DVD : The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg (Deluxe Two-Disc Set)
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0717119942649
Format: Black & White, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Label: New Yorker Video
Manufacturer: New Yorker Video
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: New Yorker Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: July 17, 2007
Running Time: 82 minutes
Sales Rank: 19298
Studio: New Yorker Video
Theatrical Release Date: 2006
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
The re-release of Jerry Aronson's biopic, The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg, timed to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of "Howl," suits this wonderful documentary and proves Ginsberg central to all radical artistic and political movements of the past 60 years. The feature-length film, segmented by decade, provides ample footage of Ginsberg's life; but extras added into this package, including footage of his memorial and 35 interviews with artists inspired by the visionary poet--from Beck to Lawrence Ferlinghetti--solidify Ginsberg as an American cultural icon. The film unravels Ginsberg's obsession for life and death around his mother's nervous breakdown and his father's affinity for poetry. Interviews with Ginsberg from each decade, both amongst his Beat friends like Burroughs and Huncke, and later with talk show hosts William Buckley and Dick Cavett, show the author's progression from sexual politics in the '40s and '50s to the "politics of ecstasy" in the '60s and '70s, when he founded the Flower Power movement with Tim Leary, and later, Naropa Institute. Ample footage of Ginsberg's stepmother provides a sensitive outsider's opinion on how he blossomed into one of the most spontaneous minds of the century. The film transcends simple Ginsberg descriptions by framing his life with historical happenings to contextualize the author's words and actions. The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg reminds the viewer that there is no better example of an artist devoted to a life of letters, activism, and idealism than the original beatnik. --Trinie Dalton
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
So stated Roger Kimball in his immaculate book, The Long March, concerning the subject of this documentary. From everything I've ever read about Allen Ginsberg, the one enduring fact of his life is that he always manifested a genius for self-promotion. The likes of Kerouac and Cassidy detrained into the swamp yet he managed to redefine himself and become one with whatever movement or era would have otherwise passed him by. He was a natural magnet for attention and made full use of whatever talents ... Read More
Rating:  -
The extraordinary life and times of Allen Ginsberg are profiled in this straightforward tribute documentary. I can't recall gaining any new insights or knowledge of Ginsberg, *but* I had already done my homework on the Beats and all that when, like so many others, I was a fascinated teenager. What I did experience was again being made aware of how much Ginsgerg's life connected with and that it was better through his having been a part of it. Not only was he a Beat poet but a great muse to many, many ... Read More
Rating: -
There are two features of Ginsberg's personality that come through over and over in this intriguing documentary: he was a deeply wounded man, and he was a deeply lovable one. The two were obviously connected: Ginsberg's wounds made him both vulnerable and compassionate. They could also make him rage against a world that condoned war and injustice, and all of these sides of him come through in his poetry.
Ginsberg's ur-wound was the tragedy of his mother, a remarkable woman who sadly suffered ... Read More
Rating:  -
No study of the 1950's and 1960's cultural revolution in the USA would be complete without the poetry and bohemian life-look at poet Allen Ginsberg and those of "The Beat Generation." The 1960's just didn't happen; the groundwork was laid in the 1950's with the writers and the poets and the musicians who began to eschew The Establishment, embrace peace, do drugs, sexually experiment, and put it all down into their art. This film is currently showing on ON DEMAND and I was fortunate enough to see all 480 minutes ... Read More
Rating: -
Probably the best documentary I've ever seen. Gives you a whole new appreciation for Ginsberg's poetry, especially his wonderful poem "Kaddish." Also, you see all the players: Kerouac, Kesey, Bellows, Cassidy, Dylan -- everyone.
A terrific buy.
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