What Happened to Kerouac?
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Movie Reviews of What Happened to Kerouac?
Movie Review: Made me fall in love with Jack Kerouac
Summary: 5 Stars
Strange for me to say that this made me fall in love with Jack Kerouac, because that's sort of egotistical because I realize that, aside from the alcoholism, he and I dealt with some similar issues. Watching the footage of Jack Kerouac reading his work, I felt instinctively that there was a deep aspect of himself that related to me. I'm not saying I'm anywhere nearly as talented of a writer as he was. I'm not delusional. I just felt that I was almost watching footage of myself, his mannerisms, his expressions, his face even. I have been told I bear a slight resemblance to him. Perhaps not too surprising because he was of French-Canadian descent and I descend from a region of Italy that at one point was part of France.
Anyway, in an attempt to make this review at least a little helpful to someone besides myself, I will say that it's excellent. It's not at all clinical, like some documentaries can be. It is very informal and gives you a sense of sitting and personally talking with the people who knew Jack Kerouac. And, as others have said, those who knew him do not at all come across as being in awe of him and, thankfully, they are not attempting to canonize him or make him in to an icon. If anything, they make it obvious that he was a very tortured man, like many writers I suppose, held on to his sanity merely through his writing. Actually, his daughter says that. The first time she met him he was already toward the end of his life, a drunk, and he was sitting in a chair watching the Beverly Hillbillies. She says he had few words because "I suppose the only way his feelings came out was through his writing."
Probably the most startling revelation to come from this video is that Jack Kerouac, the man whose writing inspired the hippie generation, considered himself a conservative Republican Catholic. In footage of his 1969 interview with William Buckley, Kerouac indicates that he supported the US war in Vietnam. Later in the Buckley program, Kerouac scolds a young hippie by saying, "You make yourself famous by protesting. 'Down with this, down with that.' I made myself famous by writing." It's really amazing footage because the young hippie defers to Kerouac, saying, "Well, you're a great poet. In fact it's your fault...." The clip cuts off before the young hippie explains what he faults Kerouac for, but I think we all know what he was going to say. The exchange between Kerouac and the young hippie comes across as the exchange between a father and his misbehaving son. Ironic, because it was Kerouac himself who was is so drunk that he is almost falling out of his chair.
Toward the end of the video, Kerouac's priest says that Kerouac lived like a monk and was actually a mystic. Kerouac, says the priest, didn't fear going to hell. He feared going to heaven.
Movie Review: Kerouac Raw ...
Summary: 5 Stars
Not much exists in the way of documentaries about the father of the Beat Generation, Jack Kerouac. But it's not for a lack of interest for sure. I think the bulk of people that have seen this may have either rented it from a library or have seen it re-run on your local PBS channel. The quality of the film doesn't lend itself to the digital age very well, as the presentation of the interviews and the facts about the life of one of America's greatest writers is handled in a very film-school type of fashion.
I don't mean to denigrate this documentary at all with that last statement, but the quality of the presentation is just as rough as the actual archive footage. Only the presentation can be weighed in the sense of filmmaking, but in truth it is what it is. It's not slick, it's not polished, it's not even artful like the recent Bukowski Documentary, but it is fascinating, intelligent, absorbing and powerful to watch.
As most may know, Jack Kerouac drank himself into the grave in the late sixties, for reasons known and unknown. The weight he carried was a significant one that pushed him as deep into himself as he could go until his inner body could no longer sustain him. A lot of the troubled history of Kerouac is fleshed out as well as his stomping grounds, his old lovers, his daughter, some of his friends and other contemporaries.
The interview with Gregory Corso is a fascinating one to say the least and one can understand why the man decided to turn to teaching literature. The way he tells the stories and the stories themselves are powerful in his hands as he speaks highly and respectfully of Kerouac and in way in which a true friend who never left his side would.
This is a very touching and personal, albeit rough, look into the life and times of one of America's most compelling writers of the last age. While you may complain about the unmastered archive footage, you'll be amazed at the segment with Steve Allen, the interview with William F. Buckley, where Jack is drunk on air, and so on.
This is a very enjoyable and well worth the time spent.
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Movie Review: I'll go on the road again
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not a fan of Jack Kerouac. . .yet.
I was disappointed, and I tried hard not to be, reading "On the Road". I found myself agreeing, and I tried hard not to, with Truman Capote who said Kerouac didn't write, he typed.
This film has made me give Kerouac another chance. (Will it be "Big Sur" or "Doctor Sax" or "Tristessa"?) This excellent documentary has convinced me that Kerouac was more than a drunk (Even though one of the most interesting scenes has a drunken Kerouac telling William F. Buckley to hurry the question up.) and more than a typist (There were scenes where excerpts of Kerouac's stuff--other than "On the Road"--were read during photo montages, first, of big city life and, later, of Lowell, MA.)
The film also shows how literate, articulate, and compassionate these original beatniks were. How can one listen to Allen Ginsberg here and not be impressed with his warmth and his storytelling, regardless of what one thinks of his persona or his poetry? These beatniks were not just a group of young adults in the 1940's fueled by chemicals and hormones. There really was (perhaps only at times) a seeking for spirit and beauty and truth.
May I correctly select, from Kerouac's other works, my next beat experience.
Movie Review: Tears For The Hometown Hero!
Summary: 5 Stars
Every fiber of my being is incorporated into this review for Jack "Ti Jean" Kerouac! To actually see most of Kerouac's fellow writer's and poet's giving his or her true and poignant interpretation of the unmitigated "genius" that was this brother Lowellian is in itself a magnificent production! I bought this DVD today at a mall in New Hampshire and could have bought it for less on Amazon.com! Just a few minutes ago I did order the DVD "Jack Kerouac-King of the Beats" on Amazon.com and can't wait for its arrival! If it's anything like "What Happened To Kerouac?" then it will surely be another masterful production! After I write this review I am going to watch this DVD again and experience the same chills as I did when initially watching it for the first time! Anyone that is a true fan of Kerouac and his works will be smitten with this production because you are reliving pure literary genius! To hear the poetry and prose from the lips and soul of Kerouac himself is truly awe-inspiring! This production is a brutal and factual statement of a man that was rarely understood but truly adored by those that have read the majestic prose and verse that was and still is: Jack Kerouac!Movie Review: Primary Source A-Go-Go.
Summary: 5 Stars
A major element in determining the worth of a documentary lies in the quality of the evidence it presents, and, regarding Jack Kerouac, you can't do much better than what the filmmaker does here. The opinions of Ginsberg, Burroughs, Snyder, Corso, Huncke, DiPrima, an ex-wife and daughter are proffered which gives the film tremendous weight and legitimacy. Their observations concerning Jack's character and personality are highly revealing. It is a sad tale, and, if one of the interviewees can be believed, this is a writer who did not believe in suicide so he resolved to drink himself to death which is exactly what he did. Personally, I felt pain gazing at the numerous clips from Firing Line which appeared about a year before he died. He appears to be about 15 years older than he was, and in such a stupor that one longs to hit the fastforward button. Of course, doing so would be dishonest and this documentary is anything but that.