Rating: 
Summary: 'Source' of Inspiration
Review: "The Source," director Chuck Workman's documentary about the Beat Generation, is as close to communing with a bygone generation as possible. In this examination of the lives of modern American literature's unholy Trinity -- Allen Ginsberg ("HOWL"), Jack Kerouac ("On the Road") and William S. Burroughs ("Naked Lunch") -- and how they unwittingly made thoughts pulse to their own strange beat, Workman's film releases the essence of these legends by casting a spell of media voodoo. Ironically, this same method of divination is responsible for bringing bits of these great personalities into the minds of today's commercially fed youth -- remember the infamous Burroughs Nike ad and the use of Kerouac's image to sell blue jeans? This look back at the fathers of the Beat Generation was filmed before Ginsberg was silenced by cancer in the spring of 1997, yet the poet functions as a spirit-guide not unlike Virgil in Dante's "Inferno." He gently takes us from the initial meeting of the three writers in 1944 at Columbia University to their inspiration by Neal Cassady through the '50s, the Jazz Age and into the '60s with the youthful interpretation of what they started and how it fomented a revolution. Like Dante, we are left on our own for much of the documentary to sort through the barrage of incredible footage, interviews and huge cast of players, which Workman must have sold nearly a pound of his own soul to procure. The surreal nature of Burroughs loading his gun or watching Neal Cassady do a jig by a Volkswagen bus, plunges the audience even deeper into the past by humanizing men whose mythic importance is on the same level as JFK or James Dean. It is these scenes that make "The Source" such a fine record of a lost age. Workman's labor of love is crafted like the best college history courses. We hear exactly what altered the state of the spoken and written word, and the writers' astonishment that they were being emulated and taken so seriously. Burroughs' contempt, Kerouac's confusion and Ginsberg's quiet acceptance of their fame are illuminating to those of us who weren't there or didn't pay close enough attention to the centers of culture. Workman goes a bit astray with his use of reenactments, a decidedly MTV convention that, for the most part, serve only as a minor distraction. It's easy to buy Johnny Depp reciting bits and pieces of Jack Kerouac's works in what looks like a roadside bar, but Dennis Hopper's attempts at sections of Burroughs' "Junky," "Interzone" and "Queer" are terrible. It might be because Hopper is, in fact, a legend unto himself, and it's difficult to see him as another from the same period. (An excellent Burroughs can be seen in David Cronenberg's "Naked Lunch" starring Peter Weller as an amalgamated William S.). All is forgiven, though, because the fresh memory of John Turturro's visceral rendition of Ginsberg's "HOWL" outside the Rockland State Hospital in New York City is unforgettable and truly inspired. However, much of the footage is painful, and Workman is determined to present this mythological period by picking at the scabs of time and the recent commercial deification of these people. Scenes of an angry and pickled Kerouac trying to discuss the essence of writing with talk show host Steve Allen -- and then if you can believe it, William F. Buckley -- are quite sobering and make it clear that theirs' was more of a struggle than a party. Then there are the shots of Burroughs that are about as comforting as the cold sweat that lets the addict know he hasn't killed himself. He's young and dangerous, wielding a knife in one scene and a syringe in the next. And although there is a perverse thrill watching the world-famous junky shoot up for the camera, we also get to see the needles in his eyes filled with scorn for anyone unlucky enough to be on the other side of that camera. One can almost feel him looking through the movie screen, searching for the kind of people who will eventually frequent "art houses" to watch films about things that should be read in books. Just when it appears that everything is getting too weird, Ginsberg returns. Wrapped in a blanket and looking so much like his Dantaen counterpart, he glides through the early morning light of New York -- with lines of his poetry materializing on a nearby movie marquee.
Rating: 
Summary: Anyone who takes a liking to The Beats should watch this
Review: "The Source" is an excellent documentry on 'The Beat Generation'. It was so good I saw it twice in the theaters. The documentry has a wealth of new material as long as familiar classic footage. My personal favorite writer Jack Kerouac came out of the beat generation and it was fantastic to see him and learn more about him. The documentry always explores other key figures like :Ginsberg, Burroghs, Cassidy among others. Three actors recite famous works by Kerouac, Ginsberg and Burroghs. Johnny Depp and Dennis Hopper do fair jobs at working with material by Kerouac and Burroghs but Chuck Workman slaughters Ginsberg's poem "Howl". The only fault about this documentry was the previous and that it had to end. Check "The Source" out.
Rating: 
Summary: Glossy and superficial.
Review: Being a fan of Kerouac,Ginsberg,Burroughs,et al. I was very psyched to see this documentary. In the beginning (the first 45 mins. or so) this documentary succeeds very nicely. For this reason only I have given 2 stars. However, the main distraction and failing of the piece is the use of many celebrity cameos. Depp,Hopper, and other modern luminaries pop-up from time to time to recite (long!)key passages from the novels and poetry of beat all-stars. Where a voice over would of sufficed, the audience is instead treated to these luminaries looking very intense (beat?) as they mouth the words like sacred script and occasionally (as in the case of Hopper "performing" Burroughs) even feel the need to channel the spirit of the beat star by imitating vocal mannerisms and tics. The effect is annoying and not at all enlightening or even entertaining (event on a laughable level). It should be said that Depp does smoke his cigarettes in a particularly effective manner throughout his channeling session. By the end of the documentary, one is left with the sense that the whole project was an exercise in hagiography with few deep revelations, such as one could find in the many,many biographies and writings of the principal beat masters. The influence on the beats by women, gays,and people of color(especially African American culture) is mentioned but glossed over--the need for time for the performance pieces by the contemporary Hollywood beat contingent meant that any deeper illumination about the beat moment must be left to some other filmaker. However, if one is new to the beat movement and has only read one or two of novels or other works, then this video may work and give some extra dimension (at least in the first 45 mins.) to the beat moment and movement.
Rating:
Summary: Glossy and superficial.
Review: Being a fan of Kerouac,Ginsberg,Burroughs,et al. I was very psyched to see this documentary. In the beginning (the first 45 mins. or so) this documentary succeeds very nicely. For this reason only I have given 2 stars. However, the main distraction and failing of the piece is the use of many celebrity cameos. Depp,Hopper, and other modern luminaries pop-up from time to time to recite (long!)key passages from the novels and poetry of beat all-stars. Where a voice over would of sufficed, the audience is instead treated to these luminaries looking very intense (beat?) as they mouth the words like sacred script and occasionally (as in the case of Hopper "performing" Burroughs) even feel the need to channel the spirit of the beat star by imitating vocal mannerisms and tics. The effect is annoying and not at all enlightening or even entertaining (event on a laughable level). It should be said that Depp does smoke his cigarettes in a particularly effective manner throughout his channeling session. By the end of the documentary, one is left with the sense that the whole project was an exercise in hagiography with few deep revelations, such as one could find in the many,many biographies and writings of the principal beat masters. The influence on the beats by women, gays,and people of color(especially African American culture) is mentioned but glossed over--the need for time for the performance pieces by the contemporary Hollywood beat contingent meant that any deeper illumination about the beat moment must be left to some other filmaker. However, if one is new to the beat movement and has only read one or two of novels or other works, then this video may work and give some extra dimension (at least in the first 45 mins.) to the beat moment and movement.
Rating:
Summary: Moving Beat Montage
Review: It's the Beat Generation! It's the Beat to keep! This fast-paced "documentary" of the Beat Generation is like a moving photo album. There's so much footage that as a rabid Beat fan, I could watch this movie forever! The Source definetely had many good sources and is rich in photos, interviews and footage from Beat events. It shows the influence of the Beat Generation on pop culture of their day and ours. The interviews are a living testament to their influence. John Turtoro, Johnny Depp and Dennis Hopper read from the most famous works of the most famous Beats: Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs. Though low on biographical info, even those who knew nothing of the Beats will walk away with a good sense of their significance.
Rating:
Summary: The reality of the beat generation brought up to date
Review: Released in 1999 to coincide with the publication of "The Rolling Stone Book of the Beats", this Chuck Workman documentary is a kaleidoscope of film clips, photos and interviews with a particular focus on Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs. I looked forward to seeing this video in anticipation of learning something. After all, these writers influenced the era in which I was growing up and opened unique and dramatic new ways of viewing the world. Tracing the early beginnings in the 1940s and bringing the movement right up to the present, it showed the changes in these young men (and they were ALL men) through the years. With the exception of Allen Ginsberg, they look like they all turned...out of touch with reality and locked into a way of thinking whose off-kilter attitude which was once hip, turned into an off-kilter attitude which never grew out of the fifties and seems "mental" today. Gregory Corso and Lawrence Ferlinghetti look like bad smelling derelicts. On a talk show in later years Kerouac, with slurred speech insists that the Vietnam war was a plot of the Vietnamese to get American jeeps and, in a later interview with William F. Buckley Jr., his eyes are red-rimmed and droopy and his words seem like babble as he is demolished by the precise cutting words of his host. The film moves fast and the clips come one after another. Often, the cast of characters are not identified and it was hard for me to follow just who was who. There's Ken Kesey. And Neal Cassady. And short film clips from 50s TV shows from Father Knows Best and Alfred Hitchcock poking fun at the Beatniks. It was hard to follow any individual story line and I found myself getting bored. Several well known actors were hired to read some of the writing itself. Johnny Depp did a good job of reading Kerouac and Dennis Hopper read from Burroughs. John Turturro, was emotional in his reading of insberg's "Howl" but he never rose above the material. I wish this film was better. I would really like to know more about the beats. For years I've carried around the idea that some day I'd pick up acopy of "On the Road" or "Naked Lunch" in a secondhand book store and explore these writers for myself. But frankly, after hearing bits andpieces of them in this film, I've lost most of my interest. These ravings from angry young men intent on ripping preconceived culture apart certainly did influence our world. I say "hooray" for the effort. I'm personally glad that they opened the way to the future. But, after seeing this film, I'm not sure I want to enter their world through their words.
Rating:
Summary: The reality of the beat generation brought up to date
Review: Released in 1999 to coincide with the publication of "The Rolling Stone Book of the Beats", this Chuck Workman documentary is a kaleidoscope of film clips, photos and interviews with a particular focus on Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs. I looked forward to seeing this video in anticipation of learning something. After all, these writers influenced the era in which I was growing up and opened unique and dramatic new ways of viewing the world. Tracing the early beginnings in the 1940s and bringing the movement right up to the present, it showed the changes in these young men (and they were ALL men) through the years. With the exception of Allen Ginsberg, they look like they all turned...out of touch with reality and locked into a way of thinking whose off-kilter attitude which was once hip, turned into an off-kilter attitude which never grew out of the fifties and seems "mental" today. Gregory Corso and Lawrence Ferlinghetti look like bad smelling derelicts. On a talk show in later years Kerouac, with slurred speech insists that the Vietnam war was a plot of the Vietnamese to get American jeeps and, in a later interview with William F. Buckley Jr., his eyes are red-rimmed and droopy and his words seem like babble as he is demolished by the precise cutting words of his host. The film moves fast and the clips come one after another. Often, the cast of characters are not identified and it was hard for me to follow just who was who. There's Ken Kesey. And Neal Cassady. And short film clips from 50s TV shows from Father Knows Best and Alfred Hitchcock poking fun at the Beatniks. It was hard to follow any individual story line and I found myself getting bored. Several well known actors were hired to read some of the writing itself. Johnny Depp did a good job of reading Kerouac and Dennis Hopper read from Burroughs. John Turturro, was emotional in his reading of insberg's "Howl" but he never rose above the material. I wish this film was better. I would really like to know more about the beats. For years I've carried around the idea that some day I'd pick up acopy of "On the Road" or "Naked Lunch" in a secondhand book store and explore these writers for myself. But frankly, after hearing bits andpieces of them in this film, I've lost most of my interest. These ravings from angry young men intent on ripping preconceived culture apart certainly did influence our world. I say "hooray" for the effort. I'm personally glad that they opened the way to the future. But, after seeing this film, I'm not sure I want to enter their world through their words.
Rating: 
Summary: A little disappointing but still worth seeing
Review: The DVD is interesting, but there is too much of the same old commentary that has been circulating in beat documentaries for years. Many of the folks interviewed weren't all that significant to the movement. However, the Burroughs footage alone is worth the effort - but not nearly enough Jack Kerouac footage - there should have been much more of Jack and much less modern critique by folks who just weren't there. I would have liked to have seen more of Gregory Corso as well, but he has some priceless moments in the film! The Neil Cassady footage is also very good. Ginsberg is Ginsberg. I didn't get the point of the Johnny Depp/Dennis Hopper/John Turturro bits. Although Turturro's performance is by far the best! Overall, it's a nice documentary but not as ground breaking as was hyped.
Rating:
Summary: A little disappointing but still worth seeing
Review: The DVD is interesting, but there is too much of the same old commentary that has been circulating in beat documentaries for years. Many of the folks interviewed weren't all that significant to the movement. However, the Burroughs footage alone is worth the effort - but not nearly enough Jack Kerouac footage - there should have been much more of Jack and much less modern critique by folks who just weren't there. I would have liked to have seen more of Gregory Corso as well, but he has some priceless moments in the film! The Neil Cassady footage is also very good. Ginsberg is Ginsberg. I didn't get the point of the Johnny Depp/Dennis Hopper/John Turturro bits. Although Turturro's performance is by far the best! Overall, it's a nice documentary but not as ground breaking as was hyped.
Rating:
Summary: Solid
Review: This is a good solid documentary that sticks to its subject. The clips of Ginsberg & Burroughs are especially effective. The celeb performances in the second half are all of the work itself & not just empty theatrics. The Beats are still a source to return to for inspiration & insight. The world they emerged from is not all that different from the one in which we find ourselves now. Of course there's more, but this video gives you enough to get you started & gives you enough of the good stuff to go back to later
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