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

R Released Aug 5, 2011 1h 30m Documentary List
72% Tomatometer 60 Reviews 61% Popcornmeter 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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Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place

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

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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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Critics Reviews

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Empire Magazine Rated: 3/5 Nov 25, 2011 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Jamie Garwood CineVue Gibney's latest stands up as a vital document of the counter-culture movements within 1960s America. Dec 5, 2018 Full Review Yasmin Shehab Cairo360 Jan 30, 2018 Full Review Sean Burns Philadelphia Weekly In case you haven't had your fill of wheezy boomer nostalgia, here we go again. May 3, 2015 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 Full Review 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 Full Review Audience Member http://filmreviewsnsuch.blogspot.com/2016/01/magic-trip.html Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Audience Member Ken Kesey was a far better human than Leary ever was. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place

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Movie Info

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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