Screenplay:
Jack KerouacCinematography:
Robert FrankComposer:
David AmramCast:
Delphine Seyrig, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, Gregory Corso, Larry Rivers, David AmramPlots(1)
“Early morning in the universe.” So begins Robert Frank’s directorial debut, loosely based on a play by Jack Kerouac. It’s going to be a strange day in this cluttered loft on New York’s Lower East Side, home to railroad brakeman Milo and his wife, a painter. Their dinner guest, a bishop, has only just arrived when a bunch of beat poets turn up. In fact it is Allen Ginsberg and some friends, all of whom appear as themselves in this film. “Behave yourselves,” warns Milo – but what can you do when Beat poets are such a mischievous lot? They are soon bombarding the bishop with philosophical wisecracks and questions about the sanctity of baseball. Everything we hear actually comes from the mouth of Jack Kerouac himself – he improvised the voice-over to accompany the film, which was recorded without direct sound. Kerouac’s wry and ironic retelling blends with the bebop soundtrack, and once he gets going, he even treats us to some high-quality freewheeling beat poetry, relishing the word “cockroaches” like a linguistic connoisseur. The bishop’s mother seats herself at the organ and the poets join in with swinging jazz sounds. Confusion increasingly reigns supreme in this cult Beat Generation classic. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)
(more)Cast
Delphine Seyrig
Lebanon
Best movies:
The Day of the Jackal (1973)
Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
Stolen Kisses (1968)
Jack Kerouac
USA
Allen Ginsberg
USA
Best movies:
Bald-Dog-Rock (1981)
Chappaqua (1966)
Ciao Manhattan (1972)
Peter Orlovsky
USA
Best movies:
Chappaqua (1966)
Gregory Corso
USA
Best movies:
The Godfather: Part III (1990)
Larry Rivers
USA
Best movies:
Lovesick (1983)
David Amram
USA