The Source: The Story of the Beats and the Beat Generation (1999)
'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 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 the Living theater.
In recent interviews Ginsberg, Burroughs, Ken Kesey, Ferlinghetti, Norman Mailer, Jerry Garcia, Tom Hayden, Gary Snyder, Ed Sanders, and others measure the Beats' meaning and impact.'
→ American Masters
"In the winter i am a Buddhist, in the summer i'm a nudist"
As an intro, extro or alternative for The Source 4 out of 5 doctors advise Village Sunday (1963).
'Take a stroll through the streets, parks and neighborhoods that make up Greenwich Village. Before Washington Square became the New York University undergrad film school back lot, the area was known for its street art, spontaneous hootenannies, poetry jam sessions and fairs. Take a walk around the Village before it became too cool for you.'
Narrator: Jean Shepherd. Director, producer and screenwriter: Stewart Willensky. Poetry and music by Charles Mills.
→ Archive
