Howl

Editor's Note THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HARVEY MILK filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman make an ambitious leap to narrative film with this hybrid of live-action drama and animation. HOWL divides its focus between the real-life obscenity trial of the eponymous poem by Allen Ginsberg (James Franco) and the epic poem itself, which is brought to life in animated form. This film also stars David Strathairn, Jon Hamm, Jeff Daniels, and Mary-Louise Parker.

	James Franco
	David Strathairn
	Jon Hamm
	Bob Balaban
	Jeff Daniels
	Mary-Louise Parker
	Alessandro Nivola
	Jon Prescott
	Todd Rotondi
	Aaron Tveit
	Rob Epstein - Screenwriter
	Jeffrey Friedman - Screenwriter
	Rob Epstein - Producer
	Jeffrey Friedman - Producer
	Elizabeth Redleaf - Executive Producer
	Elizabeth Redleaf - Producer
	Christine Walker - Producer
	Gus Van Sant - Executive Producer
	Jawal Nga - Executive Producer
	Ed Lachman - Director of Photography
	Rob Epstein - Director
	Jeffrey Friedman - Director

Hollywood Reporter
"It's a heady flight into not just a particular poem but into the act of creativity itself, into how an artist breaks down barriers between himself and his art." 01/21/2010

Variety
"Intelligent and highly respectful of its central character and his titular landmark poem....It's also an intriguing hybrid of documentary, narrative and animated filmmaking..." 01/21/2010

A.V. Club
"[E]ach of HOWL's individual parts is pretty good on its terms. Franco has Ginsberg's familiar intonation and mannerisms down." -- Grade:B 09/23/2010

New York Times
"HOWL does something that sounds simple until you consider how rarely it occurs in films of any kind. It takes a familiar, celebrated piece of writing and makes it come alive." 09/24/2010

Movieline
"[T]he directors' aim is true and occasionally hits its mark. Epstein and Friedman fuse elements of documentary, feature filmmaking, and animation to home in on how Ginsberg wrote HOWL, and why it made him famous." 09/22/2010

Los Angeles Times
"[T]he film of HOWL, like its source material, is undeniably brave, committed and inventive." 10/01/2010

Chicago Sun-Times
3 stars out of 4 -- "The film is above all about HOWL the poem. Ginsberg, played by James Franco with restraint and care, reads it as smoke fills a 1955 coffeehouse." 09/29/2010

Washington Post
3 stars out of 4 -- "James Franco delivers an impressive, beguilingly sensitive performance as the poet and Beat Generation avatar Allen Ginsberg in HOWL." 10/29/2010

Empire
3 stars out of 5 -- "The strongest strand is Franco's touching portrayal of the early years in '50s New York. He channels Ginsberg with deftness and sympathy..." 03/01/2011

Total Film
4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he hippest thing about HOWL is the way it conveys one poem's electrifying impact on its generation. You'll wish you could've been there to hear it yourself." 04/01/2011