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The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg (Deluxe Two-Disc Set) | 
 enlarge | Director: Jerry Aronson
Actors: Joan Baez, William F. Buckley, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Abbie Hoffman
Studio: New Yorker Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $34.95
Buy New: $22.91
You Save: $12.04 (34%)
New (16) Used (8) from $21.97
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 24171
Format: Black & White, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 82
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D94206D
UPC: 717119942649
EAN: 0717119942649
ASIN: B000PHX4S8
Theatrical Release Date: 2006
Release Date: July 17, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW AND FACTORY SEALED
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Amazon.com
The re-release of Jerry Aronson's biopic, The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg, timed to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of "Howl," suits this wonderful documentary and proves Ginsberg central to all radical artistic and political movements of the past 60 years. The feature-length film, segmented by decade, provides ample footage of Ginsberg's life; but extras added into this package, including footage of his memorial and 35 interviews with artists inspired by the visionary poet--from Beck to Lawrence Ferlinghetti--solidify Ginsberg as an American cultural icon. The film unravels Ginsberg's obsession for life and death around his mother's nervous breakdown and his father's affinity for poetry. Interviews with Ginsberg from each decade, both amongst his Beat friends like Burroughs and Huncke, and later with talk show hosts William Buckley and Dick Cavett, show the author's progression from sexual politics in the '40s and '50s to the "politics of ecstasy" in the '60s and '70s, when he founded the Flower Power movement with Tim Leary, and later, Naropa Institute. Ample footage of Ginsberg's stepmother provides a sensitive outsider's opinion on how he blossomed into one of the most spontaneous minds of the century. The film transcends simple Ginsberg descriptions by framing his life with historical happenings to contextualize the author's words and actions. The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg reminds the viewer that there is no better example of an artist devoted to a life of letters, activism, and idealism than the original beatnik. --Trinie Dalton
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 "A Genius for Self-Promotion." December 27, 2008
So stated Roger Kimball in his immaculate book, The Long March, concerning the subject of this documentary. From everything I've ever read about Allen Ginsberg, the one enduring fact of his life is that he always manifested a genius for self-promotion. The likes of Kerouac and Cassidy detrained into the swamp yet he managed to redefine himself and become one with whatever movement or era would have otherwise passed him by. He was a natural magnet for attention and made full use of whatever talents he had. Indeed, the man surpassed every expectation based on his potential. I thought this was a solid documentary and found the footage of his father to be quite interesting. Ginsberg once boasted that he'd get us through our children, and, based on the cultural devastation that is 2008, events proved him correct. Never underestimate the power of destruction and only fools underestimated Allen Ginsberg.
 poet and muse Allen Ginsberg (Deluxe Two-Disc Set) September 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The extraordinary life and times of Allen Ginsberg are profiled in this straightforward tribute documentary. I can't recall gaining any new insights or knowledge of Ginsberg, *but* I had already done my homework on the Beats and all that when, like so many others, I was a fascinated teenager. What I did experience was again being made aware of how much Ginsgerg's life connected with and that it was better through his having been a part of it. Not only was he a Beat poet but a great muse to many, many artists. I dare say I find that aspect of his life the most interesting. America is better because Ginsberg lived. He was a peacemaker, an activist, and a really nice and lovable guy. This film serves as a solid introduction to the famous countercultural icon's story as it is told with ample footage and through many interviews with his many famous friends and admirers: Beck, Bono, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Johnny Depp, Hunter S. Thompson, Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, Joan Baez, Michael McClure, Norman Mailer, Amiri Baraka, Ken Kesey, William S. Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Anne Waldman and Timothy Leary... Excerpts of discussions with William Buckley and Dick Cavett are also included. The DVD set includes over 6 hours of extras. Must have for fans.
Kaddish & cosmos July 12, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
There are two features of Ginsberg's personality that come through over and over in this intriguing documentary: he was a deeply wounded man, and he was a deeply lovable one. The two were obviously connected: Ginsberg's wounds made him both vulnerable and compassionate. They could also make him rage against a world that condoned war and injustice, and all of these sides of him come through in his poetry.
Ginsberg's ur-wound was the tragedy of his mother, a remarkable woman who sadly suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, was in and out of institutions during Ginsberg's youth, and finally died in one. As a boy, Ginsberg was frequently charged with her care. As his stepmother says in the film, he was exposed to way too much for a young boy to take in. His feelings of helplessness, frustration, impatience, love, guilt, and fear in the face of his mom's illness and increasingly bizarre behavior marked him for life. Thankfully, his relationship with his father Louis, a lyric poet, was one of tenderness, mutual respect, and deep love.
Ginsberg's unhappy relationship with his mother, as well as his genesis from beat poet to cosmic poet to Buddhist poet to grand old man of American poetry is tracked in the film. Especially welcome are the long and marvelous clips of Ginsberg reading his poetry: long sections of "Howl," all of "Kaddish," and others, sometimes put in music. There's also a clip from Ginsberg's appearance on Buckley's "Firing Line," in which the two men stood one another down. Lots of vintage still photography and cinema featuring the beat poets round out the documentary.
The one thing missing in the film was more than a brief mention of Ginsberg's lifelong relationship with Peter Orlovsky. Ginsberg does say at one point, quite touchingly, that he and Peter made life vows to one another, and a rather vague reference to Orlovsky's later mental and alcohol troubles is made. But the relationship is for the most part passed over in silence.
A good film, both for fans of Ginsberg's poetry and those who know it only by hearsay. A fitting Kaddish for a man who's heart and imagination stretched cosmically.
 An absorbing look at "The Beat Generation" of the '50's and '60's. April 14, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
No study of the 1950's and 1960's cultural revolution in the USA would be complete without the poetry and bohemian life-look at poet Allen Ginsberg and those of "The Beat Generation." The 1960's just didn't happen; the groundwork was laid in the 1950's with the writers and the poets and the musicians who began to eschew The Establishment, embrace peace, do drugs, sexually experiment, and put it all down into their art. This film is currently showing on ON DEMAND and I was fortunate enough to see all 480 minutes of it. Being born in 1955, I learned a lot, frankly way more, than I myself ever knew about the times. I have yet to see a more complete and absorbing film chronicalling the soul and heart of the Era. Highly recommended.
A nice complimentary film to this one would be Across the Universe (Two-Disc Special Edition), but simply as an aid with some music.
Howlin' Great August 24, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Probably the best documentary I've ever seen. Gives you a whole new appreciation for Ginsberg's poetry, especially his wonderful poem "Kaddish." Also, you see all the players: Kerouac, Kesey, Bellows, Cassidy, Dylan -- everyone.
A terrific buy.
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