This weekend sees the release of perhaps the most eagerly awaited movie ever for fans of the Beat Generation. (Skepticism regarding On the Road precludes it from taking the title, although it may well turn out to be great movie.) On 24th September, 2010, Howl was released in cinemas and V.O.D cable throughout the United States. The movie had already wowed critics after taking the opening night spot at the Sundance Film Festival.

For those of you unfamiliar with the movie – no doubt a minority of Beatdom readers – it is directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, and stars James Franco, Jeff Daniels and Mary-Louise Parker. The movie is part-animated, featuring artist Eric Drooker’s illustrated version of the poem alongside the storyline of Ginsberg’s obscenity defense trial.

In Issue Five of Beatdom we interviewed the directors of Howl. You can read that here.

For more Beat Generation-inspired movies, see our Beat Movie List.

You can read more about Howl in these publications:

Slate (HT@KTLIT)

NY Times

NY Times 2

Newsweek

Esquire

Vanity Fair

SF Chronicle

LA Times

Gay City News