Howl(2008)

Chicago 10(en)

Archival footage, animation and music are used to look back at the eight anti-war protesters who were put on trial following the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Sing! Fight! Sing! Fight! From LeRoi to Amiri(en)

The story of how Everett Leroy Jones became Amiri Baraka, from his childhood to the mid '60s, is told through interviews recorded in the late '90s.

William S. Burroughs Birthday Bash(en)

To celebrate the 100th birthday of America's most audacious writer, William S. Burroughs, Chicago Humanities Festival brings together a motley crew of poets, writers, and musicians. William Seward Burroughs (1914 - 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He was a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author whose influence is considered to have affected a range of popular culture as well as literature. Burroughs's needs took him across the United States, down into Mexico, to Europe and beyond. On his travels, he meets up with various members of the underground drug and "outcast" cultures.

A Line a Day Must Be Enough!(en)

In a film bursting with lyrics, pictures, and music the director shows us a way into the peculiar universe of Tóroddur, and the otherwise not very talkative artist gives us a glimpse of his thoughts on art, God, life and death.

Living on the Edge: The Poetic Works of Gérald Leblanc(fr)

A child of the Beat Generation, Gérald Leblanc conjoined urban-ness and American-ness, wandering and belonging, far beyond the boundaries of taboo. In so doing, he helped propel Acadia into the modern era.

Beat Angel(en)

Jack Kerouac returns to earth as an angel with the goal of changing the life of a struggling writer.

Pull My Daisy(en)

Based on an incident in the life of Beat icon Neal Cassady and his wife, the painter Carolyn, the film tells the story of a railway brakeman whose wife invites a respected bishop over for dinner. However, the brakeman's Bohemian friends crash the party, with comic results. Pull My Daisy is a film that typifies the Beat Generation. Directed by Robert Frank and Alfred Leslie, Daisy was adapted by Jack Kerouac from the third act of his play, Beat Generation; Kerouac also provided improvised narration.

The Honey Bee(en)

Beat poem parable to black youth.

Big Sur(en)

Big Sur is a film adaptation of the Jack Kerouac autobiographical novel of the same name.

The Subterraneans(en)

A disillusioned writer explores the subterranean depths of San Francisco's North Beach district.

Black Lodge(en)

Set in a nightmarish Bardo, a place between death and rebirth, a tormented writer faces down demons of his own making. Forced to confront the darkest moment in his life, he mines fractured and repressed memories for a way out. A woman is at the center of all the writer’s afterlife encounters. She is the subject of his life’s greatest regret, and she materializes everywhere in this Otherworld. The writer cannot detach any thoughts of his life from her.

Illuminated: The True Story of the Illuminati(en)

The true historical account of the Illuminati, exposing the actual rituals of the secret society, and answering the age-old question of whether or not the order still exists.

Deconstructing the Beatles' Abbey Road: Side 1(en)

Abbey Road is a masterpiece filled with such classic Beatles songs as “Come Together,” “Something,” and “Here Comes the Sun.” Deconstructing the Beatles' Abbey Road: Side One takes a track-by-track journey into their inspiration and evolution in the studio with the man who’s been presenting his beloved, exhilarating multimedia deep dives into the band’s work here for years. Because of the depth of the Abbey Road songwriting, he created two separate presentations for this album.

Deconstructing the Beatles' Abbey Road: Side 2(en)

Abbey Road is a masterpiece filled with such classic Beatles songs as “Come Together,” “Something,” and “Here Comes the Sun.” Deconstructing the Beatles’ Abbey Road: Side Two takes a track-by-track journey into their inspiration and evolution in the studio with the man who’s been presenting his beloved, exhilarating multimedia deep dives into the band’s work here for years. Because of the depth of the Abbey Road songwriting, he created two separate presentations for this album.

Hitsville: The Making of Motown(en)

The remarkable story of the legendary Motown Records is told through exclusive interviews with the label’s visionary founder, Berry Gordy, and many of its superstar artists and creative figures, as well as rare performances and behind-the-scenes footage unearthed from Motown’s vaults and Gordy’s personal archives.

Here Comes Greatness(en)

A documentary profiling the backyard wrestling community in Southern California in the late-1990's.

Play It Again: A Look Back at 'Play Misty for Me'(en)

Clint Eastwood tells us how he yearned to be a director from the time he was on "Rawhide" to finally obtaining the approval of his mentor, Don Siegel. He then asked Lew R. Wasserman, a Universal executive, if he could direct a story called "Play Misty For Me." Lew said yes but that he wouldn't be paid as the director. Clint agreed and began to locate the cast and crew he desired.

Revisiting Life is Beautiful 15 Years After(it)

In this documentary film, directed by Dominique Maillet for StudioCanal, director Martin Scorsese, cast and crew members, and prominent critics and historians discuss Life is Beautiful and its success, as well as Roberto Benigni's career.

The Kinks: At the BBC 1964-1994(en)

This incredible archive represents a great set of previously unreleased recordings in the Kinks catalog. The collection has been brought together by trawling the BBC archives, but also by inviting contributions from fans. Included also is a DVD of the bands sought after appearances on Top of the Pops and the Old Grey Whistle Test a well as concerts from throughout the band's career. This is a first for the band as these recordings have never been available in one place before. The Kinks At The BBC is a triumphant collection of the defining moments of a truly seminal British band, as witnessed, broadcast and archived by the voice of the nation, the BBC.

Matthew Perry: Not just Friends(en)