The Source: The Story of the Beats and the Beat Generation

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Movie Info

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.

Rating:

PG
Genre:

Classics, Comedy, Documentary, Musical & Performing Arts, Special Interest
Directed By:

Chuck Workman
Written By:

Chuck Workman
In Theaters:

Aug 25, 1999 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Jul 5, 2000
Runtime:

88 minutes
Studio:

Calliope Films

Watch it now

iTunes

Cast

Johnny Depp
as Jack Kerouac

Dennis Hopper
as William S. Burroughs

John Turturro
as Allen Ginsberg

Neal Cassady

Norman Mailer

Critic Reviews for The Source: The Story of the Beats and the Beat Generation

All Critics (16) | Top Critics (5) | DVD (1)

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.'

Dec 2, 2009 | Rating: B | Full Review…

John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews
A compact but accomplished work focusing on the holy trinity of the Beats: Jack Kerouac, Allan Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs.

May 26, 2006 | Full Review…

Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
Yet another mediocre film salvaged by Depp's performance

Oct 23, 2004 | Rating: 3/5

Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan
A creative documentary which pays tribute to the crazy wisdom of three Beat Generation artists.

Feb 28, 2002 | Full Review…

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
Watching it feels like whiplash, and afterwards it doesn't feel like you've benefited at all from sitting through it.

Apr 5, 2001 | Full Review…

Chuck Rudolph
Matinee Magazine
It is absolutely fascinating to see the real Kerouac here; caught on film, he is every bit as communicative, earthy and irresistibly hunky as one might have dreamt.

Jan 1, 2000 | Full Review…

David Noh
Film Journal International

View All Critic Reviews (16)

Audience Reviews for The Source: The Story of the Beats and the Beat Generation

Oct 31, 2006

It's strength lies in the great plundering of archive material that doesn't restrict itself to the usual photos and clips. Having actors doing dramatic readings from key texts (Dennis Hopper as Burroughs doing Naked Lunch for eg) doesn't always work. I also think it fails to fully support its thesis that the Beat Generation is the key source for post-50s youth movements. At the end of the day, though, it's probably the best film introduction to the Beats.

J H Super Reviewer