Howl

R

Released Sep 24, 2010

1 hr. 24 min.

Drama

Biography

List

63%

109 Reviews

Tomatometer

58%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Poet and cultural icon Allen Ginsberg (James Franco) is living in San Francisco in the mid '50s with friends and fellow writers Jack Kerouac (Todd Rotondi) and Neal Cassady (Jon Prescott) when he conceives "Howl," a poem that is credited with popularizing the Beat movement. When bookstore owner Lawrence Ferlinghetti (Andrew Rogers) publishes the poem, he is put on trial for obscenity. The film includes animated portions depicting interpretations of the poem itself.

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Critics Consensus

James Franco gives it his all as beat poet Allen Ginsberg, but Howl never develops enough of a focus to do his performance justice.

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Rose C

While the poem Howl itself could certainly lay the foundations for a great epic, this film was not one. It felt strangely bland and sanitized, rather passionless, which contradicts what the poem is in essence. It would make a decent informative documentary to show in a literature class, and I feel that Ginsberg deserves more than that. Two stars: one for the excellent topic, and one for the effort.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This is one of my all time favorite films. It's very artsy, inspiring and crudely entertaining at times. Also, this is a must watch if you love poetry or writing <3

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I went with 2 stars for this movie, I only seen it once. Idk if I would watch it again the animation throughout the movie was distracting to me throughout the movie. I liked the parts of his private life/poetry readings. The courtroom part was interesting I do believe that a person with little to no interest in poems/poetry the author and his work will really get this movie or hold their interest. The movie though slow and at times boring you can keep interest throughout. I think that James Franco did a good job in this role, it was also interesting to me to learn more about the poem Howl and who the poet himself was, 2 stars.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

great film . enough said

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/20/19

Full Review

Audience Member

I didn't like the animated segments and Franco's performance is a little iffy to me (that voice!), but there is real beauty here, too. I've always thought a lot of the Beat writing (maybe especially Howl) boils down to a buncha dudes trying to fuck Neal Cassady, but I actually cried at the Holy Holy Holy bit at the end.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Oh Victory, forget your underwear, we are free

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

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Rob Epstein

Director

Jeffrey Friedman

Director

James Franco

Allen Ginsberg

David Strathairn

Ralph McIntosh

Jon Hamm

Jake Ehrlich

Bob Balaban

Judge Clayton Horn

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Jennie Yabroff

Newsweek

Great art transcends its creator. In this case, it also lays the foundation for a great film.

Feb 7, 2018

Full Review

Jim Schembri

The Age (Australia)

It is the trial itself - which Ginsberg did not attend - that is the real payoff here as Howl's defenders and detractors get their day in court.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 12, 2011

Full Review

Philip French

Guardian

Sadly, I found it only moderately enjoyable and rather smug, much like an average edition of the BBC's Arena.

Feb 28, 2011

Full Review

David Sugarman

CineVue

Howl basically plays like a decent Sunday-afternoon TV docudrama. It may be considered by some to be art, but I imagine few will consider it to be cinema.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 22, 2021

Full Review

David Lamble

Bay Area Reporter

Epstein and Friedman utilize fact, fiction and animation tropes to explain how a seven-page poem would launch a counterculture, or what some have labeled an ongoing culture war.

Jun 10, 2020

Full Review

Felicia Feaster

Charleston City Paper

But for students of Ginsberg, American history, and the Beats, Howl is probably essential viewing.

Jan 22, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Poet and cultural icon Allen Ginsberg (James Franco) is living in San Francisco in the mid '50s with friends and fellow writers Jack Kerouac (Todd Rotondi) and Neal Cassady (Jon Prescott) when he conceives "Howl," a poem that is credited with popularizing the Beat movement. When bookstore owner Lawrence Ferlinghetti (Andrew Rogers) publishes the poem, he is put on trial for obscenity. The film includes animated portions depicting interpretations of the poem itself.

Director: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Executive Producer: Gus Van Sant, Jawal Nga
Screenwriter: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Distributor: Oscilloscope Pictures
Production Co: Telling Pictures, RabbitBandini Productions
Rating: R (Some Drug Material|Sexual Language|Sexual Images|Strong Sexual Content)
Genre: Drama, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 24, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 19, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $617.3K

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