Howl

Name: Howl
Genre: Drama, Animation
Released: September 24, 2010
Duration: 90 min
Rating: 63

2010

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Ratings

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6.7

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6.7	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Ratings

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Howl

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Movie Details & Credits

Oscilloscope Pictures | Release Date: September 24, 2010

Summary: James Franco stars as the young Allen Ginsberg poet, counter-culture adventurer and chronicler of the Beat Generation. In his famously confessional, leave-nothing-out style, Ginsberg recounts the road trips, love affairs and search for personal liberation that led to the most timeless and electrifying work of his career, the poem HOWL.James Franco stars as the young Allen Ginsberg poet, counter-culture adventurer and chronicler of the Beat Generation. In his famously confessional, leave-nothing-out style, Ginsberg recounts the road trips, love affairs and search for personal liberation that led to the most timeless and electrifying work of his career, the poem HOWL. Meanwhile, in a San Francisco courtroom, Howl is on trial. Prosecutor Ralph McIntosh sets out to prove that the book should be banned, while suave defense attorney Jake Ehrlich argues fervently for freedom of speech and creative expression. The proceedings veer from the comically absurd to the passionate as a host of unusual witnesses pit generation against generation and art against fear in front of conservative Judge Clayton Horn. (Oscilloscope Laboratories)

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Director: Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein

Genre(s): Drama, Animation

Runtime: 90 min

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Critic Reviews

Richard Nilsen

Oct 21, 2010

This film is a wonderful act of imagination on its own. Read full review

Keith Phipps

The trouble with the film is that it often feels too respectable for its own good, preserving the facts of yesterday's rebellion while leaving it firmly in the past. Happily, Ginsberg's words still cut recklessly through the years. Read full review

Scott Tobias

Epstein and Friedman's doc-like approach also results in a certain dramatic stasis; Howl is a film aimed more for the head than the gut. Read full review

Dana Stevens

By the time this movie's over, you've spent an hour and a half just working your way through the words of Howl and some related source material, and that turns out to be a surprisingly satisfying thing to do. Read full review

Michael Phillips

It's well-crafted, but I wish the film showed us an additional dimension or two of the central figure, who once said the great challenge in writing, any kind of writing, is "to write the same way you are." Read full review

Joe Neumaier

A movie with no clear narrative. It pushes boundaries and feels like one man's fever dream. But all those traits would certainly make Allen Ginsberg happy. Read full review

Keith Uhlich

Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's mostly whiffed docudrama makes the influential poem by Allen Ginsberg (Franco) seem dull, ordinary, pedestrian instead of pioneering. Read full review

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User Reviews

superman11

Jan 9, 2011

howls movie shows the poets life in intriguing mysteries makes you wonder where are all the poets now overall the movie was a bit lackey in some parts but the imagination in the animation makes realize there is life out there 7/10

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

mediaman23

Feb 26, 2011

What a surprise - a thoughtful, creative and very enjoyable film that even a guy with a limited interest in poetry enjoyed. Yet another example of first-rate talent working outside "the system" and with limited funding yet delivering high quality film-making (Kids are Alright, I Love youWhat a surprise - a thoughtful, creative and very enjoyable film that even a guy with a limited interest in poetry enjoyed. Yet another example of first-rate talent working outside "the system" and with limited funding yet delivering high quality film-making (Kids are Alright, I Love you Phillip Morris, Crazy Heart). One would never think of James Franco as Allen Ginsberg, talk about taking poetic license, but to me this all worked. The animation of poetry was a terrific plus. Try it!… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

AlexS

Aug 27, 2011

Powerfully acted and visually appealing.James Franco is spot on as Allen Ginsberg.An interesting way to convey the poem and the man.Howl feels like a documentary and has the soul of a very personal project.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TVJerry

Nov 20, 2010

This is not a biopic about poet Alan Ginsberg, but a cinematic interpretation of the titular poem that caused a stir in the art and legal community. It unfolds in several scenarios: Ginsberg (James Franco) reads the poem to a coffee house crowd, the poem is illustrated through animation, heThis is not a biopic about poet Alan Ginsberg, but a cinematic interpretation of the titular poem that caused a stir in the art and legal community. It unfolds in several scenarios: Ginsberg (James Franco) reads the poem to a coffee house crowd, the poem is illustrated through animation, he talks to Time magazine (an interview that was never published), there are highlights from the court case that tried the poem as obscenity and a few glimpses into his relationships. If you're not looking for a straight narrative and appreciate artistic cinema, you might like this.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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