Double Feature!

WHAT HAPPENED TO KEROUAC? 1986
U.S. documentary. If you are a fan of Kerouac and the Beats, or if you would like to know about him, you will be more than satisfied by the wealth of great material packed into this documentary. In addition to anecdotes by people who knew him (Burroughs, Ginsberg, Corso etc.), there are many scenes of him as a guest on TV shows and in several home movies. The color footage of Jack reading from "On The Road" while Steve Allen plays a jazzy-bluesy improvisation on the piano perfectly matches Jack's syncopated, rhythmic reading.

This film marvelously chronicles his life from his early years when he was frivolous and free-spirited, to the mid-late 1950s, when he was becoming more intense and serious. It also covers the mid-late 1960s, when he was bloated, burnt-out and indigent on William F. Buckley Jr's. "Firing Line." TV show. There's a lot of great speculation about his personality and the meaning of his writings by those who knew him.

Look for amazing black and white footage of San Francisco's seedy dock areas seemingly shot in late afternoon, with a jazz trumpet background and Kerouac's voice reading his work. Which is to say that this film is more than just a well-researched documentary about a writer. It captures his tone and essence visually and musically. Everything one can hope for in a documentary.

Interviews include: Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Michael McClure, Gary Snyder, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jan Kerouac, Herbert Huncke, Fran Landesman, Edie Kerouac Parker. Archival footage: Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, William F. Buckley.

Plus this bonus selection...

BONGO BEATIN' BEATNIK 1959
A photomontage of the beatnik generation images is set to Joe Hall and the Corvettes song, "Bongo Beatin' Beatnik" (Global 751).

WHAT HAPPENED TO KEROUAC? 1986 documentary on DVD

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