any more in movies,

439
00:28:32,740 --> 00:28:34,980
"it'll be passed on
to a younger generation,

440
00:28:34,980 --> 00:28:38,340
"but I'm still a really good actor,
and I'll still get good roles."

441
00:28:38,340 --> 00:28:40,900
It says here, "Mrs S White."

442
00:28:40,900 --> 00:28:42,820
Ah, yes, that's S for Susan.

443
00:28:42,820 --> 00:28:44,500
That's just my real name.

444
00:28:44,500 --> 00:28:48,100
But I'm not a Susan anymore.
I've changed my name to Rita.

445
00:28:48,100 --> 00:28:51,020
You know, after Rita Mae Brown? No.

446
00:28:51,020 --> 00:28:55,140
Rita Mae Brown,
who wrote Rubyfruit Jungle.

447
00:28:55,140 --> 00:28:57,180
No. Haven't you read it?

448
00:28:57,180 --> 00:28:59,980
No. It's a fantastic book, you know.
Do you want to lend it?

449
00:28:59,980 --> 00:29:02,420
Er... Yes, yes.

450
00:29:02,420 --> 00:29:04,340
Well, thank you very much. It's OK.

451
00:29:06,580 --> 00:29:08,820
And what do they call you
around here?

452
00:29:08,820 --> 00:29:10,260
Sir.

453
00:29:11,900 --> 00:29:15,380
But you may call me Frank.
OK...Frank.

454
00:29:16,740 --> 00:29:19,700
I was in Los Angeles. They said,
"What are you going to do?"

455
00:29:19,700 --> 00:29:22,300
I said, "I'm going to do something
called Educating Rita,"

456
00:29:22,300 --> 00:29:24,620
and they said,
"Well, who else is in it?" I said,

457
00:29:24,620 --> 00:29:28,220
"A girl called Julie Walters.
"They said, "Who the hell
is Julie Walters?"

458
00:29:28,220 --> 00:29:30,620
I said, "She's very good,
she's in the play,

459
00:29:30,620 --> 00:29:33,980
"she's going to do the movie,
and I'm going to do it with her."

460
00:29:33,980 --> 00:29:38,340
He said, "Well, Educating Rita,
that must be about Rita.

461
00:29:38,340 --> 00:29:40,980
"What do you play in it?"
"I play a guy called Frank."

462
00:29:40,980 --> 00:29:44,780
He said, "Well, you should be doing
a picture called Educating Frank

463
00:29:44,780 --> 00:29:46,860
"if you're going to be
a star in this."

464
00:29:46,860 --> 00:29:49,300
Background action! Background action.

465
00:29:50,620 --> 00:29:51,700
Action.

466
00:29:52,700 --> 00:29:54,180
Right...

467
00:29:54,180 --> 00:29:59,020
I've got your address in France,
so I'll write to you every day.

468
00:29:59,020 --> 00:30:02,260
So have a good holiday
and don't drink too much, will you?

469
00:30:02,740 --> 00:30:09,300
Educating Rita reunited Caine
with the man who directed Alfie
16 years earlier, Lewis Gilbert.

470
00:30:10,420 --> 00:30:13,460
Originally, I was doing this picture
for an American company.

471
00:30:13,460 --> 00:30:15,220
They wanted me to make it in America

472
00:30:15,220 --> 00:30:19,740
and use somebody like Dolly Parton
and make the thing American.

473
00:30:19,740 --> 00:30:25,300
And I said, "Well,
this is ridiculous, because it's
just so English, that's its charm."

474
00:30:25,300 --> 00:30:28,700
You wouldn't think of making
Pygmalion or My Fair Lady
in Brooklyn.

475
00:30:28,700 --> 00:30:31,460
Did you actually manage
to get any work done?

476
00:30:31,460 --> 00:30:34,700
Work? We never stopped,
lashing us with it, they were.

477
00:30:34,700 --> 00:30:37,020
Another essay, lash,
do it again, smack!

478
00:30:37,020 --> 00:30:38,900
Another lecture, lash!

479
00:30:38,900 --> 00:30:40,900
It was fantastic.

480
00:30:40,900 --> 00:30:43,020
Frank, I could have stayed forever.

481
00:30:43,020 --> 00:30:45,900
'Michael, you know,
was a big film star to me.'

482
00:30:45,900 --> 00:30:47,580
Now, of course, I know different.

483
00:30:47,580 --> 00:30:50,500
No, you know, and so, yes,
that did help the whole thing.

484
00:30:50,500 --> 00:30:52,540
He's been great,
he's been a real help

485
00:30:52,540 --> 00:30:55,780
altogether, you know, off-screen
as well been a great help.

486
00:30:58,340 --> 00:30:59,940
LAUGHTER

487
00:31:01,220 --> 00:31:04,660
Er...assonance!

488
00:31:06,660 --> 00:31:10,940
Do you know... Do you know
what assonance means? Eh?

489
00:31:10,940 --> 00:31:12,980
It means getting the rhyme wrong!

490
00:31:12,980 --> 00:31:15,020
LAUGHTER

491
00:31:15,020 --> 00:31:18,060
It's terrible, isn't it?

492
00:31:18,060 --> 00:31:21,380
Michael's acting in
Educating Rita won a BAFTA.

493
00:31:21,380 --> 00:31:26,380
His first major screen award
had taken more than 25 years.

494
00:31:26,380 --> 00:31:29,940
His approach has always been that
film acting is more than an art.

495
00:31:29,940 --> 00:31:32,140
It's a craft that can be learnt.

496
00:31:32,140 --> 00:31:34,220
Take this speech,
let me sit there, yeah?

497
00:31:38,660 --> 00:31:44,700
I want to see someone who's...
a slightly pitiful character.

498
00:31:46,500 --> 00:31:49,860
He's not really in control
of everything.

499
00:31:53,020 --> 00:31:56,620
And he's trying to keep his head
straight, which wants to go...

500
00:31:56,620 --> 00:32:02,100
But he's got to keep... Because
the last thing he's going to do is
show this woman that he's drunk.

501
00:32:03,980 --> 00:32:09,140
And it's a rather...pitiful
character listening to her.

502
00:32:09,140 --> 00:32:11,500
And drunks don't react fast.

503
00:32:11,500 --> 00:32:15,260
If a normal man sat down
in the armchair, he'd sit like this,

504
00:32:15,260 --> 00:32:18,340
"Hello, how are you?"
You've got a difference...

505
00:32:18,340 --> 00:32:21,020
But a drunk, it's very small.

506
00:32:22,820 --> 00:32:27,980
There is more poetry
in the...telephone directory.

507
00:32:27,980 --> 00:32:33,660
However...this has one advantage
over the telephone directory.

508
00:32:33,660 --> 00:32:35,780
It is easier to rip.

509
00:32:37,860 --> 00:32:39,660
Why don't you just go away?

510
00:32:42,780 --> 00:32:45,180
I don't think I can bear it
any longer.

511
00:32:46,820 --> 00:32:48,780
Can't bear what, Frank?

512
00:32:50,260 --> 00:32:51,780
You, Rita...

513
00:32:51,780 --> 00:32:53,740
You.

514
00:32:53,740 --> 00:32:59,860
But after 20 years as a big-screen
icon, he was, perhaps surprisingly,

515
00:32:59,860 --> 00:33:05,740
tempted back to television
for a dramatisation of the story
of Jack the Ripper.

516
00:33:05,740 --> 00:33:09,180
Caine plays
Inspector Frederick Abberline.

517
00:33:09,180 --> 00:33:13,020
Was he a surgeon, like yourself?
Surgeons save lives, Inspector,
not destroy them.

518
00:33:13,020 --> 00:33:17,660
He's investigating
the horrific murder and mutilation
of London prostitutes.

519
00:33:19,740 --> 00:33:21,180
Well, well, well!

520
00:33:21,180 --> 00:33:23,980
It's loosely based on
the true story of Jack the Ripper,

521
00:33:23,980 --> 00:33:27,020
but in this version
Caine unmasks the serial-killer...

522
00:33:27,020 --> 00:33:29,460
You're going to introduce us! Now!

523
00:33:30,260 --> 00:33:31,940
Fred! You'll hang!

524
00:33:31,940 --> 00:33:35,140
..only to see
his identity protected.

525
00:33:38,020 --> 00:33:41,980
It had a good effect on his career,
because people remembered
how good he was.

526
00:33:41,980 --> 00:33:46,220
They weren't going to some of
his movies around that time,
but they were seeing him on TV,

527
00:33:46,220 --> 00:33:50,340
remembering how good he was and then
casting him again for later movies.
So it was important.

528
00:33:50,340 --> 00:33:54,220
As any actor will tell you,
and I'm sure he'll tell you as well,
you have to keep working.

529
00:33:54,220 --> 00:33:58,740
I think it's a characteristic
of an actor who comes from
a working-class background,

530
00:33:58,740 --> 00:34:00,900
who regarded acting as a job,
as a trade,

531
00:34:00,900 --> 00:34:06,180
and who, on that basis, maybe never
felt secure enough to say, "That
part's not good enough for me."

532
00:34:06,180 --> 00:34:09,220
I think he does now, I think
now he can pick and choose

533
00:34:09,220 --> 00:34:13,020
and do films that really speak
to him and mean something to him,

534
00:34:13,020 --> 00:34:18,060
but in the sort of middle part
of his career, stardom isn't
automatically conferred,

535
00:34:18,060 --> 00:34:22,580
and even if it seems to be,
it doesn't just last, you have to
keep working, working, working.

536
00:34:22,580 --> 00:34:25,540
And I think he was always conscious
of not dropping out of view

537
00:34:25,540 --> 00:34:28,220
and always conscious of
keeping the money coming in.

538
00:34:28,220 --> 00:34:32,780
He's fortunate, not that he doesn't
deserve it, but he's been fortunate

539
00:34:32,780 --> 00:34:36,260
to enjoy the experience
of going in and out of fashion,

540
00:34:36,260 --> 00:34:43,100
of being lost and reclaimed,
of having a late period and
an early period and a middle period.

541
00:34:43,100 --> 00:34:45,220
Not a lot of actors get to do that.

542
00:34:48,180 --> 00:34:52,300
As the 20th century draws to
a close, the Harry Palmer character

543
00:34:52,300 --> 00:34:59,300
from The Ipcress File is brought out
of retirement for Bullet To Beijing
and Midnight In St Petersburg.

544
00:34:59,300 --> 00:35:04,060
Michael Caine himself qualifies for
a free bus pass just at the time

545
00:35:04,060 --> 00:35:08,500
he spots a unique opportunity
in a low-budget British film.

546
00:35:08,500 --> 00:35:14,500
He probably never expected
to be offered a romantic lead role
at age 65.

547
00:35:14,500 --> 00:35:18,300
When I heard Michael Caine was
going to be playing opposite me,

548
00:35:18,300 --> 00:35:21,820
I was a bit apprehensive, you know,
because up until that...

549
00:35:21,820 --> 00:35:27,900
He was the biggest name I'd ever
worked with, and not only that,
it was kind of a physical role,

550
00:35:27,900 --> 00:35:32,700
I had to pounce on him and kiss him,
so I was a bit nervous
of working with him.

551
00:35:32,700 --> 00:35:35,820
Here he is, Mr Ray Say!

552
00:35:37,860 --> 00:35:43,300
Sting Ray, Ray Gun,
my very own Ronnie Ray Gun!

553
00:35:43,300 --> 00:35:45,380
Oh, I'm just into him so!

554
00:35:46,500 --> 00:35:51,500
Caine's character, Ray Say, is a
small-time impresario who discovers

555
00:35:51,500 --> 00:35:55,580
his new girlfriend's daughter
has a fabulous singing talent.

556
00:35:55,580 --> 00:36:00,300
He throws all his money
and what's left of his reputation
into making her a star.

557
00:36:00,300 --> 00:36:02,180
The one, the only,

558
00:36:02,180 --> 00:36:04,820
Little Voice, ladies and gentlemen!

559
00:36:04,820 --> 00:36:06,260
Little Voice!

560
00:36:08,660 --> 00:36:11,220
APPLAUSE AND FEEDBACK

561
00:36:15,940 --> 00:36:18,300
Go on!

562
00:36:18,300 --> 00:36:21,620
I thought he might have wanted
the whole focus of attention...

563
00:36:21,620 --> 00:36:26,420
um, being such a big star,
but he wasn't like that at all.

564
00:36:26,420 --> 00:36:32,100
He was...interested in making
the scene work, the same as I was,
the same as everybody was.

565
00:36:33,180 --> 00:36:36,180
Oh! Bingo. Let there be light.

566
00:36:36,180 --> 00:36:39,660
But you want to get this lot
seen to, you know.
It could bring the house down.

567
00:36:39,660 --> 00:36:42,820
I was actually in the play of
Little Voice, which was called

568
00:36:42,820 --> 00:36:44,900
The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice,

569
00:36:44,900 --> 00:36:47,500
so Jane and I were
the only two folk who moved

570
00:36:47,500 --> 00:36:49,820
from the play into the film, and...

571
00:36:49,820 --> 00:36:56,260
I actually skipped around my living
room when I heard it was Michael
Caine who was going to be Ray Say.

572
00:36:56,260 --> 00:36:59,340
# Burn, baby, burn

573
00:36:59,340 --> 00:37:00,900
# Burn it!

574
00:37:00,900 --> 00:37:03,580
# To my surprise... #

575
00:37:07,420 --> 00:37:08,660
DOORBELL

576
00:37:08,660 --> 00:37:11,780
To be honest, I liked all my scenes
with him,

577
00:37:11,780 --> 00:37:14,740
because they just felt
totally organic.

578
00:37:14,740 --> 00:37:18,820
There's a scene at the nightclub
when she first meets him

579
00:37:18,820 --> 00:37:22,260
when Mr Boo introduces them,
and they're sort of

580
00:37:22,260 --> 00:37:25,700
smooching on the floor
to the slow music.

581
00:37:25,700 --> 00:37:29,540
It just kind of fitted, it just...

582
00:37:29,540 --> 00:37:34,780
There was... It was totally into
the characters, and it really worked.

583
00:37:34,780 --> 00:37:37,820
She's not what you'd call
a performer, I'll grant you that,

584
00:37:37,820 --> 00:37:39,220
but I can take care of that.

585
00:37:39,220 --> 00:37:42,540
She just needs a big band or
something to boost her confidence.

586
00:37:42,540 --> 00:37:45,540
I love it when you talk swanky.

587
00:37:45,540 --> 00:37:49,980
When I could see what Michael Caine
was doing, I thought,

588
00:37:49,980 --> 00:37:53,500
"This is so unlike anything
I've seen him do,"

589
00:37:53,500 --> 00:37:55,460
and he was quite brilliant.

590
00:38:00,060 --> 00:38:03,260
Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

591
00:38:04,100 --> 00:38:06,580
Michael was very...

592
00:38:06,580 --> 00:38:11,340
He's a very...concentrated
and self-possessed man

593
00:38:11,340 --> 00:38:16,700
but had absolute enthusiasm
for the film and the story

594
00:38:16,700 --> 00:38:18,100
and the other actors.

595
00:38:21,940 --> 00:38:24,740
I had something...
ladies and gentlemen.

596
00:38:24,740 --> 00:38:27,500
I had something really special.

597
00:38:27,500 --> 00:38:32,540
When he sings that song at the end
of Little Voice, I thought it was
absolutely heartbreaking.

598
00:38:32,540 --> 00:38:34,580
At first, he was quite reluctant.

599
00:38:34,580 --> 00:38:38,260
When they told him
he's got to sing a song,
I don't think he was that keen.

600
00:38:38,260 --> 00:38:40,860
He kept saying,
"No, no, no, I'm not a singer."

601
00:38:40,860 --> 00:38:45,940
They said, "No, but we want you
to put your own spin on it,
Ray Say's spin on it."

602
00:38:45,940 --> 00:38:50,220
# It breaks your heart in two... #

603
00:38:50,220 --> 00:38:53,980
He wasn't very confident about it,
but then, when it came to doing it,

604
00:38:53,980 --> 00:38:58,860
he just did it, and it blew everybody
away, it was heartbreaking.

605
00:38:58,860 --> 00:39:01,580
# It's over! #

606
00:39:07,740 --> 00:39:12,660
He hadn't been allowed or invited,
or the opportunity hadn't come along

607
00:39:12,660 --> 00:39:15,100
for him to play that pain previously,

608
00:39:15,100 --> 00:39:18,380
and I think...

609
00:39:19,540 --> 00:39:24,260
..that was radical for him
and wonderful for us as an audience.

610
00:39:24,260 --> 00:39:29,020
The adorable Mr Ray Say, ladies
and gentlemen, with a little song

611
00:39:29,020 --> 00:39:32,780
about his showbusiness career,
called It's Over.

612
00:39:34,940 --> 00:39:38,260
Little Voice won Michael Caine
a Golden Globe.

613
00:39:38,260 --> 00:39:40,420
Many thought he should
have had an Oscar.

614
00:39:40,420 --> 00:39:43,980
Surprisingly, in such a long career,
he has won just two -

615
00:39:43,980 --> 00:39:46,500
best supporting actor
in The Cider House Rules

616
00:39:46,500 --> 00:39:49,940
and best supporting actor for
the comedy Hannah And Her Sisters.

617
00:39:49,940 --> 00:39:52,380
It was interesting, because
it was a Woody Allen movie,

618
00:39:52,380 --> 00:39:55,620
and you don't always associate
Michael Caine with Woody Allen,

619
00:39:55,620 --> 00:39:59,060
who always makes these New York
stories with New Yorkers, generally.

620
00:39:59,060 --> 00:40:01,700
Caine comes along,
and he was terrifically cast.

621
00:40:01,700 --> 00:40:06,020
He played Mia Farrow's husband,
but he was having an affair
with Mia Farrow's sister,

622
00:40:06,020 --> 00:40:07,860
played by Barbara Hershey.

623
00:40:07,860 --> 00:40:11,060
JAZZ PLAYS

624
00:40:12,220 --> 00:40:15,260
You can take pictures?
Sure, when we get to the country.

625
00:40:15,260 --> 00:40:18,300
OK. Yeah, OK!

626
00:40:20,500 --> 00:40:23,980
He's holding his own against
Woody Allen's normal ensemble troupe.

627
00:40:23,980 --> 00:40:27,740
He has the people
he's used to working with,
actors who he knows a lot about,

628
00:40:27,740 --> 00:40:30,860
and there was Caine,
who was very much the outsider
when he started.

629
00:40:30,860 --> 00:40:34,900
But he dominates the movie.
Even when he's not in the scenes,
you're aware of Michael Caine.

630
00:40:34,900 --> 00:40:38,300
What are you not telling me?
What kind of interrogation...?

631
00:40:38,300 --> 00:40:43,140
Supposing I said yes,
I am disenchanted, I am in love
with someone else. Are you?

632
00:40:43,140 --> 00:40:44,580
No!

633
00:40:44,580 --> 00:40:49,500
And Caine understood straightaway,
he knew this man, he knew he was
hurting the Mia Farrow character,

634
00:40:49,500 --> 00:40:53,700
but he was absolutely drawn
to the Barbara Hershey character,
and couldn't help it.

635
00:40:53,700 --> 00:40:57,220
He was a man in torment, so had all
these mixed emotions in the movie,

636
00:40:57,220 --> 00:41:02,340
and because of that,
I think it was well deserved that
Caine won the Oscar for that movie.

637
00:41:02,340 --> 00:41:07,220
Sadly, he wasn't there to collect it,
because he was in the Bahamas
shooting Jaws: The Revenge,

638
00:41:07,220 --> 00:41:09,700
for his ten days
for his one million pay cheque.

639
00:41:09,700 --> 00:41:13,780
When an actor isn't awarded
an Oscar for what he should
have been awarded for,

640
00:41:13,780 --> 00:41:17,300
they'll give it to him
for something else,
and this is the history.

641
00:41:17,300 --> 00:41:21,700
John Wayne got it for this when
he should have got it for this,
it happens over and over again.

642
00:41:21,700 --> 00:41:24,180
And I think that
Michael Caine really

643
00:41:24,180 --> 00:41:27,180
was awarded those two Oscars
for his body of work,

644
00:41:27,180 --> 00:41:32,140
for his iconic appearances
in films that they couldn't
have given him an Oscar for.

645
00:41:32,140 --> 00:41:35,380
"A dog, which had lain
concealed till now,

646
00:41:35,380 --> 00:41:38,140
"ran backwards and forwards
on the parapet

647
00:41:38,140 --> 00:41:42,460
"with a dismal howl,
and collecting himself for a spring,

648
00:41:42,460 --> 00:41:45,900
"jumped on the dead man's shoulders.

649
00:41:45,900 --> 00:41:50,620
"Missing his aim,
he fell into a ditch,
turning completely over as he went

650
00:41:50,620 --> 00:41:53,220
"and, striking his head
against a stone,

651
00:41:53,220 --> 00:41:55,980
"dashed out his brains."

652
00:41:58,100 --> 00:41:59,900
That is the end of the chapter.

653
00:42:03,340 --> 00:42:08,300
Good night, you princes of Maine,
you kings of New England.

654
00:42:10,940 --> 00:42:14,780
Oscar is very political, so you
can watch The Cider House Rules
if you want to,

655
00:42:14,780 --> 00:42:16,940
and you can watch
Hannah And Her Sisters,

656
00:42:16,940 --> 00:42:21,420
but really we all know
the Michael Caine movies
we want to watch and should watch,

657
00:42:21,420 --> 00:42:22,860
and it's not those two.

658
00:42:22,860 --> 00:42:29,980
He doesn't tend to do that kind of
hair-tearing, weighty acting that the
Academy, for instance, likes best,

659
00:42:29,980 --> 00:42:35,420
so maybe that's why
it wasn't the best-actor roles
that he got nominated for,

660
00:42:35,420 --> 00:42:38,740
and I know that he's been
a little bit cross about that.

661
00:42:38,740 --> 00:42:42,340
He has been nominated for an Oscar
in every decade from the '60s to now,

662
00:42:42,340 --> 00:42:45,740
and he's the only person apart from
Jack Nicholson who that applies to,

663
00:42:45,740 --> 00:42:49,180
which is pretty astonishing. Never
mind if it's supporting, who cares?

664
00:42:52,380 --> 00:42:54,780
But who cares indeed?

665
00:42:54,780 --> 00:42:59,260
He bagged the biggest award of his
career, becoming Sir Michael Caine,
at a Millennium ceremony.

666
00:43:01,860 --> 00:43:08,220
Rejuvenated, he launched himself
into a new century with quirky roles
in big Hollywood films,

667
00:43:08,220 --> 00:43:11,780
among them Miss Congeniality,
Austin Powers and Batman.

668
00:43:11,780 --> 00:43:16,060
The charm of his role in Batman
is that he's kind of going,
"What on earth is going on?"

669
00:43:16,060 --> 00:43:21,780
And in Inception as well, he's
the sort of person who is outside
of the magic, commenting on it,

670
00:43:21,780 --> 00:43:24,860
which is a great thing
for an older actor to embody.

671
00:43:24,860 --> 00:43:29,580
But also, these kind of slightly
more aggressive, powerful older men,

672
00:43:29,580 --> 00:43:35,140
like the one that he played
in Harry Brown, where he's bringing
a sort of heroism to it -

673
00:43:35,140 --> 00:43:37,860
well, a debatable heroism
in that case.

674
00:43:37,860 --> 00:43:42,700
But maybe an older man who is not
passive, who is not going gently
into the good night,

675
00:43:42,700 --> 00:43:45,260
but who is retaining
a bit of fire and spark.

676
00:43:45,260 --> 00:43:49,860
People talk a lot about women's
roles drying up as they get older,

677
00:43:49,860 --> 00:43:55,060
and the sexuality leaving
and only getting to play mothers
and people with Alzheimer's,

678
00:43:55,060 --> 00:43:57,860
and the thing is that
that applies to men as well.

679
00:43:57,860 --> 00:44:02,300
It's difficult to find really
juicy roles as an ageing actor.

680
00:44:02,300 --> 00:44:08,340
What's great about Michael Caine
is that he has such across-the-board
affection and respect

681
00:44:08,340 --> 00:44:14,460
that he is in a position to blaze
a trail for the older actor,
not going into obvious directions.

682
00:44:14,460 --> 00:44:17,580
So there's a real range in the work
that he's been doing lately.

683
00:44:17,580 --> 00:44:20,980
I think that's very interesting and
inspiring for other actors as well,

684
00:44:20,980 --> 00:44:21,500
that it doesn't have to stop
once you stop getting the girl.

685
00:44:22,140 --> 00:44:23,860
that it doesn't have to stop
once you stop getting the girl.

686
00:44:26,860 --> 00:44:32,300
But if anyone thought Michael Caine
was coasting into retirement
with comfortable cameo roles,

687
00:44:32,300 --> 00:44:36,860
two low-budget British movies cast
him in a new and different light.

688
00:44:36,860 --> 00:44:41,540
He is being rediscovered by
a young generation of film-makers.

689
00:44:41,540 --> 00:44:44,700
In Harry Brown, it's as if
Caine has come full circle,

690
00:44:44,700 --> 00:44:46,900
back to his home territory
in east London

691
00:44:46,900 --> 00:44:49,460
as an old man
who has seen military service.

692
00:44:49,460 --> 00:44:51,260
I was very excited about the fact

693
00:44:51,260 --> 00:44:53,620
that the person I thought
would be best for the part

694
00:44:53,620 --> 00:44:56,660
was interested in playing the part,
and I was going to meet

695
00:44:56,660 --> 00:44:59,860
one of my heroes, if you like.
And he really is.

696
00:44:59,860 --> 00:45:03,540
I mean, ever since I was a kid,
I've grown up watching his films

697
00:45:03,540 --> 00:45:07,900
that we all love, you know, Zulu,
Alfie, The Italian Job and so on.

698
00:45:11,700 --> 00:45:14,540
He is, in my opinion,
one of the world's great actors

699
00:45:14,540 --> 00:45:18,420
and someone who's worked with some
of the world's greatest directors,

700
00:45:18,420 --> 00:45:21,860
as he kept reminding me as we were
making the film! All the time!

701
00:45:21,860 --> 00:45:25,900
So we had some
interesting discussions.

702
00:45:25,900 --> 00:45:29,620
You know, at the end of the day, as
he said to me when I first met him,

703
00:45:29,620 --> 00:45:33,260
"I'll have a lot of ideas,
but you'll pick the good ones out,

704
00:45:33,260 --> 00:45:37,060
"and at the end of the day
I'll do exactly what you say because
you're the director, the boss."

705
00:45:40,740 --> 00:45:43,580
I'm scared, Harry.

706
00:45:43,580 --> 00:45:45,260
I'm... I'm scared all the time.

707
00:45:50,980 --> 00:45:52,620
God in heaven.

708
00:45:52,620 --> 00:45:54,740
What are you doing with that?

709
00:45:56,580 --> 00:45:58,700
You should talk to the police.

710
00:45:58,700 --> 00:46:01,300
I'll tell you what,
we'll go together.

711
00:46:05,300 --> 00:46:07,300
I've already been to the police.

712
00:46:10,620 --> 00:46:14,340
It's about an old man who lives
on a council estate in London,

713
00:46:14,340 --> 00:46:17,540
or somewhere in England,
but it's kind of London,

714
00:46:17,540 --> 00:46:22,540
in the Elephant and Castle,
which is actually very close to
where he actually grew up as a boy.

715
00:46:22,540 --> 00:46:27,020
And, you know, like a lot of
pensioners, they serve their country

716
00:46:27,020 --> 00:46:32,140
at one point or another during the
war, and he has...very few friends.

717
00:46:32,140 --> 00:46:36,180
And one of his friends get killed,
unfortunately, gets murdered.

718
00:46:36,180 --> 00:46:38,260
HE SOBS

719
00:46:38,260 --> 00:46:41,860
The murder of his best friend is
the last straw for Harry Brown.

720
00:46:41,860 --> 00:46:46,140
He looks around his world
and sees a place and people
he doesn't recognise.

721
00:46:46,140 --> 00:46:50,220
It's not the world he fought for.
The police are ineffective.

722
00:46:50,220 --> 00:46:52,740
So old Harry,
a man with nothing to lose,

723
00:46:52,740 --> 00:46:57,060
decides to take matters
into his own hands.

724
00:46:57,060 --> 00:47:01,820
What was brilliant, for me, about him
was that he was so very interested

725
00:47:01,820 --> 00:47:05,300
in becoming the part
and not being Michael Caine,

726
00:47:05,300 --> 00:47:08,780
and that's very refreshing
for a star, you know,

727
00:47:08,780 --> 00:47:15,020
to actually want to become
something else and also to be able
to become someone else.

728
00:47:15,020 --> 00:47:19,380
It's not as easy as it sounds,
you know, to define yourself

729
00:47:19,380 --> 00:47:26,260
as a pensioner, as someone
who has nothing, as opposed to
the man we all know him to be,

730
00:47:26,260 --> 00:47:29,380
which is a very wealthy and
fabulous person, a star, you know.

731
00:47:30,860 --> 00:47:34,540
It's a film about one man's
beliefs and struggle

732
00:47:34,540 --> 00:47:39,420
and what he's prepared to do about
it. In truth, there's a lot of
examples in the newspapers every day,

733
00:47:39,420 --> 00:47:44,580
where normal people feel that they
stand up and want to do something
about what's going on around them,

734
00:47:44,580 --> 00:47:48,980
whether it's the kids on their street
that throw stones at their windows

735
00:47:48,980 --> 00:47:51,340
or jump on their cars,
whatever it happens to be.

736
00:47:51,340 --> 00:47:55,420
More and more of us are willing
to stand up and go, "No, actually,
we don't think that's right."

737
00:48:00,580 --> 00:48:04,740
He goes to, um...
to see a couple of guys,

738
00:48:04,740 --> 00:48:06,980
and...he tries to get hold of a gun,

739
00:48:06,980 --> 00:48:09,980
and he gets embroiled
in this whole situation.

740
00:48:09,980 --> 00:48:15,140
I was very interested in really
building up the tension and helping
us to understand what it would feel

741
00:48:15,140 --> 00:48:18,780
if a normal person ended up
in a place like this,
with those kind of people.

742
00:48:18,780 --> 00:48:20,260
KNOCK ON DOOR

743
00:48:24,860 --> 00:48:28,540
If you look at the choices he has
made in the lower-budget films

744
00:48:28,540 --> 00:48:31,780
he's been involved with,
not Batman and stuff like that,

745
00:48:31,780 --> 00:48:35,900
like Little Voice, Educating Rita,
lower-budget films, if you like,

746
00:48:35,900 --> 00:48:37,660
he makes good choices.

747
00:48:39,500 --> 00:48:42,980
You have failed to maintain
your weapon, son.

748
00:48:45,180 --> 00:48:48,900
I think what Michael Caine has
right now is a glorious late period.

749
00:48:48,900 --> 00:48:53,380
I think that actually this is
one of the most enjoyable periods

750
00:48:53,380 --> 00:48:56,980
in the life of any actor
who's lucky enough to have one.

751
00:48:56,980 --> 00:49:03,060
You know, we now see Michael Caine in
a slightly kind of ruinous condition.

752
00:49:03,060 --> 00:49:07,220
You know, he's like
a national monument
that's slightly encrusted with moss.

753
00:49:07,220 --> 00:49:11,180
We all remember him being young
and beautiful in the '60s,

754
00:49:11,180 --> 00:49:14,220
with those piercing,
brilliant blue eyes,

755
00:49:14,220 --> 00:49:18,340
and now he's like this...
you know, this great beast,

756
00:49:18,340 --> 00:49:20,700
slightly kind of tumbledown,

757
00:49:20,700 --> 00:49:23,420
but incredibly impressive still.

758
00:49:23,420 --> 00:49:26,220
And he has
a frightening kind of power.

759
00:49:26,220 --> 00:49:28,620
This is temporary.

760
00:49:28,620 --> 00:49:34,540
For a completely different take on
growing old, another British film,
Is There Anybody There?

761
00:49:34,540 --> 00:49:37,780
This is only...temporary.

762
00:49:37,780 --> 00:49:39,700
OK.

763
00:49:39,700 --> 00:49:42,540
The story goes that Shakira,
his wife, read it first,

764
00:49:42,540 --> 00:49:45,580
handed him the script and said,
"You're doing this one."

765
00:49:45,580 --> 00:49:47,580
And he read it
and cried and said yes.

766
00:49:47,580 --> 00:49:53,060
I met him two weeks later,
and that was it, it was a very
quickly done...done deal.

767
00:49:53,060 --> 00:49:58,300
"On Christmas Day, Arnold Doughty,
90, went blue and died.

768
00:49:58,300 --> 00:50:02,340
"So far, there has been
no communication from him."

769
00:50:02,340 --> 00:50:05,220
LAUGHTER

770
00:50:05,220 --> 00:50:11,100
Well, I played Edward, who was
a young boy who was quite morbid

771
00:50:11,100 --> 00:50:16,220
and interested in ghosts
and the afterlife and...

772
00:50:16,220 --> 00:50:20,660
It was basically a story about
this young boy meeting Clarence,

773
00:50:20,660 --> 00:50:24,820
who was an old, retired magician
played by Michael Caine.

774
00:50:24,820 --> 00:50:30,820
And it's a relationship of...
the boy teaching the...the, er...

775
00:50:30,820 --> 00:50:36,060
the old man, Clarence,
to sort of let go and...

776
00:50:37,540 --> 00:50:40,980
..realise that it's almost
the end of his life,

777
00:50:40,980 --> 00:50:44,700
and almost Clarence
teaching the boy about life

778
00:50:44,700 --> 00:50:47,500
and how to enjoy it,
how to make friends.

779
00:50:49,740 --> 00:50:51,420
HORN BLARES

780
00:50:53,620 --> 00:50:57,060
What do you think
you're playing at?!

781
00:50:57,060 --> 00:50:58,220
I could have killed you!

782
00:50:59,180 --> 00:51:01,740
Oi! Come here!

783
00:51:02,620 --> 00:51:04,900
It was an amazing time, really.

784
00:51:04,900 --> 00:51:10,020
I hadn't really done much before
that, so I wasn't very...experienced

785
00:51:10,020 --> 00:51:14,540
and I didn't really know much
about the whole filming process.

786
00:51:14,540 --> 00:51:17,780
And I think working with Michael
Caine was, one, a privilege

787
00:51:17,780 --> 00:51:21,580
and, two, a very educational time,
I learnt a lot from him.

788
00:51:21,580 --> 00:51:25,060
I used to have a room with
Paddington Bear wallpaper.

789
00:51:25,060 --> 00:51:28,900
Yeah? Well, I used to have a
beautiful wife and all my own teeth!

790
00:51:28,900 --> 00:51:32,700
Your life changes, buster.
And not always for the better.

791
00:51:33,980 --> 00:51:38,820
You accumulate regrets, and they
stick to you like old bruises.

792
00:51:38,820 --> 00:51:42,940
It's a black comedy in the truest
sense, you know, which is to say that

793
00:51:42,940 --> 00:51:48,780
you're laughing at things which
are rather uncomfortable, to do
with notions of ageing and dying.

794
00:51:48,780 --> 00:51:52,820
And that's not really the stuff

795
00:51:52,820 --> 00:51:57,740
that you expect to see
a film icon involved in,

796
00:51:57,740 --> 00:52:00,220
especially one who was
as handsome as he was.

797
00:52:06,900 --> 00:52:11,460
You don't expect to see Alfie
in a retirement home, and in a way

798
00:52:11,460 --> 00:52:15,900
that was part of what was amazing
about what Michael loaned
to the film, actually,

799
00:52:15,900 --> 00:52:17,980
is his iconography.

800
00:52:18,980 --> 00:52:20,540
Hello, Bridget.

801
00:52:29,020 --> 00:52:31,660
He's a supreme craftsman,

802
00:52:31,660 --> 00:52:37,580
and he doesn't wax lyrical about
the process or about it as an art.

803
00:52:37,580 --> 00:52:40,340
For him, he's like
a great craftsman.

804
00:52:40,340 --> 00:52:43,140
BLOWS RASPBERRY

805
00:52:46,700 --> 00:52:50,420
GIRL SCREAMS
Aaargh!

806
00:52:50,420 --> 00:52:53,340
He made you feel very comfortable,

807
00:52:53,340 --> 00:52:58,940
and the fact that he sort of
almost trusted you and, you know,
believed in you was quite nice,

808
00:52:58,940 --> 00:53:02,540
the fact that he didn't feel
he needed to really teach me.

809
00:53:02,540 --> 00:53:05,340
I picked up things on my own, and...

810
00:53:05,340 --> 00:53:07,700
I guess he had quite a lot of trust,

811
00:53:07,700 --> 00:53:11,780
and it was nice to work like that,
because it made you comfortable

812
00:53:11,780 --> 00:53:15,780
and you could sort of believe
in your role and things more.

813
00:53:15,780 --> 00:53:18,260
Let me tell you a secret.

814
00:53:18,260 --> 00:53:20,860
Being a person
is a pain in the arse.

815
00:53:20,860 --> 00:53:22,620
No, it's not!

816
00:53:22,620 --> 00:53:23,980
Yes, it is!

817
00:53:30,180 --> 00:53:32,140
Clarence? What?

818
00:53:33,780 --> 00:53:36,940
If you die,
will you come back and see me?

819
00:53:36,940 --> 00:53:38,540
Jesus wept!

820
00:53:38,540 --> 00:53:42,140
He's an extremely pleasant man
on set,

821
00:53:42,140 --> 00:53:46,820
but he was...nervous and prickly
in a way that suggested

822
00:53:46,820 --> 00:53:51,500
he was building up to something
emotional, shall we say.

823
00:53:51,500 --> 00:53:54,700
And, um...we rehearsed it,

824
00:53:54,700 --> 00:53:59,020
but you can't really
rehearse a scene like that,
and he's a smart enough actor

825
00:53:59,020 --> 00:54:03,460
to know that you don't spend
your emotion in a rehearsal,
you need to save it.

826
00:54:03,460 --> 00:54:06,860
It was a freezing cold day
and, you know,

827
00:54:06,860 --> 00:54:10,540
there was going to be a limit to
the amount of times he could do it.

828
00:54:10,540 --> 00:54:13,460
And he did it in two takes,
and it was early in our relationship,

829
00:54:13,460 --> 00:54:17,220
and I knew on the second take
he had absolutely nailed it,
I thought it was wonderful.

830
00:54:17,220 --> 00:54:20,540
You don't come back, son!

831
00:54:20,540 --> 00:54:23,740
Once they've gone,
you can't talk to them!

832
00:54:25,420 --> 00:54:30,340
If I could just say to her,
"I'm sorry," if I could tell her
I was bloody sorry,

833
00:54:30,340 --> 00:54:32,860
what a difference that would make.

834
00:54:32,860 --> 00:54:35,740
I pushed it and said,
"Come on, let's go for one more,"

835
00:54:35,740 --> 00:54:38,820
and he valiantly looked at me
and nodded and went, "OK,"

836
00:54:38,820 --> 00:54:41,300
and gave it his best shot,
but it wasn't as good.

837
00:54:41,300 --> 00:54:44,940
He knew in that second take that he
had nailed it emotionally, and that

838
00:54:44,940 --> 00:54:47,020
the first take was,
for once, for him,

839
00:54:47,020 --> 00:54:51,020
like getting a foothold in the scene
emotionally, and the second take,

840
00:54:51,020 --> 00:54:54,540
he cracked it wide open, and we used
all of that take in the film.

841
00:54:54,540 --> 00:54:56,660
She divorced me. Who?

842
00:54:56,660 --> 00:54:58,540
Annie.

843
00:54:58,540 --> 00:55:03,140
I-I wouldn't settle down,
I couldn't keep it in me trousers,
know what I mean? I was...

844
00:55:03,140 --> 00:55:05,180
I was a good-looking fella.

845
00:55:07,180 --> 00:55:10,820
Then one day, I-I came back home
and she'd...

846
00:55:15,580 --> 00:55:19,180
Quite surprising to see
an actor like Michael,

847
00:55:19,180 --> 00:55:24,180
who is also famous for his minimalism
and for his containment as an actor,

848
00:55:24,180 --> 00:55:28,460
being that raw
and being that vulnerable

849
00:55:28,460 --> 00:55:32,620
and being able to do it in a way
that still doesn't look like acting.

850
00:55:32,620 --> 00:55:37,820
He's... He's always Michael Caine
somewhere in the middle of the role,

851
00:55:37,820 --> 00:55:40,180
which is one of the strengths
of him as a film star.

852
00:55:40,180 --> 00:55:43,580
You could say that it's the strength
of most film stars, there's always

853
00:55:43,580 --> 00:55:46,660
one bit of themselves, they never
fully lose themself in the role.

854
00:55:48,220 --> 00:55:49,820
Ta-ta for now.

855
00:55:49,820 --> 00:55:52,340
It could almost have been
Caine's career epitaph

856
00:55:52,340 --> 00:55:55,180
and made for uncomfortable viewing
at the first screening.

857
00:55:57,780 --> 00:56:03,580
I think the thing that hit him
very hard was how upset
his wife, Shakira, was,

858
00:56:03,580 --> 00:56:07,340
because she was sitting next to him
and it was a small screening room.

859
00:56:07,340 --> 00:56:11,660
It was seven months since
he had finished shooting the film,

860
00:56:11,660 --> 00:56:17,500
and you sort of forget, you move on,
and I think he was not quite ready
for himself,

861
00:56:17,500 --> 00:56:21,220
for what he had given us
in the film emotionally.

862
00:56:21,220 --> 00:56:25,420
And I think it really upset him
that...

863
00:56:26,900 --> 00:56:30,780
..that his wife was upset because
she saw him dying in the film

864
00:56:30,780 --> 00:56:34,420
and that she had never seen him
die in a film in that way.

865
00:56:34,420 --> 00:56:37,700
And he said, "Oh, I've been in
loads of films where I've been shot."

866
00:56:37,700 --> 00:56:41,420
She said, "No, this is different,
here you age and die visibly
in front of me,"

867
00:56:41,420 --> 00:56:43,380
and I think that was
quite shocking to him.

868
00:56:54,100 --> 00:56:58,180
He's this immovable object
at the heart of cinema.

869
00:56:58,180 --> 00:57:01,420
He's much more important, in a way,
than any of the films that he made.

870
00:57:01,420 --> 00:57:04,460
What the hell do you think you're
playing at?! The amazing thing about

871
00:57:04,460 --> 00:57:09,380
Michael Caine is that he can
reach out to a large audience.

872
00:57:09,380 --> 00:57:11,180
BLOWS RASPBERRY

873
00:57:11,180 --> 00:57:12,340
GIRL SCREAMS

874
00:57:12,340 --> 00:57:13,500
Aaaargh!

875
00:57:13,500 --> 00:57:18,620
Any director that works with him
will be very lucky, really,
and I'd love to work with him again,

876
00:57:18,620 --> 00:57:21,940
and I've told him that,
and he's said he's happy to do that,

877
00:57:21,940 --> 00:57:24,140
um...as long as I can get
some dosh for him.

878
00:57:25,540 --> 00:57:26,620
Blimey!

879
00:57:26,620 --> 00:57:28,820
No, he's not really money-led.

880
00:57:31,700 --> 00:57:34,140
He's been on our screens
for five decades.

881
00:57:34,140 --> 00:57:37,660
He's been Oscar-nominated
for each of those decades.

882
00:57:37,660 --> 00:57:40,380
He is an iconic figure
in the movies.

883
00:57:40,380 --> 00:57:44,900
First and foremost,
he's a terrific actor. That's
what makes Michael Caine a star.

884
00:57:44,900 --> 00:57:49,700
I think, when Michael did
Little Voice, he again gave us
something new,

885
00:57:49,700 --> 00:57:52,540
and so his career took off again.

886
00:57:52,540 --> 00:57:54,340
I'm just into him so!

887
00:57:55,060 --> 00:57:57,500
And it's still going.

888
00:57:57,500 --> 00:57:59,620
Good night, Bertha.

889
00:57:59,620 --> 00:58:00,700
Good night, George.

890
00:58:00,700 --> 00:58:02,340
Well, chin-chin!

891
00:58:02,340 --> 00:58:04,980
Do carry on with your mud pie.

892
00:58:25,820 --> 00:58:28,300
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893
00:58:28,300 --> 00:58:30,940
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