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The Source

Original title: The Source: The Story of the Beats and the Beat Generation
  • 1999
  • 1h 28m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
864
YOUR RATING
The Source (1999)
BiographyDocumentaryHistory

Traces the Beats from Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac's meeting in 1944 at Columbia University to the deaths of Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs.Traces the Beats from Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac's meeting in 1944 at Columbia University to the deaths of Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs.Traces the Beats from Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac's meeting in 1944 at Columbia University to the deaths of Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs.

  • Director
    • Chuck Workman
  • Writer
    • Chuck Workman
  • Stars
    • Johnny Depp
    • John Turturro
    • Dennis Hopper
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.2/10
    864
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Chuck Workman
    • Writer
      • Chuck Workman
    • Stars
      • Johnny Depp
      • John Turturro
      • Dennis Hopper
    • 14User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
    • 66Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 nominations total

    Photos1

    View Poster

    Top cast63

    Edit
    Johnny Depp
    Johnny Depp
    • Jack Kerouac
    John Turturro
    John Turturro
    • Allen Ginsberg
    Dennis Hopper
    Dennis Hopper
    • William S. Burroughs
    Allen Ginsberg
    Allen Ginsberg
    • Self
    Philip Glass
    Philip Glass
    • Self
    Robert Creeley
    • Self
    Ann Charters
    • Self
    George Steade
    • Self
    David Amram
    • Self
    William S. Burroughs
    William S. Burroughs
    • Self
    Ed Sanders
    Ed Sanders
    • Self
    Gregory Corso
    • Self
    Kyle Roderick
    • Self - Corso Biographer
    Lawrence Ferlinghetti
    Lawrence Ferlinghetti
    • Self
    Ken Kesey
    Ken Kesey
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Gary Snyder
    Gary Snyder
    • Self
    Jerry Garcia
    Jerry Garcia
    • Self
    Jack Micheline
    • Self
    • Director
      • Chuck Workman
    • Writer
      • Chuck Workman
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews14

    7.2864
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    Featured reviews

    9dan-336

    If you like them....You'll love this

    The Source was the first documentary I have ever seen on the big screen beside those huge IMax films. The Source was very enjoyable film. I have always read Kerouac and Burroughs with much enthusiasm and this film helped me to fall in love with their work all over again and some more. The Beats were an aquired taste, but if you are searching for yourself (and I believe most people are) these guys can help you start. They don't show you the way but they give you a good start.

    This film was very insightful into the lives of these life searching nomads. See this if you enjoy their work. Even if you never read any of their stuff, see it anyway.
    ebh

    Excellent documentary

    Chuck Workman did a fantastic job recreating the beat generation, via old footage, and vignettes involving Johnny Depp as Jack Kerouac, and Dennis Hopper as William Burroughs. This is truly a "must see" little gem of a film.
    9dan-336

    If you like them....You'll love this

    The Source was the first documentary I have ever seen on the big screen beside those huge IMax films. The Source was very enjoyable film. I have always read Kerouac and Burroughs w/ much enthusiasm and this film helped me to fall in love w/ their work all over again and some more. The Beats were an aquired taste, but if you are searching for yourself (and I believe most people are) these guys can help you start. They don't show you the way but they give you a good start. This film was very insightful into the lives of these life searching nomads. See this if you enjoy their work. Even if you never read any of their stuff, see it anyway.
    10Petey-10

    The masters of words

    They were called the Beatniks.The Source (1999) tells how Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac met at Columbia University in 1944, and started an era of the Beats then.Many others joined the group, like William S. Burroughs.Kerouac died in 1969, Ginsberg and Burroughs in 1997.There are three famous actors playing these three and speak the words of these geniuses.The legendary Dennis Hopper is Burroughs.The brilliant John Turturro is Ginsberg.And Johnny Depp, who's only the hottest actor today, is Kerouac.There are some great people talking about the Beat movement and seen in archive footage, like Steve Allen, Amiri Baraka, Lenny Bruce, Walter Cronkite, Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Philip Glass, Billie Holiday, Bob Hope, Robert F. Kennedy, Ken Kesey, Martin Luther King, John Leguizamo, Norman Mailer, Steve Martin, Groucho Marx and Henry Rollins.There's a clip from Happy Days with Tom Bosley, Marion Ross and Ron Howard discussing about the whole Beat thing at the table.The Source is a fascinating documentary.It's also very educational telling you everything you ever wanted to know about the topic.So all of you that have some interest for the Beat, open your eyes and watch The Source.
    9dottoo2

    Witty, intelligent and fun.

    "The Source" is witty, intelligent and fun. This is a nostalgic romp through our Cultural History that will entertain and validate anyone who has felt alien in this culture. The directive is to enjoy.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Filmmaker Jason Rosette appears briefly in the scene at the student center during the reading of Kerouac's "On the Road".
    • Connections
      Edited into American Masters: The Source: The Story of the Beats and the Beat Generation (2000)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 23, 1999 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Source: The Story of the Beats and the Beat Generation
    • Production companies
      • Beat Productions
      • Calliope Films
      • Thirteen / WNET
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Gross US & Canada
      • $362,649
    • Gross worldwide
      • $362,649
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 28 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
      • Color

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