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On the Road Photos
Movie Info
Cast & Crew
Dean Moriarty, Neal Cassady
Sal Paradise, Jack Kerouac
Marylou, LuAnne Henderson
Jane, Joan Vollmer
Carlo Marx, Allen Ginsberg
Ed Dunkel, Al Hinkle
News & Interviews for On the Road
Critic Reviews for On the Road
All Critics (153) | Top Critics (55) | Fresh (68) | Rotten (85)
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More an extended Urban Outfitters advertisement than an essay on, or into, the exciting experiments of Beat Cinema.
July 31, 2018 | Full Review… -
It's not a wreck of a movie; it's not a sleek race car either. But there's heat to be felt here.
March 22, 2013 | Rating: B | Full Review… -
Walter Salles's warm but strangely staid adaptation of a piece of literature that was never meant to be tamed as cinema.
March 22, 2013 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review… -
"On the Road" is something of a sprawling mess, but then so is the novel.
March 21, 2013 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review… -
Against all odds, a surprisingly effective movie.
March 21, 2013 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review… -
In Salles, screenwriter Jose Rivera and company's effort to get the details right, they only get so far. And it's not quite far enough.
March 21, 2013 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for On the Road
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Sep 28, 2015Sal Paradise goes on the road with Dean Moriarty and company. This film is less than the sum of its parts. In his effort to get the feeling of the Beat Generation, director Walter Salles has some quick edits and some free-wheeling music and some of the lines lifted from Kerouac's novel - all cinematic tricks that should work, but yet there's still something staid about this film. Perhaps it's the gravelly voiced Garrett Hedlund, who seems more focused on the image of Sal than the character, or perhaps it's the hackneyed shoe-horn of a script. Or perhaps Kerouac was never meant to be adapted. Overall, it was worth a shot, but this is one book-to-film adaptation that missed the mark.Jim H Super Reviewer
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Nov 06, 2013The best teacher is experience. Good movie! The cinematography is outstanding, and it is a sight to behold, beautiful landscapes, a smooth, delicate filmic texture. Overall, the film is light on plot. It's mostly character study and exposition. However, that's On the Road. The film is based on a Kerouac stream-of-consciousness novel. It's about his hero worship with Dean and the ultimate disillusionment he feels with him. The conflict and resolution isn't your typical climax and ending of a film. Shaken by the death of his father and discouraged by his stalled career, writer Sal Paradise goes on a road trip hoping for inspiration. While traveling, he is befriended by charismatic and fearless Dean Moriarty and Moriarty's free-spirited and seductive young wife, Marylou. Traveling across the American southwest together, they strive to break from conformity and and search the unknown, and their decisions change the very course of their lives.Manu G Super Reviewer
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Aug 06, 2013At least the film doesn't bombard the audience with a series of obvious juxtapositions (the beatniks vs. shocked normal people), but it lacks a soul. Even without emotional investment in the story, I feel like I should point out how great Garrett Hedlund is as Dean Moriarty. He stands head and shoulders above the rest.Alec B Super Reviewer
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Aug 06, 2013Ugh! Mopey people being miserable. That's not entertainment.jay n Super Reviewer
On the Road Quotes
Old Bull Lee/William S. Burroughs: | Dean does not feel responsibility towards others. He does not know the concept. Then again, he feels others have some mysterious obligation to support him. |
Old Bull Lee/William S. Burroughs: | Dean does not feel responsibility towards others. He does not know the concept. Then again, he feels others have some mysterious obligation to support him. |
Sal Paradise/Jack Kerouac: | We were performing our one and noble action of the time- move. |
Sal Paradise/Jack Kerouac: | ...the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles... |
Sal Paradise/Jack Kerouac: | The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time. The ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles. |
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