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

Source: The Story of the Beats and the Beat Generation

1999, Documentary, 1h 30m

16 Reviews 5,000+ Ratings

You might also like

See More
Unmarried Couples: A Comedy That Will Break You Up poster image
Unmarried Couples: A Comedy That Will Break You Up
Dante's Inferno poster image
Dante's Inferno
Slasher poster image
Slasher
Crawford poster image
Crawford
Pop Star on Ice poster image
Pop Star on Ice

Where to watch

Rent/buy Rent/buy

Rate And Review

User image

Verified

  • User image

    Super Reviewer

    Rate this movie

    Oof, that was Rotten.

    Meh, it passed the time.

    It’s good – I’d recommend it.

    Awesome!

    So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

    What did you think of the movie? (optional)

  • You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

  • User image

    Super Reviewer

    Step 2 of 2

    How did you buy your ticket?

    Let's get your review verified.

    • Fandango

    • AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

    • Cinemark Coming Soon

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Regal Coming Soon

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Theater box office or somewhere else

    By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.

    You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

  • User image

    Super Reviewer

    Rate this movie

    Oof, that was Rotten.

    Meh, it passed the time.

    It’s good – I’d recommend it.

    Awesome!

    So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

    What did you think of the movie? (optional)

  • How did you buy your ticket?

    • Fandango

    • AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

    • Cinemark Coming Soon

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Regal Coming Soon

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Theater box office or somewhere else

    By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.

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

View All Photos

Movie Info

In this documentary, director Chuck Workman examines the lasting cultural significance of the Beats, focusing mainly on Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and Neal Cassady. Along the way, these freethinking men became friends and associates, and their writing influenced numerous generations of questioning individuals. Workman combines interviews, TV clips and archival footage in his film, in addition to dramatic readings by notable actors such as Johnny Depp.
  • Genre:
    Documentary
  • Original Language:
    English
  • Director:
    Chuck Workman
  • Producer:
    Chuck Workman
  • Writer:
    Chuck Workman
  • Release Date (Theaters):
     wide
  • Release Date (Streaming):
  • Box Office (Gross USA):
    $360.9K
  • Runtime:
  • Distributor:
    Winstar Cinema
  • Sound Mix:
    Stereo

Cast & Crew

Chuck Workman
Chuck Workman
Director
Chuck Workman
Chuck Workman
Writer
Mark Apostolon
Mark Apostolon
Associate Producer
Chuck Workman
Chuck Workman
Producer
Hiro Yamagata
Hiro Yamagata
Executive Producer
Glen Tedham
Glen Tedham
Co-Producer
David Amram
David Amram
Original Music
Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Original Music
Andrew Dintenfass
Andrew Dintenfass
Cinematographer
Tom Hurwitz
Tom Hurwitz
Cinematographer
Don Lenzer
Don Lenzer
Cinematographer
José Louis Mignone
José Louis Mignone
Cinematographer
Nancy Schreiber
Nancy Schreiber
Cinematographer
Chuck Workman
Chuck Workman
Film Editing
Marc Greville-Masson
Marc Greville-Masson
Production Design
Jonathan Dana
Jonathan Dana
Production Executive
Show all Cast & Crew

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

All Critics (16) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (14) | Rotten (2)
Full Review… Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Full Review… Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle Full Review… Edward Guthmann San Francisco Chronicle Full Review… Janet Maslin New York Times Full Review… John A. Nesbit Old School Reviews Full Review… Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid Full Review… Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Full Review… Steve Crum Kansas City Kansan Full Review… Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality & Practice Full Review… Chuck Rudolph Matinee Magazine Full Review… Eric D. Snider EricDSnider.com Full Review… David Noh Film Journal International
View All Critic Reviews (16)

Audience Reviews for 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
See All Audience reviews

Movie & TV guides

View All