howl movie rating

Take a look at Ryan by Chris Landreth. Was this review helpful? The focus of the film is Howl's 1950's obscenity trial in San Francisco, when beat poet and bookstore owner Lawrence Ferlinghetti is blocked from selling the book. October 7, 2015 Epstein and Friedman's depiction of Allen Ginsberg's poem Howl is very well developed and although its progression of the message was slow and not to easy to follow at some points, it kept me satisfyingly intrigued throughout. Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. Sundance 2010: RT’s 10 Most Anticipated Movies The film places put upon train guard, Joe (Ed Speleers) on a red eye London train with a handful of ungrateful mouthy passengers and his secret crush, Ellen (Holy Weston). I was lucky to watch this movie at the Athens Film Festival last Saturday and, despite its occasional flaws, I loved it. The recital of the poems takes some getting used to but once it is coupled with the animated sequence there's no turning back.

Poetry can seriously damage your health.

Still in high school, I could quote passages from the poem at my friends, who would follow up with the next passage, etc. This is definitely on the side of experimental, when it comes to former documentary filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman ("The Trail of Harvey Milk"). Was this review helpful? 7 out of 13 found this helpful. The film is an unusual blend of poetry recitation, psychedelic animation, a graphic dramatization of Ginsberg's interview and a straight-forward dramatization of the trial.Some of them work fine and some not. Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's 'Howl' is an interesting and humorous depiction of the 1957 trial regarding Allen Ginsberg's controversial poem 'Howl'.

4 out of 4 found this helpful. too much waxing that often feels more about the process of thinking than anything else. Howl might be a one-of-a-kind film experience if not for Chicago 10, another film that blended documentary, dramatization and animation together into a blender of personal history. I loved hearing the poem read and pieces of it being re-read, etc. 2 out of 2 found this helpful. The trial is reproduced word for word and acted with talent and enthusiasm by a star studded cast including Bob Balaban, Jon Hamm, Mary Louise Parker, etc. Most of the rest of the dialogue is derived from various interviews and writings of Ginsberg, and that material is great. It is the trial itself - which Ginsberg did not attend - that is the real payoff here as Howl's defenders and detractors get their day in court. The work obviously inspired extreme passions: the audience listen in rapt attention to a work that depicts the poet's feelings through an earthy yet compelling idiom. The animation, I will say, works well with Franco's reading of Ginsberg's work, which works well in contrast with the courtroom scenes. However, the central problem is that while the poem is addressed very comprehensively and intelligently, the response is not quite emotional enough- or at least the focus is not developed enough towards an active emotional storyline.

November 11, 2013 So if you want to watch a movie about a poem, and the poet and his friends, but mainly about the poem, this one does a pretty good job. Basically, set in 1957, San Francisco, the film examines the poem "Howl" being the focus of an obscenity trial, for it's frequent use of graphic language and references to homosexual, we also see the poem writer Allen Ginsberg (James Franco) interviewed, he was not afraid to admit his homosexuality, and his thoughts behind it, and throughout he reads extracts of the poem with animation illustrating the words. Directed by Paul Hyett Written by Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler 2015, 95 minutes, Rated 18 … In his famously confessional style, Ginsberg - poet, counter-culture icon, and chronicler of the Beat Generation - recounts the road trips, love affairs, and search for personal liberation that led to HOWL, the most timeless work of his career. Even before I read all the other reviews and watched it I was plotting what to write in this review. It's well-done and well-acted, and no excuses are made for anything about Ginsberg or his work. It brings the poetry to life. 23 out of 32 found this helpful. Franco was magnificent. | Binge Central | Rating: 2/5 Also starring Jon Hamm as Jake Ehrlich, Bob Balaban as Judge Clayton Horn, Mary-Louise Parker as Gail Potter, Treat Williams as Mark Schorer, Todd Rotondi as Jack Kerouac and Jon Prescott as Neal Cassady. James Franco is impressively committed, and gives a charismatic and touching performance. The poem was published and confiscated when it went through customs after being printed in London. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! 3 out of 3 found this helpful.

Just the presentation is a concept that breaks new ground in film making. Directors Friedman and Epstein are from the documentary world and they have not adjusted well to the somewhat different medium of dramatic scripted storytelling. Was this review helpful? Special Interest Was this review helpful? 6 out of 8 found this helpful. Even the animated portions we see while we hear parts of the poem work well.

Acted out interviews illuminate many things and the trial itself is extremely involving to watch.