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OSC-026
Howl
Dir. Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
In Theaters 09/24/10 On DVD 01/04/11 On DVD & Blu Ray Combo 01/04/11
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SYNOPSIS
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 (Strathairn) sets out to prove that the book should be banned, while suave defense attorney Jake Ehrlich (Hamm) 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 (Jeff Daniels, Mary-Louise Parker, Treat Williams, Alesssandro Nivola) pit generation against generation and art against fear in front of conservative Judge Clayton Horn (Bob Balaban).
HOWL is simultaneously a portrait of a renegade artist breaking down barriers to find love and redemption and an imaginative ride through a prophetic masterpiece that rocked a generation and was heard around the world.
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DIRECTOR:
Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman are among the most honored Directors, Writers and Producers of nonfiction film, having received between them two Academy Awards, multiple Emmy Awards, three Peabody Awards and a Guggenheim Fellowship. In support of their work on HOWL, they were awarded a Rockefeller Fellowship and a Sundance Documentary Fund Grant. HOWL marks their scripted narrative debut.
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Cast
James Franco Allen Ginsberg David Strathairn Ralph McIntosh Jon Hamm Jake Ehrlich Bob Balaban Judge Clayton Horn Alessandro Nivola Luther Nichols Treat Williams Mark Schorer Mary-Louis Parker Gail Potter Jeff Daniels David Kirk -
Credits
Directed by Rob Epstein
Jeffrey FriedmanWritten by Rob Epstein
Jeffrey FriedmanProduced by Elizabeth Redleaf
Christine Kunewa Walker
Rob Epstein
Jeffrey FriedmanCinematography by Edward Lachman, ASC Edited by Jake Pushinsky Original music Carter Burwell -
DVD Features:
James Franco in conversation with directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman - an all new feature length audio commentary.
Holy! Holy! Holy! The Making of Howl - featuring directors Epstein and Friedman and stars James Franco, Jon Hamm, David Strathairn, Treat Williams, Bob Balaban, poet Anne Waldman, and others.
Directors' research tapes - original interviews with Ginsberg's friends and collaborators Eric Drooker, Peter Orlovsky, Tuli Kupferberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Steven Taylor.
Allen Ginsberg reads Howl - never before seen footage from a performance in 1995 at the Knitting Factory in New York.
James Franco reads Howl audio feature.Exclusive to Blu-Ray Release:
Allen Ginsberg reads Sunflower Sutra and Pull My Daisy - never before seen footage from a performance in 1995 at the Knitting Factory in New York.
Q&A with directors Epstein and Friedman moderated by John Cameron Mitchell (director of HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH and RABBIT HOLE) at the Provincetown Film Festival. -
Release Info
DVD Catalog Number: OSC-026
DVD UPC: 896602002265
BD+DVD Catalog Number: BD-OSC-026
BD+DVD UPC: 896602002951 -
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