The Source
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.
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Cast
28 people
Johnny Depp
Jack Kerouac
Known for
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Dennis Hopper
William S. Burroughs
Known for
Speed
Waterworld
John Turturro
Allen Ginsberg
Known for
Severance
The Night Of
Allen Ginsberg
Self (archive footage)
Known for
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
William S. Burroughs
Self (archive footage)
Known for
Drugstore Cowboy
Joy Division
Philip Glass
Self
Also in
The Truman Show
What Maisie Knew
Steve Martin
Himself
Known for
Only Murders in the Building
Cheaper by the Dozen
Robert Creeley
Self
Also in
Two: Creeley/McClure
Polis Is This: Charles Olson and the Persistence of Place
Ann Charters
Self
George Steade
Self
David Amram
Self
Also in
Pull My Daisy
River of Fundament
Gregory Corso
Self
Also in
The Godfather Part III
Pull My Daisy
Chuck Workman Director
Worldwide gross $361K · United States release January 23, 1999 · Produced in United States
Box office
Worldwide gross
$360,895
Production
Calliope Films
Production
THIRTEEN
Production
United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
English
Release dates
United States · January 23, 1999
Premiere · Festival du film de Sundance
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Some details come from TheTVDB.