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DVD Review: Howl – Metro US

DVD Review: Howl

Howl
Genre: Drama
Directors: Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
Stars: James Franco
***1/2

O, come all ye angel-headed hipsters, saintly motorcyclists and spinsters of Utica! Howl cries out for you, and for all whose antennae twitch to the expansive echo of Beat Generation banging.

In the space of just 84 minutes, ambitious filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman illustrate and elucidate the epic 1955 Allen Ginsberg poem that jolted the Eisenhower era.
They also study the sexually conflicted Ginsberg (played by James Franco) and dramatize his 1957 trial that nearly jailed his publisher, Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

It’s narrative drama, documentary biopic and animated fantasy all rolled into one giddy package, a four-part celebration of a four-part poem.