A new version of "The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg," a film by University of Colorado at Boulder film instructor Jerry Aronson chronicling the life of the iconoclastic Beat Generation poet, is gaining positive reviews in national publications.
Aronson digitally remastered the documentary, creating a two-part DVD set that contains the feature-length film plus interviews with contemporary artists who knew Ginsberg including Joan Baez, Beck, Bono, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Johnny Depp, Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, Norman Mailer, Ken Kesey, William Burroughs, Stan Brakhage, Hunter S. Thompson, Sonic Youth and Timothy Leary.
The six hours of interviews and other new material "promises to bring new perspectives and reflections on the great poet's life," Aronson said.
The remastered documentary has received positive reviews in The New York Times, Newsweek, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Booklist and many other periodicals and film Web pages. Sales of the DVD set have exceeded expectations, he said.
Aronson completed the original film in 1993. It premiered that year at the Sundance Film Festival and then was featured at international film festivals and in U.S. theaters. Ginsberg was still alive at the time and when he saw the film Aronson said the poet nodded his head thoughtfully and commented, "So, that's Allen Ginsberg."
To listen to what McCartney, Depp and Bono said about Ginsberg visit the CU-Boulder News Services Web page at .