The Source (1999)
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88% of critics liked it
(16 reviews) -
65% of users liked it
(6,427 ratings)
Director Chuck Workman, who documented the life of pop culture icon Andy Warhol in his 1990 film Superstar, here explores the lives, works and influence of four leading lights of the "Beat Generation" of the 1950s: William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady.… More Director Chuck Workman, who documented the life of pop culture icon Andy Warhol in his 1990 film Superstar, here explores the lives, works and influence of four leading lights of the "Beat Generation" of the 1950s: William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady. Cutting back and forth between archive footage of his subjects, readings of selections from the three authors by Johnny Depp, Dennis Hopper and John Turturro (Cassady was an associate and inspiration to the Beats), and film clips that in both serious and farcical fashion document the impact the Beat culture had on American society, Workman creates a fast-paced collage of sounds and images that attempts to show how the Beats became the dominant counter-cultural movement of the last half of America's 20th Century. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Chuck Workman
- Genres
- Documentary, Musical & Performing Arts, Classics, Comedy, Special Interest
- In Theaters
- Aug 25, 1999 Wide
- Studio
- Calliope Films
Critic Reviews
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John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews
this documentary may inspire a few other souls to strike out on their own and not be 'intimidated by a bunch of jerks who don't know anything about life.'
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Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
A compact but accomplished work focusing on the holy trinity of the Beats: Jack Kerouac, Allan Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs.
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Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Yet another mediocre film salvaged by Depp's performance
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Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A creative documentary which pays tribute to the crazy wisdom of three Beat Generation artists.
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Chuck Rudolph, Matinee Magazine
Watching it feels like whiplash, and afterwards it doesn't feel like you've benefited at all from sitting through it.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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