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Howl

Howl

The Obscenity Trial That Started a Revolution. The Poem That Rocked a Generation.

20106.51h 24m

Overview

It's San Francisco in 1957, and an American masterpiece is put on trial. Howl, the film, recounts this dark moment using three interwoven threads: the tumultuous life events that led a young Allen Ginsberg to find his true voice as an artist, society's reaction (the obscenity trial), and mind-expanding animation that echoes the startling originality of the poem itself. All three coalesce in a genre-bending hybrid that brilliantly captures a pivotal moment-the birth of a counterculture.

Directed by Rob Epstein
Written by Jeffrey Friedman, Rob Epstein
Produced by Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, Elizabeth Redleaf
Box OfficeBudget: $5.0MRevenue: $1.2M

Top Cast

James Franco

James Franco

Allen Ginsberg

T

Todd Rotondi

Jack Kerouac

Jon Prescott

Jon Prescott

Neal Cassady

Aaron Tveit

Aaron Tveit

Peter Orlovsky

David Strathairn

David Strathairn

Ralph McIntosh

Jon Hamm

Jon Hamm

Jake Ehrlich

Andrew Rogers

Andrew Rogers

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Bob Balaban

Bob Balaban

Judge Clayton Horn

Mary-Louise Parker

Mary-Louise Parker

Gail Potter

Treat Williams

Treat Williams

Mark Schorer

Themes & Keywords

freedompoetryliteraturepsychiatric hospitalmale homosexualitycounter-culture1950sgay theme

About Howl

Howl is a drama film released in 2010 exploring themes of freedom, poetry, literature, psychiatric hospital, male homosexuality, counter-culture. Directed by Rob Epstein, it stars James Franco, Todd Rotondi, Jon Prescott. It's San Francisco in 1957, and an American masterpiece is put on trial. Howl, the film, recounts this dark moment using three interwoven threads: the tumultuous life events that led a young Allen Ginsberg to find his true voice as an artist, society's reaction (the obscenity trial), and mind-expanding animation that echoes the startling originality of the poem itself. All three coalesce in a genre-bending hybrid that brilliantly captures a pivotal moment-the birth of a counterculture.

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