Olympic opening ceremonies are usually dull and pompous affairs. But I had a feeling about the London 2012 event. One thing had me intrigued: it was going to be directed British film director Danny Boyle. I also know that you can't keep a good movie director down.
So I got out of bed at the ungodly hour of 7am on a Saturday to see the show. I'm glad I did. It was awesome.
Better than that, it was the first cine-literate opening ceremony.
If Beijing was about overwhelming scale and regimented power, London was about culture and quirkiness. It wasn't a display of global power - England has been there and done that - this was a joyous celebration of everything British from a skydiving Queen to Dizzee Rascal rapping about not being Bonkers.
It was witty and cheeky, rather than pompous and dull.
And it knew its movies. There were fleeting and thrilling references to beautiful British movies like A Matter of Life and Death, Oliver Twist, Trainspotting, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Kes, The Man Who Fell to Earth and Gregory's Girl.
And those were just the potent glimpses of British movie lore.There was also James Bond in a helicopter with "the actual Queen", Mr Bean in a Chariots of Fire parody, and appearances from the childcatcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
And, to add to the dizzying pop culture maelstrom, Bond and the Queen's parachutes were a reference to this:
It was eclectic and lively, joyous and life affirming. Just like the best of Danny Boyle's movies.
The ceremony made me feel oddly proud to be British, but also made me feel proud to be a movie lover.
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No mention of "The Spy Who Loved Me" would be complete without an Alan Partridge explanation of the opening.
How did arctic monkeys get in?
A Brilliant, funny, heartfelt celebration of Britishness, loved the honoring of the worlds first free national health service, the handing over from the old to the new, and Tim Berners-Lee ,the World Wide Web creator, all in the spirit of what the Olympics are about.
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I wholeheartedly agree. It was refreshing to see something fun, that reflected the UK's cultural and creative achievements – without being patronising.