The Source
1999•1h 28m•5.6•Released
DocumentaryHistory
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 in 1997. Three actors provide dramatic interpretations of the work of these three writers, and the film chronicles their friendships, their arrival into American consciousness, their travels, frequent parodies, Kerouac's death, and Ginsberg's politicization. Their movement connects with bebop, John Cage's music, abstract expressionism, and living theater. In recent interviews, Ginsberg, Burroughs, Kesey, Ferlinghetti, Mailer, Jerry Garcia, Tom Hayden, Gary Snyder, Ed Sanders, and others measure the Beats' meaning and impact.
Director
Chuck Workman
Revenue
$0M
Languages
English
Studio
Calliope Films
Cast
Johnny Depp
Jack Kerouac
Dennis Hopper
William S. Burroughs
John Turturro
Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Self (archive footage)
William S. Burroughs
Self (archive footage)
Philip Glass
Self
Robert Creeley
Self
Ann Charters
Self
George Steade
Self
David Amram
Self
Ed Sanders
Self
Gregory Corso
Self
Kyle Roderick
Self
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Self
Ken Kesey
Self
Production
Company
Calliope Films
Company
THIRTEEN
Recommended
6
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
2018
6.4
Chris Brown: Welcome to My Life
2017
6.8
Howard
2018
7.1
Come See Me in the Good Light
2025
7.4
I Am Heath Ledger
2017
7
Welcome to Chechnya
2020
7.4
Supersonic
2016
7.8
Being James Bond
2021
6.9
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
2019
7.5
The Last Repair Shop
2024
7.2
Cover-Up
2025
6.4
Salinger
2013
7.8
As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty
2000
6.9
9/11: Inside the President's War Room
2021
8.4
Everybody’s Everything
2019
7.2
Tab Hunter Confidential
2015
7.3
Whitney
2018
6.7
Cameraperson
2016
7.4
For the Love of Spock
2016
7.7
The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart
2020
Similar Movies
7.7
Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood
1999
François Mitterrand, une autre vie possible
2026
7.5
Grizzly Man
2005
1
Getting It Right: Safer Sex for Young Gay Men
1993
5
Fernando Pessoa
2007
10
The Silence of the Princess
2014
7.1
Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress
1957
6.5
Peter Lorre: The Master of Menace
1996
6.6
Basquiat
1996
In a Strange Room
2020
7.4
Hill
2025
Betsy Palmer: A Scream Queen Legend
2006
4
Army of Lovers or Revolt of the Perverts
1979
7.2
Alain Delon, a unique portrait
2015
6.5
Kartini: Princess of Java
2017
10
Who’s Counting? Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies and Global Economics
1995
6.5
Jiří Trnka: A Long Lost Friend
2019
10
Louis Kahn's Tiger City
2019
1
The Haunting of Deiana Wood
2017
Siron. Time on Canvas
2019