Reviewing Movies

Howl starring James Franco is a documentary that came out in 2010
chronicling the publishing of Alan Ginsberg's poem. The movie inter-cuts
scenes from the publisher, Lawrence Ferlinghetti's obscenity trial based
on the original transcripts; with scenes from a public reading of the
poem by its author; animated illustrations of the text; Ginsberg typing
in his cold-water flat; and Ginsberg on the road with his buddies.
Franco does a credible job of portraying Ginsberg though I wish the
producers could have decided whether they wanted to exploit Franco's
chiseled good looks or Ginsberg's trade-mark trimmed beard; scenes
switch back and forth between the two looks for no apparent reason. At
90 minutes this documentary made me restless; the end-credit disclaimer
about no resemblance to any person living or dead seems fatuous in the
circumstances. Not for the first time the supplements are more
interesting than the actual movie. Archival footage of a failing Alan
Ginsberg stumbling over a reading of his own poem two years before his
death is authentic but painful to watch. Franco does a credible
recitation of the same text. Following along with Ginsberg's own
collected works shows that there were obviously several different
version of this poem. The interviews with Ferlinghetti still alive at 96
in his bookshop in San Fransisco and with other acquaintances adds
useful context. From our viewpoint in 2012 one wonders what all the fuss
was about in 1957.