Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place

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Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place

R

2011

1h 30m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

72%

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60 Reviews

61%

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2,500+ Ratings

Directors Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood present footage culled from a road trip to the 1964 New York World's Fair, which author Ken Kesey and the Merry Band of Pranksters made while on drugs.

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Critics Consensus

Magic Trip is overall unenlightening, though there's an inherent novelty and joy in seeing the unearthed footage of Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters.

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Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Gives us a vivid feel for the bedhopping, acid-dropping subculture, if a little less insight than you'd hope...

Rated: 3/5

Nov 19, 2011

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Derek Malcolm

London Evening Standard

The trip is supposed to be the legendary precursor to the Swinging Sixties but ends up seeming merely fun for a group of people who have never quite grown up.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 19, 2011

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

The prehistory of psychedelia gets an interesting, if minor footnote with this documentary co-directed by Alex Gibney - who made Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 17, 2011

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Jamie Garwood

CineVue

Gibney's latest stands up as a vital document of the counter-culture movements within 1960s America.

Dec 5, 2018

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Yasmin Shehab

Cairo360

Jan 30, 2018

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Sean Burns

Philadelphia Weekly

In case you haven't had your fill of wheezy boomer nostalgia, here we go again.

May 3, 2015

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Robert S

Can only recommend this if you really enjoyed The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. I think this would likely bore you if you're not already familiar with the Merry Pranksters and some of the events from the book.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/22/24

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delysid d

These people think they are a whole lot more interesting than they actually are

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

05/01/17

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Audience Member

http://filmreviewsnsuch.blogspot.com/2016/01/magic-trip.html

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

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Audience Member

El aclamado documentalista Alex Gibney nos describe cómo fue el viaje a través de los Estados Unidos en los años 60 del escritor Ken Kesey ("One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest") y de su grupo de "bromistas" en un bus psicodélico lleno de LSD y un espíritu entre beatnik y hippie. Su usted sabe algo sobre la contracultura de los años 60 y sobre Kesey, este documental no le aportará nada nuevo. Para los iniciados será un viaje revelador.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

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Audience Member

Far out, man. A great honest look at Kesey, his pranksters, their road across the US and influencing the mainstream and counter-cultures.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

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Audience Member

Ken Kesey was a far better human than Leary ever was.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

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Alex Gibney

Director

Alison Ellwood

Director

Stanley Tucci

Narrator

Alex Gibney

Writer

Alison Ellwood

Writer

Will Clarke

Producer

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Synopsis

Directors Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood present footage culled from a road trip to the 1964 New York World's Fair, which author Ken Kesey and the Merry Band of Pranksters made while on drugs.

Director: Alex Gibney, Alison Ellwood
Producer: Will Clarke, Alex Gibney, Alexandra Johnes
Screenwriter: Alex Gibney, Alison Ellwood
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Magnolia Pictures
Rating: R (Some Nudity|Language|Drug Content)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 5, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 4, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $153.9K
Runtime: 1h 30m

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