The read
It runs a compact 1h 28m.
Synopsis
Traces the Beats from Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac's meeting in 1944 at Columbia University to the deaths of Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs in 1997. Three actors provide dramatic interpretations of the work of these three writers, and the film chronicles their friendships, their arrival into American consciousness, their travels, frequent parodies, Kerouac's death, and Ginsberg's politicization. Their movement connects with bebop, John Cage's music, abstract expressionism, and living theater. In recent interviews, Ginsberg, Burroughs, Kesey, Ferlinghetti, Mailer, Jerry Garcia, Tom Hayden, Gary Snyder, Ed Sanders, and others measure the Beats' meaning and impact.
Ratings
IMDb7.2/10
Metacritic66/100
16 audience votes
Key crew
- Chuck WorkmanDirector
Cast
- Johnny DeppJack Kerouac
- Dennis HopperWilliam S. Burroughs
- John TurturroAllen Ginsberg
- Allen GinsbergSelf (archive footage)
- William S. BurroughsSelf (archive footage)
- Philip GlassSelf
- Robert CreeleySelf
- Ann ChartersSelf
- George SteadeSelf
- David AmramSelf
- Ed SandersSelf
- Gregory CorsoSelf