Product Details

• Actors: Vincent Balestri; Frank Tabbita; Lisa Niemi; Amy Humphrey
• Directors: Randy Allred
• Format: NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Beat Angel Productions, LLC
• DVD Release Date: October 24, 2006
• Run Time: 134 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000K1UKN6
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #141,215 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

On the 30th anniversary of his own death, the angelic spirit of Jack Kerouac--legendary author of "On the Road"--returns to Earth in the abandoned body of a street bum and transforms the lives of three people. This award-winning film features subtitles in French, Spanish and Italian, playable ALL REGIONS. Includes scenes filmed on Desolation Peak, the Cascade Mountains fire lookout Kerouac wrote about in his novels, "The Dharma Bums" and "Desolation Angels." Starring Vincent Balestri, renowned for his long-running one-man stage play, "Kerouac: The Essence of Jack."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Awwwwwwwww" Small film, big story!, December 4, 2006

By 

L. Newton "Amazon Queen" (East Coast, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beat Angel - the Spirit of Kerouac (DVD)

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww! " (Jack Kerouac)

The only people for me are people who make movies like this! I will admit, it's NOT your typical Hollywood fare but the story is creative, it's extremely visual - each camera shot a painting, and after the first ten minutes, this film finds it's rhythm - beat, beat, beat, burn, burn, burn. I think we are so used to having stories shoved down our throat and being predictable, that a film like this took a bit of attention by this viewer, but the message, particularly to anyone with an artistic bent, is well worth the journey. The actors are all well cast and compelling - Vincent Balestri brings a sweetness to his role as a bum who embodies the spirit of Jack Kerouac on the anniversary of his death. For me, he humanizes my image of the mythic Kerouac. Frank Tabbita is rock solid as the narrator/protagonist and I can't get Amy Humphrey's face out of my head. You don't have to be a Kerouac fan to enjoy this film, but I think it would help. Again, for an indie film, it's very well done and beautifully filmed!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beat angel review, December 13, 2006

By 

David Axelrod - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beat Angel - the Spirit of Kerouac (DVD)

i dont like hollywood movies and this indie film was refreshing. i liked the theme of creative freedom. the poetry scene really brings that out. the guy who plays kerouac is totally engrossing. im not a jazz fan, i like blues. but here jazz is part of the story and it worked well for me. the movie looks pretty low budget but i think they gave it a grimy look on purpose and it suits the mood like the jazz. The ending gave me the exact same feeling as the ending of 'american beauty'- id give it a B+

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Arthouse not Hollywood-House, November 4, 2006

By 

W. Knezevic (Australia) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beat Angel - the Spirit of Kerouac (DVD)

Absolutely enthralling.
I found the whole production, acting, script, the poetry and the music, and such music, fantastic.If you are like me, thoroughly fed up with the tired boring and childish Hollywood fare that is dished up these days, aimed at a mental age of about 11, here is something different to make you think about art, and about a time when art, poetry and music really mattered. Because it has no carchases, violence or steamy sex scenes, it'sit is well worth seeing and sharing to your thinking friends. the poetry scene alone is worth the price of the DVD. The performance of all the main actors was was awesome, for an arthouse production of this type.
A highlight!