The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg
This 1994 bio-doc (long out of print but back on DVD via Kino-Lorber) aired on PBS’s "American Masters" back in the day, and is a fairly straightforward film of that particular school, almost entirely talking heads and archival materials. But the interview subjects are so articulate and colorful, their memories so evocative, that it’s a feature not a bug, and the footage and images are fascinating as well. Director Jerry Aronson draws direct connections from the poet’s life to his work, and shines light a-plenty on the latter; we hear quite a bit of <PERSON>’s poetry in the brief film, occasionally at the expense of biographical detail, but it strikes the right balance between information and appreciation 217