Film Finders: Exploring Special Topics

The true story of two murders that shaped the lives of some of the writers of the Beat Generation, focusing especially on William Burroughs and his common-law wife Joan Vollmer.

This film explores both the Six Gallery debut and the 1957 obscenity trial of 20th-century American poet Allen Ginsberg's noted poem Howl.

A true story of obsession and murder. A true story of friendship, love and murder, the film recounts the pivotal year that changed Allen Ginsberg's life forever and provided the spark for him to start his creative revolution.

Told from Neal Cassady's perspective, in a form of a letter, the film follows his life before and after the suicide attempt by his longtime lover, Joan.

This adaptation of William Burrough’s best-known work visualizes the story of part-time pest-control man and full-time drug addict Bill Lee as he seeks escape from his troubled existence in 1953 New York.

Based on the seminal Beat novel by Jack Kerouac, this tells the story of Sal Paradise, a young writer whose life is shaken and ultimately redefined by the arrival of Dean Moriarty, a free-spirited Westerner. Traveling cross-country, Sal and Dean take off on a personal quest for freedom from the conformity and conservatism engulfing them, in search of the unknown.

Starting with his Catholic boyhood, tracing his development as one of the most important modern American authors, and his self-destructive demise at the age of 49, this documentary examines Kerouac's life.

Explores the unfulfilled promise of Beat Generation icon Jack Kerouac, covering the period from the publication of his notorious novel On the Road in 1957 to his alcohol-related death 12 years later.

This portrait of poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti explores his role as catalyst for numerous literary careers and for the Beat movement itself. In 1953, Ferlinghetti opened City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, which quickly evolved into an iconic institution symbolizing social change and literary freedom.

Depicts Allen Ginsberg throughout his life.

This production features a biographical look at the life of Allen Ginsberg beginning with his early childhood. Many past performances of Ginsberg reading his original work are included, as well as a number of friends and colleagues offering their take on the poet's life and work.

Documents a vist between Allen Ginsberg and István Eorsi, the Hungarian translator of Ginsberg's works, in the spring of 1995.

This film is the only documentary to be made with the full participation of William S. Burroughs. The film travels from the American Midwest to North Africa, through defining moments of Burroughs’ unconventional life, charting the development of his unique literary style. Aaron Brookner later directed a documentary entitled Uncle Howard, which is also available via the Film & Video Collection (DVD 21234).

This documentary sheds light on the life of beat poet William S. Burroughs, tracing his upbringing as a scholarly WASP who fell in with fellow writers Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac in the 1950s in New York and how he reluctantly became part of the Beat Generation.

Tells the story of William S. Burroughs’ later work -- especially what is known as The Last Trilogy -- and his unique performance skills.

Beat poet Bob Kaufman was founding editor of the journal Beatitude with Allen Ginsberg and others. During an eventful life, Kaufman was imprisoned, underwent electroshock therapy, suffered from drug addiction, and took a ten-year vow of silence following the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

This documentary celebrates the Beats’ convergence in Paris’s Latin Quarter in the late 50s. A cheap no-name hotel called the Beat Hotel becomes a haven for a new breed of artists and the epicenter of the Beat Generation.

Focusing on the beat poetry scene of the late Fifties, this film poem celebrates colorful poets of the era (such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg) as they read their work and discuss what it means to be a poet in America.

A short film adapted by Jack Kerouac from the third act of his play, Beat Generation. Based on an incident in the life of Beat icon Neal Cassady and his wife, Carolyn, the film tells the story of a railway brakeman whose wife invites a respected bishop over for dinner. However, the brakeman's bohemian friends crash the party, with comic results.

This documentary explores the lives, works and influence of four leading lights of the Beat Generation: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Neal Cassady and how the Beats became the dominant counter-cultural movement of the last half of America's 20th century.

Bob Dylan during his 1965 tour, which would be his last as an acoustic artist and marked a turning point in his career.

Modern jazz provided the soundtrack to the Beat Generation. This film highlights great musicians like Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, Chuck Berry and Dinah Washington, captured over the course of a weekend during the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival.

This documentary traces the life of Bob Dylan and his impact on 20th-century American popular music and culture.

The Beats incorporated spontaneous bebop stylings in their prose and poetry writing. One of the artists most associated with bebop music was musician and composer Thelonious Monk, who was famous for his unique improvisational style.

This recording of beat poetry festival readings on the University of Oregon campus and Ken Kesey's farm in 1976 and 1977 includes William Burroughs, Anne Waldman, Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, Gregory Corso, Ken Kesey, Ed Edmo, Paul Krassner, Wavy Gravy, Mr. Spoon, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, the Flying Karamazov Brothers, Ken Babbs, Bob Kaufman and Jack Micheline.

The Pranksters pose as moviemakers, "simply shooting a party scene". Their planning is interrupted enroute to the event, to hide the stash, because a patrol car has spotted Further.

This video chronicles a new chapter in the legacy of Kesey, the Merry Pranksters the psychedelic bus, FURTHER and others all caught in the web of the greatest prank ever.

This examination of Kesey's life, literature and magical mystery tour features interviews with key voices from the era.

A film about a group that travels across America in a tricked out bus. This is the first episode of the trip.

A psychedelic movie including scenes from the "Timeroom". A room painted in day-glo designs with music, lighting and multimedia broadcasting equipment to enhance the experience for participants during the making of the movie.

A musical play with its theme the end of the world, leading up to the Millennium.

Ken Kesey tells the story of Little Tricker, Big Double the bear and the creatures of Topple's Bottom.

Author Ken Kesey considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. In 1964, he and his friends, known as the Merry Pranksters, set out on a cross-country bus trip from California to New York to visit the World's Fair.

This video contains original footage shot by the Merry Pranksters of the Backhouse and travels in the Further bus. Footage of Neal Cassady focuses on the camera singing, dancing and reciting poetry giving the audience insight into the "fastestmanalive."

A Northwest Native American story of Eemook, the Sea Cliff Tribe's disabled spoonmaker. The misshapen boy earns manhood by releasing the tribe from an evil enchantment.