April on Prime Video is stacked with returning favorites, the launch of one of Amazon’s biggest shows ever and a bevy of great movies to watch. The fifth and final season of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” launches on April 14, while Amazon will premiere the globe-trotting action-thriller series “Citadel” – starring Priyanka Chopra-Jonas and Richard Madden – on April 28. The show hails from “Avengers: Endgame” filmmaker Joe and Anthony Russo.
Noteworthy movies arriving on April 1 include the “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” movies, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “The Big Lebowski,” “Looper,” “Vanilla Sky” and “Top Gun.”
You can also stream the Billy Eichner rom-com “Bros” starting April 4 and the George Clooney/Julia Roberts rom-com “Ticket to Paradise” on April 11.
Check out the full list of what’s new on Amazon Prime Video in April 2023 below.
Also Read:
The 41 Best Movies on Amazon Prime (April 2023)
April 1
American Gigolo
At the Gate...
Noteworthy movies arriving on April 1 include the “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” movies, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “The Big Lebowski,” “Looper,” “Vanilla Sky” and “Top Gun.”
You can also stream the Billy Eichner rom-com “Bros” starting April 4 and the George Clooney/Julia Roberts rom-com “Ticket to Paradise” on April 11.
Check out the full list of what’s new on Amazon Prime Video in April 2023 below.
Also Read:
The 41 Best Movies on Amazon Prime (April 2023)
April 1
American Gigolo
At the Gate...
- 4/1/2023
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
As befitting its status as one of the world’s biggest companies, every now and then Amazon likes to take a big swing with its Prime Video originals. With its list of new releases for April 2023, the streamer is taking one of its biggest swings yet.
Though it’s not quite as vast or expensive as fellow Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Citadel (premiering April 28) is a massive, massive undertaking. Starring Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, this spy series is described as “an expansive and groundbreaking global event comprising a mothership series and several local language satellite series.” This means that the Russo Brothers-produced project will eventually feature several spinoffs in multiple countries and languages around the world. Neat-o!
The only other major TV original of note this month is Dead Ringers, based on the 1988 David Cronenberg film of the same name,...
Though it’s not quite as vast or expensive as fellow Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Citadel (premiering April 28) is a massive, massive undertaking. Starring Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, this spy series is described as “an expansive and groundbreaking global event comprising a mothership series and several local language satellite series.” This means that the Russo Brothers-produced project will eventually feature several spinoffs in multiple countries and languages around the world. Neat-o!
The only other major TV original of note this month is Dead Ringers, based on the 1988 David Cronenberg film of the same name,...
- 4/1/2023
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Prime Video is hoping to launch its own extended franchise universe in April with the premiere of international spy series “Citadel” from the minds of the Russo Brothers. The show stars Richard Madden, Priyanka Chopra, and Stanley Tucci, and is intended to be the first block of an interconnected story with different spinoffs in countries and regions around the world. The first version will begin streaming on April 28. In the show, the world is in the grips of Manticore, a criminal organization, and several former spies are recruited to restore order despite having their memories erased.
Watch the trailer for “Citadel”:
Beloved young adult author Judy Blume opened the door to discussion about difficult subjects for generations of kids. Now, the writer is the subject of a new documentary, “Judy Blume Forever,” coming to Prime Video on April 21. The doc looks at her trajectory — from a scared kid to...
Watch the trailer for “Citadel”:
Beloved young adult author Judy Blume opened the door to discussion about difficult subjects for generations of kids. Now, the writer is the subject of a new documentary, “Judy Blume Forever,” coming to Prime Video on April 21. The doc looks at her trajectory — from a scared kid to...
- 3/27/2023
- by Fern Siegel
- The Streamable
The Who have shared three rare “jingles” — the tongue-in-cheek ads the band placed between album tracks — from their massive The Who Sell Out reissue, out April 23rd.
The Sell Out Jingles digital EP features three early takes of “Heinz Baked Beans” — the finished product of which made the album’s tracklist — as well as the unreleased “John Mason Cars/Speakeasy/Rotosound Strings/Bag O’Nails” and “Premier Drums (Take 1 & 4),” featuring two minutes of Keith Moon banging around in celebration of his drum maker of choice.
The five-cd The Who...
The Sell Out Jingles digital EP features three early takes of “Heinz Baked Beans” — the finished product of which made the album’s tracklist — as well as the unreleased “John Mason Cars/Speakeasy/Rotosound Strings/Bag O’Nails” and “Premier Drums (Take 1 & 4),” featuring two minutes of Keith Moon banging around in celebration of his drum maker of choice.
The five-cd The Who...
- 3/19/2021
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
The infamous bus in which Christopher McCandless, the subject of John Krakauer’s 1996 book “Into The Wild,” found shelter and ultimately died of starvation, was removed from the Alaskan wilderness via helicopter on Thursday.
Fans of the book and its subsequent 2007 film adaptation directed by Sean Penn have sought out the bus for years, risking their lives to do so. According to the U.S. Army, 15 people have had to be rescued and two have died on their treks to find what they call “The Magic Bus.”
The bus has become such a safety concern that the Department of Natural Resources decided to remove it from its resting place near the Teklanika River in Alaska.
“We encourage people to enjoy Alaska’s wild areas safely, and we understand the hold this bus has had on the popular imagination,” Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources commissioner Corri A. Feige told the Army.
Fans of the book and its subsequent 2007 film adaptation directed by Sean Penn have sought out the bus for years, risking their lives to do so. According to the U.S. Army, 15 people have had to be rescued and two have died on their treks to find what they call “The Magic Bus.”
The bus has become such a safety concern that the Department of Natural Resources decided to remove it from its resting place near the Teklanika River in Alaska.
“We encourage people to enjoy Alaska’s wild areas safely, and we understand the hold this bus has had on the popular imagination,” Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources commissioner Corri A. Feige told the Army.
- 6/20/2020
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix giveth and Netflix taketh away.
While everyone's favorite subscription streaming service is adding a ton of awesome movies and TV shows in December, it's also yanking a huge list of popular titles from its library. Below is said list. I'm especially sad to see "Dirty Dancing" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley" go. Those movies are the sh...
Watch them while you can!
Movies Being Dropped by Netflix on December 1st
"1941" (1979)
"The Apostle" (1997)
"Audrey Rose" (1977)
"The Believers" (1987)
"Better than Chocolate" (1999)
"Blood & Chocolate" (2007)
"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" (2008)
"Chaplin" (1992)
"The Choirboys" (1977)
"The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County" (1970)
"Coffee and Cigarettes" (2003)
"The Cold Light of Day" (1996)
"The Constant Gardener" (2005)
"Count Yorga, Vampire" (1970)
"Cry-Baby" (1990)
"Dirty Dancing" (1987)
"Double Indemnity" (1944)
"En la Cama" (2005)
"Event Horizon" (1997)
"Eye for an Eye" (1996)
"Fairy Tale: A True Story" (1997)
"First Knight" (1995)
"Five Easy Pieces" (1970)
"Foreign Student" (1994)
"Free Men" (2011)
"Funny Lady" (1975)
"The Ghost and Mrs Muir" (1947)
"The Girl from Petrovka...
While everyone's favorite subscription streaming service is adding a ton of awesome movies and TV shows in December, it's also yanking a huge list of popular titles from its library. Below is said list. I'm especially sad to see "Dirty Dancing" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley" go. Those movies are the sh...
Watch them while you can!
Movies Being Dropped by Netflix on December 1st
"1941" (1979)
"The Apostle" (1997)
"Audrey Rose" (1977)
"The Believers" (1987)
"Better than Chocolate" (1999)
"Blood & Chocolate" (2007)
"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" (2008)
"Chaplin" (1992)
"The Choirboys" (1977)
"The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County" (1970)
"Coffee and Cigarettes" (2003)
"The Cold Light of Day" (1996)
"The Constant Gardener" (2005)
"Count Yorga, Vampire" (1970)
"Cry-Baby" (1990)
"Dirty Dancing" (1987)
"Double Indemnity" (1944)
"En la Cama" (2005)
"Event Horizon" (1997)
"Eye for an Eye" (1996)
"Fairy Tale: A True Story" (1997)
"First Knight" (1995)
"Five Easy Pieces" (1970)
"Foreign Student" (1994)
"Free Men" (2011)
"Funny Lady" (1975)
"The Ghost and Mrs Muir" (1947)
"The Girl from Petrovka...
- 11/28/2014
- by Tim Hayne
- Moviefone
Pop quiz. When was the last time that Alex Gibney did not bring a film to the annual snowflake friendly fest? Even in years where he hasn’t presented a film, it feels as if he has been a mainstay bringing docu items such as Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, Casino Jack and the United States of Money, Magic Trip and We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks. Mentions of the project date back to 2012 and knowing Gibney’s breakneck work ethic, Finding Fela! is probably the next after his Lance Armstrong portrait. Since Park City’s Main Street music events are sometimes directly tied to a music-docu quota, this would certainly be a must have for the fest.
Gist: A look at the life and music of Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, in his own words, this looks...
Gist: A look at the life and music of Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, in his own words, this looks...
- 11/19/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Alison Ellwood, who is best known for producing and editing several Alex Gibney documentaries over the last decade, takes on a relatively undemanding task for her first solo feature directing effort (she co-directed Magic Trip with Gibney), molding a standard fare portrait of the popular Californian rock outfit that will nevertheless be an entertaining curio for fans and newbies alike.
It has to be said that several critics at my screening – myself included – immediately began to debate following its conclusion whether the “Part One” addendum of the film’s title was a facetious adornment or a serious advertisement for more to come, given that the majority of the Eagles’ story appears to have been told in this neat, briskly-moving 2-hour documentary. As it turns out, Part Two is in fact on the way, but will largely chart the band’s influence and success post-breakup.
Though Ellwood...
Alison Ellwood, who is best known for producing and editing several Alex Gibney documentaries over the last decade, takes on a relatively undemanding task for her first solo feature directing effort (she co-directed Magic Trip with Gibney), molding a standard fare portrait of the popular Californian rock outfit that will nevertheless be an entertaining curio for fans and newbies alike.
It has to be said that several critics at my screening – myself included – immediately began to debate following its conclusion whether the “Part One” addendum of the film’s title was a facetious adornment or a serious advertisement for more to come, given that the majority of the Eagles’ story appears to have been told in this neat, briskly-moving 2-hour documentary. As it turns out, Part Two is in fact on the way, but will largely chart the band’s influence and success post-breakup.
Though Ellwood...
- 4/25/2013
- by Shaun Munro
- Obsessed with Film
Fight Club: Gibney Finds Tragedy In ‘Knuckles’ Nilan
The assiduous docu director Alex Gibney wrapped three films back in 2011, all of which seem minor works in his ever growing oeuvre, and the proof is in the lagged theatrical release of The Last Gladiators, which arrives over a year after it’s Tiff premiere. Falling at the tail end of this stream of lighter fare that includes Steve Bartman’s unfortunate baseball foul in Catching Hell, and a drug fueled Ken Kesey tale with Magic Trip, the film details the rise and fall of famed hockey enforcer Chris ‘Knuckles’ Nilan on a quality scale comparable to a mid-grade 30 For 30 title, lacking the political gravitas of Taxi to the Dark Side, the propulsive style of Gonzo, and the intellectual proclivities that pervade them both. That’s not to say Gibney’s valiant salute to his childhood sport of choice and a...
The assiduous docu director Alex Gibney wrapped three films back in 2011, all of which seem minor works in his ever growing oeuvre, and the proof is in the lagged theatrical release of The Last Gladiators, which arrives over a year after it’s Tiff premiere. Falling at the tail end of this stream of lighter fare that includes Steve Bartman’s unfortunate baseball foul in Catching Hell, and a drug fueled Ken Kesey tale with Magic Trip, the film details the rise and fall of famed hockey enforcer Chris ‘Knuckles’ Nilan on a quality scale comparable to a mid-grade 30 For 30 title, lacking the political gravitas of Taxi to the Dark Side, the propulsive style of Gonzo, and the intellectual proclivities that pervade them both. That’s not to say Gibney’s valiant salute to his childhood sport of choice and a...
- 2/26/2013
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
"History of the Eagles," a two-part documentary about the Eagles directed by Alison Ellwood ("Magic Trip") and produced by Alex Gibney, heads to Showtime on February 15th and 16th at 8pm after the first part had its world premiere at Sundance in January. The films piece together never-before-seen home movies, archival footage and new interviews with band members, as they reflect on their long and sometimes troubled history together. As one of them puts it, "It's just about a journey from innocence to experience." Read More: Showtime Picks Up Two New Music Docs For February, Both Featuring Mumford & Sons Showtime also premiered R.J. Cutler and Greg Finton’s “The World According to Dick Cheney” at Sundance, with plans to air it in the spring, and earlier this week announced plans to air "Mumford & Sons: The Road to Red Rocks" and "Big Easy Express" on February 1st and 8th. ...
- 2/1/2013
- by Alison Willmore
- Indiewire
Gibney Exposes Suppression Of Truth Behind Ministerial Molestation
After taking a breather from feature hardline journalism with a series of lighter docs in Catching Hell, Magic Trip and The Last Gladiator, the prolific documentarian Alex Gibney returns to the austere with Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, a film that begins with the personal tale of a religious school for the deaf that became the first public exemplification of pedophilia in the Catholic church, adroitly permeating the depths of cover-up within the organization, leading all the way to the apical seats of the Vatican. Impeccably researched and devastatingly tragic, Gibney’s latest is a magnificent deconstruction of organized crime rather than a blatant attack on religion as one might assume a film of this nature could become.
Starting back in the 1950s, Father Lawrence Murphy, an instructor and caretaker of children at the St. John’s School for the Deaf in St.
After taking a breather from feature hardline journalism with a series of lighter docs in Catching Hell, Magic Trip and The Last Gladiator, the prolific documentarian Alex Gibney returns to the austere with Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, a film that begins with the personal tale of a religious school for the deaf that became the first public exemplification of pedophilia in the Catholic church, adroitly permeating the depths of cover-up within the organization, leading all the way to the apical seats of the Vatican. Impeccably researched and devastatingly tragic, Gibney’s latest is a magnificent deconstruction of organized crime rather than a blatant attack on religion as one might assume a film of this nature could become.
Starting back in the 1950s, Father Lawrence Murphy, an instructor and caretaker of children at the St. John’s School for the Deaf in St.
- 11/15/2012
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Content Media has invested in Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions for a 50% stake. The new capital will increase hiring, development and production at Jigsaw, while Content will act as international distributor for selected Jigsaw TV, film and digital content. Among Jigsaw’s forthcoming projects are a Gibney-directed film for HBO, a documentary on the Eagles directed by Alison Ellwood, a documentary on Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, a miniseries based on the Ali Soufan book “Black Banners” and a pair of scripted narrative features. One of the most highly regarded nonfiction producers in the industry, Jigsaw has produced the feature documentaries “Taxi to the Dark Side,” “Client #9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer,” “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” “Gonzo” and “Magic Trip,” as well as long-form television projects “The Blues” and “The Fifties.” “This new...
- 6/6/2012
- by Jay A. Fernandez
- Indiewire
If you've seen the batshit insane documentary Magic Trip about the acid-fueled road trip the Merry Pranksters embarked upon, then you'll probably be disappointed by this trailer. Even though the Neal Cassady featured in Magic Trip was quite a bit older than how he is portrayed in this new trailer, he's just not crazy enough for my liking.
Read more on On The Road trailer lacks authenticity...
Read more on On The Road trailer lacks authenticity...
- 3/10/2012
- by Drew Tinnin
- GordonandtheWhale
Alex Gibney has directed some of the most acclaimed documentaries of the last decade - among them Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, Casino Jack and the United States of Money, and Taxi to the Dark Side, which won him an Academy Award. An incredibly prolific documentarian, Gibney now turns his attention to Magic Trip, a collaboration with Alison Ellwood, his editor on Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. Here Ellwood handles editing, producing and co-writing duties while Stanley Tucci provides his professional cadence as the narrator/interviewer. Magic Trip covers a 1964 roadtrip undertaken by Ken Kesey, best known as the author of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Joining Kesey are an group of recreational drug users (and much more) who would soon be called the Merry Pranksters. Neal Cassady, Kerouac's inspiration for Dean Moriarty,...
- 11/30/2011
- by Mark Zhuravsky
- JustPressPlay.net
Footage of Ken Kesey's 1964 LSD road trip has finally been edited into a (mostly) coherent film
In 1964 Ken Kesey embarked on a coast-to-coast-and-back road trip, spreading the word of LSD with a busload of costumed cohorts; it is the stuff of pop-culture legend, and the founding gospel of the hippie movement. But most of what we know comes from Tom Wolfe's florid account in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. It's said that if you can remember the 60s, you weren't there, and in a way, Wolfe wasn't; he didn't meet Kesey and his Merry Pranksters until they had returned.
It was largely forgotten that Kesey planned his own account of the trip in the form of an improvised movie. The film would be "a total breakthrough of expression", wrote Wolfe, "but also something that would amaze and delight many multitudes, a movie that could be shown commercially as...
In 1964 Ken Kesey embarked on a coast-to-coast-and-back road trip, spreading the word of LSD with a busload of costumed cohorts; it is the stuff of pop-culture legend, and the founding gospel of the hippie movement. But most of what we know comes from Tom Wolfe's florid account in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. It's said that if you can remember the 60s, you weren't there, and in a way, Wolfe wasn't; he didn't meet Kesey and his Merry Pranksters until they had returned.
It was largely forgotten that Kesey planned his own account of the trip in the form of an improvised movie. The film would be "a total breakthrough of expression", wrote Wolfe, "but also something that would amaze and delight many multitudes, a movie that could be shown commercially as...
- 11/25/2011
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Hugh Grant, who was lauded for his appearance at the Leveson inquiry this week, had some arguments to air about the film promotion circuit
The big story
This week saw actor Hugh Grant deliver his testimony to the Leveson phone hacking inquiry. Grant, a vocal opponent of invasive press behaviour for many months, gave a thoughtful and measured performance. He no longer appeared "the foppish stereotype Brit," according to the Guardian's Michael White. "More high-minded Gary Cooper in Mr Deeds Goes to Town."
Part of Grant's argument centred on the impression that film stars ought to offer themselves up to promote their films. It was, he said, part of your responsibility to a project to do interviews around it ("If you didn't do a little bit of publicity you'd be a monster"), but far from essential. Grant estimated that around 5% of a film's success came down to whether or not he gave interviews,...
The big story
This week saw actor Hugh Grant deliver his testimony to the Leveson phone hacking inquiry. Grant, a vocal opponent of invasive press behaviour for many months, gave a thoughtful and measured performance. He no longer appeared "the foppish stereotype Brit," according to the Guardian's Michael White. "More high-minded Gary Cooper in Mr Deeds Goes to Town."
Part of Grant's argument centred on the impression that film stars ought to offer themselves up to promote their films. It was, he said, part of your responsibility to a project to do interviews around it ("If you didn't do a little bit of publicity you'd be a monster"), but far from essential. Grant estimated that around 5% of a film's success came down to whether or not he gave interviews,...
- 11/24/2011
- by Henry Barnes
- The Guardian - Film News
Eclipse and New Moon pale in comparison with the first of the final two-parter, which took a massive £13.91m in three days, but its success leaves The Help needing aid. Meanwhile, Snowtown opens strong and Arthur Christmas sees a 10% rise
The winner
The jury may be out on the creative benefits of following the Harry Potter gameplan and dividing the final Twilight novel into two films, but in terms of economics the decision is certainly a winner for backers Summit and UK partner Entertainment One. The three-day opening here of Breaking Dawn – Part 1 bagged an astonishing £13.91m – a significant jump from New Moon's three-day debut of £11.68m, and even a modest uptick from last year's five-day opening for Eclipse (£13.76m, including previews of £6.37m). To take more in three days than Eclipse did in five is a result that was hardly predictable.
Reviews were on balance hostile, with a...
The winner
The jury may be out on the creative benefits of following the Harry Potter gameplan and dividing the final Twilight novel into two films, but in terms of economics the decision is certainly a winner for backers Summit and UK partner Entertainment One. The three-day opening here of Breaking Dawn – Part 1 bagged an astonishing £13.91m – a significant jump from New Moon's three-day debut of £11.68m, and even a modest uptick from last year's five-day opening for Eclipse (£13.76m, including previews of £6.37m). To take more in three days than Eclipse did in five is a result that was hardly predictable.
Reviews were on balance hostile, with a...
- 11/22/2011
- by Charles Gant
- The Guardian - Film News
Magic Trip (15)
(Alison Ellwood, Alex Gibney, 2011, Us) 107 mins
Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters' LSD-fuelled 1964 road trip is one of those seminal cultural moments you can't believe really happened, at least not like it did in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. But here it is, chaotically shot and narrated by the culprits themselves and painstakingly reassembled. That makes for a certain lack of perspective, and watching others having a great time isn't necessarily the same as having one, but the contrast between these turned-on teens and square 60s America is often hilarious.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (12A)
(Bill Condon, 2011, Us) Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner. 117 mins
At last, some consummation! Bella and Edward's wedding comes a few movies too late for neutral observers, but the supernatural saga is in no danger of coming to an abrupt end, thanks to the franchise's determination to vampirically milk fans dry.
(Alison Ellwood, Alex Gibney, 2011, Us) 107 mins
Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters' LSD-fuelled 1964 road trip is one of those seminal cultural moments you can't believe really happened, at least not like it did in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. But here it is, chaotically shot and narrated by the culprits themselves and painstakingly reassembled. That makes for a certain lack of perspective, and watching others having a great time isn't necessarily the same as having one, but the contrast between these turned-on teens and square 60s America is often hilarious.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (12A)
(Bill Condon, 2011, Us) Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner. 117 mins
At last, some consummation! Bella and Edward's wedding comes a few movies too late for neutral observers, but the supernatural saga is in no danger of coming to an abrupt end, thanks to the franchise's determination to vampirically milk fans dry.
- 11/19/2011
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Magic Trip, the latest film from Oscar winning documentary maker Alex Gibney (Taxi To The Dark Side, Gonzo: The Life And Work Of Hunter S Thompson, Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room), comes to cinemas on 18 November 2011. The film tells the story of Ken Kesey, Neal Cassady and the Merry Prankster’ LSD-fuelled across the USA in the early 1960s. To mark its release we have a bundle of excellent documentaries on DVD to give away, including Gibney’s Gonzo, New York Doll and Festival Express.
In 1964, Ken Kesey, the famed author of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” set off on a legendary, LSD-fuelled cross-country road trip to the New York World’s Fair. He was joined by “The Merry Band of Pranksters,” a renegade group of counterculture truth-seekers, including Neal Cassady, the American icon immortalized in Kerouac’s “On the Road,” and the driver and painter of the psychedelic Magic Bus.
In 1964, Ken Kesey, the famed author of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” set off on a legendary, LSD-fuelled cross-country road trip to the New York World’s Fair. He was joined by “The Merry Band of Pranksters,” a renegade group of counterculture truth-seekers, including Neal Cassady, the American icon immortalized in Kerouac’s “On the Road,” and the driver and painter of the psychedelic Magic Bus.
- 11/17/2011
- by Competitons
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
This week we're reminding you of your invitation to join us at 7pm tonight when Peter Bradshaw (and a reader) will be liveblogging Three Colours Red on the site. And did anyone mention a drinking game … ?
The big story
And so we face the final frontier. Last night Andrew Pulver chuckled his way through Three Colours White. On Tuesday, Xan Brooks juggled pizza and existentialism during Three Colours Blue.
Tonight, Peter Bradshaw is in the hotseat, squished up alongside competition winner Joe Websper and Catherine Shoard, who'll be wrangling comments and overseeing the incredibly classy Three Colours Red drinking game (see below).
The third in the trilogy, Three Colours Red is also the most acclaimed. It's about a student (Irene Jacob) who befriends a retired judge (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who is spying on his neighbours.
The big story
And so we face the final frontier. Last night Andrew Pulver chuckled his way through Three Colours White. On Tuesday, Xan Brooks juggled pizza and existentialism during Three Colours Blue.
Tonight, Peter Bradshaw is in the hotseat, squished up alongside competition winner Joe Websper and Catherine Shoard, who'll be wrangling comments and overseeing the incredibly classy Three Colours Red drinking game (see below).
The third in the trilogy, Three Colours Red is also the most acclaimed. It's about a student (Irene Jacob) who befriends a retired judge (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who is spying on his neighbours.
- 11/17/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
★★★★☆ In 1964, Ken Kesey - author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - set off on a LSD-fuelled road trip to the New York World's Fair. He was joined by 'The Merry Band of Pranksters' a renegade group of counter-culture truth-seekers including Neal Cassady, the American icon immortalised in Jack Kerouac's On the Road. Kesey and the Pranksters intended to make a documentary about their trip, but the 16mm footage was never collated until now, with the release of Alex Gibney's Magic Trip (2011).
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 11/17/2011
- by Daniel Green
- CineVue
"Is there everything about him that I like? No, but I didn't come out thinking, 'I wish I knew less.' I still think he was someone determined to reckon with the world on his own terms, and that's a pretty big thing."
Oscar-winning film director Alex Gibney is talking about Ken Kesey, fabled author of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, and he can take an informed stance. He has spent the best part of six years all-told working on collating and editing original footage for Magic Trip, telling the story of Kesey's 1964 trip across America to New York, with the Merry Band of Pranksters for company.
"Ken was all about magic and fun, he felt people didn't play enough in a terribly serious age," explains Gibney. "People were busy being cogs in a creative machine, but what about fun? So Ken was encouraging everyone to go out and play,...
Oscar-winning film director Alex Gibney is talking about Ken Kesey, fabled author of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, and he can take an informed stance. He has spent the best part of six years all-told working on collating and editing original footage for Magic Trip, telling the story of Kesey's 1964 trip across America to New York, with the Merry Band of Pranksters for company.
"Ken was all about magic and fun, he felt people didn't play enough in a terribly serious age," explains Gibney. "People were busy being cogs in a creative machine, but what about fun? So Ken was encouraging everyone to go out and play,...
- 11/16/2011
- by Caroline Frost
- Huffington Post
#77. The Road Back or The Last Gladiators - Alex Gibney A regular at the fest over the years (Enron, Gonzo, Casino Jack, Magic Trip...) I'm thinking we might see Gibney at the fest with a sports themed-related docu. He'll either premiere The Road Back - a Sony project (which is news to me) that looks at Lance Armstrong’s attempt to come out of retirement in 2009 to win the Tour de France. Matt Damon narrates that one. And then there is the Tiff preemed (in an unfinished cut) The Last Gladiators which could have its U.S premiere. The doc features Chris "Knuckles" Nilan - a hockey player that had the role of the enforcer. These blue-collar players have one reason to be on the ice: to protect their guys, no matter what the cost—to themselves or others.
- 11/14/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Chances are, you'll have heard that we can now look forward to not just two but four new films from Terrence Malick. FilmNation, which handles international sales and distribution for Malick, sprang the surprise yesterday: Lawless will star Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Haley Bennett, while Knight of Cups will feature Bale, Blanchett and Isabel Lucas. Peter Knegt has the press release at indieWIRE, but basically, that's about all we know. Still, it's enough for now to chew on the news that the man who directed five features in 38 years is now working to have nearly as many out within the next two or three.
As for other two films, to recap, the first is Voyage of Time, a documentary companion to The Tree of Life narrated by Brad Pitt which will "display 'the whole of time, from the birth of the universe to its final collapse,...
As for other two films, to recap, the first is Voyage of Time, a documentary companion to The Tree of Life narrated by Brad Pitt which will "display 'the whole of time, from the birth of the universe to its final collapse,...
- 11/2/2011
- MUBI
If you enjoy documentaries, chances are you've seen and enjoyed Alex Gibney's Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room and Taxi To The Dark Side. Now he's tackling a rather kooler subject with Magic Trip, the story of Ken Kesey's odyssey across America in 1964.Kesey, as many of you will know, went on to write One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, but before that he joined the "Merry Band of Pranksters" and went on an LSD-fuelled cross-country trip (in every sense of the word). One of those accompanying him was Neal Cassady, the inspiration for Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's hugely influential On The Road, and the whole thing already featured in Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Now Gibney's been given access to Kesey's footage of the journey by his family and, narrated by Stanley Tucci and some of those involved, has assembled it into...
- 10/25/2011
- EmpireOnline
Release Date: Nov. 1, 2011
Price: DVD $26.98
Studio: Magnolia
Busing takes on a whole new meaning in Magic Trip.
The documentary film Magic Trip focuses on a group of 1960s exploits embarked upon by Ken Kesey, the famed author of the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
In 1964, Kesey set off on a legendary, LSD-fueled cross-country road trip to the New York World’s Fair. He was joined by “The Merry Band of Pranksters,” a renegade group of counterculture truth-seekers that included Neal Cassady, the American icon immortalized in Kerouac’s On the Road, and the driver and painter of the psychedelic Magic Bus. Kesey and the Pranksters intended to make a documentary movie about their trip, shooting footage on 16mm, but the film was never finished and the footage has remained virtually unseen. Until now, that is…
Directors Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood were given access to the raw footage by the Kesey family.
Price: DVD $26.98
Studio: Magnolia
Busing takes on a whole new meaning in Magic Trip.
The documentary film Magic Trip focuses on a group of 1960s exploits embarked upon by Ken Kesey, the famed author of the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
In 1964, Kesey set off on a legendary, LSD-fueled cross-country road trip to the New York World’s Fair. He was joined by “The Merry Band of Pranksters,” a renegade group of counterculture truth-seekers that included Neal Cassady, the American icon immortalized in Kerouac’s On the Road, and the driver and painter of the psychedelic Magic Bus. Kesey and the Pranksters intended to make a documentary movie about their trip, shooting footage on 16mm, but the film was never finished and the footage has remained virtually unseen. Until now, that is…
Directors Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood were given access to the raw footage by the Kesey family.
- 10/6/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Each year the Sitges Film Festival commercial spot is almost as eagerly awaited by the general public as its lineup, and Rafa Antón, creative director of the China agency and the man responsible for its campaigns over the last ten years, has presented this year’s commercial, entitled "Alter Ego". In addition, the preliminary lineup for the Festival has been revealed, but it's not complete by any means. More will be announced throughout the month.
Antón presented the commercial at the Velodrome, property of the brand, along with Festival director Angel Sala and one of Sitges 2011’s partners Moritz Beer.
As explained at the presentation of the Sitges 2011 posters, artificial intelligence is this year’s central theme, represented through the geminoids created by professor Ishiguro in Japan. For the commercials, Rafa Antón stated that he’d “continued with the same commemorative leitmotif of the tenth anniversary of Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg...
Antón presented the commercial at the Velodrome, property of the brand, along with Festival director Angel Sala and one of Sitges 2011’s partners Moritz Beer.
As explained at the presentation of the Sitges 2011 posters, artificial intelligence is this year’s central theme, represented through the geminoids created by professor Ishiguro in Japan. For the commercials, Rafa Antón stated that he’d “continued with the same commemorative leitmotif of the tenth anniversary of Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg...
- 9/16/2011
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
The programme for the 55th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express launched today by Artistic Director Sandra Hebron, celebrates the imagination and excellence of international filmmaking from both established and emerging talent. Over 16 days the Festival will screen a total of 204 fiction and documentary features, including 13 World Premieres, 18 International Premieres and 22 European Premieres . There will also be screenings of 110 live action and animated shorts. Many of the films will be presented by their directors, cast members and crew, some of whom will also take part in career interviews, masterclasses, and other special events. The 55th BFI London Film Festival will run from 12-27 October.
Special Screenings
Opening the festival is Fernando Meirelles’ 360, written by Peter Morgan, and starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law and Rachel Weisz. Weisz is also the star of Terence Davies’ closing night film, The Deep Blue Sea, alongside a cast which includes Simon Russell Beale and Tom Hiddleston.
Special Screenings
Opening the festival is Fernando Meirelles’ 360, written by Peter Morgan, and starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law and Rachel Weisz. Weisz is also the star of Terence Davies’ closing night film, The Deep Blue Sea, alongside a cast which includes Simon Russell Beale and Tom Hiddleston.
- 9/7/2011
- by John
- SoundOnSight
From the 12th to the 27th of October the 55th BFI London Film Festival brings its annual box of delights to the capital. Earlier today the full programme was announced, and it look like being another fine year.
We already know that Fernando Meirelles’ latest 360 will open proceedings on the 12th and fifteen days later Terence Davies’ The Deep Blue Sea will bring the festival to a close but there are many more great films to come and see in London this October.
There was a familiar feeling creeping across the audience this morning that a lot of the films had, like last year, already played elsewhere but this is only a small consideration when you consider the scope of the festival’s remit. To bring a vital, fresh and horizon-expanding series of features, shorts and documentaries is no easy task, and while the more well known films have played...
We already know that Fernando Meirelles’ latest 360 will open proceedings on the 12th and fifteen days later Terence Davies’ The Deep Blue Sea will bring the festival to a close but there are many more great films to come and see in London this October.
There was a familiar feeling creeping across the audience this morning that a lot of the films had, like last year, already played elsewhere but this is only a small consideration when you consider the scope of the festival’s remit. To bring a vital, fresh and horizon-expanding series of features, shorts and documentaries is no easy task, and while the more well known films have played...
- 9/7/2011
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Artistic director Sandra Hebron has announced the line-up for the 55th BFI London Film Festival this morning where they will screen “a total of 204 fiction and documentary features, including 13 World Premieres, 18 International Premieres and 22 European Premieres” plus “110 live action and animated shorts”.
We are already knew Fernando Meirelles’ adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s erotic drama play 360 written by Peter Morgan and starring Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law and Rachel Weisz would open the festival and that The Deep Blue Sea, which incidentally is another adaptation of a play (Terence Rattigan’s) and also stars Rachel Weisz, will close it. Of Time and City’s Terrence Davies directed that movie which also stars Tom Hiddleston and Simon Russell Beale.
Now we know the in-between stuff from the Gala & Special Screenings and there’s a wide selection of extremely interesting films;
George Clooney is bringing his political thriller The Ides of March that...
We are already knew Fernando Meirelles’ adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s erotic drama play 360 written by Peter Morgan and starring Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law and Rachel Weisz would open the festival and that The Deep Blue Sea, which incidentally is another adaptation of a play (Terence Rattigan’s) and also stars Rachel Weisz, will close it. Of Time and City’s Terrence Davies directed that movie which also stars Tom Hiddleston and Simon Russell Beale.
Now we know the in-between stuff from the Gala & Special Screenings and there’s a wide selection of extremely interesting films;
George Clooney is bringing his political thriller The Ides of March that...
- 9/7/2011
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
The Antenna International Documentary Film Festival has announced their inaugural line-up for the event which runs 5-9 October.
Boasting 15 Australian premieres and 25 Sydney premieres with films from 18 different countries, there is $10,000 in prizes.
Opening night at the Dendy Opera Quays will screen Robert Nugent’s Memoirs of a Plague that looks at the relationship between humans and the locust.
Closing night will be Philip Cox’s The Bengali Detective followed by an awards presentation to announce the winner of the Sbs Award for International Documentary (worth $5000) and the Best Australian Documentary ($2500). Both films are in competition.
Other films in International Competition: Michael Madsen’s Into Eternity, Robin Hessman’s My Perestroika, Danfun Dennis’ Hell and Back Again and Marcus Linden’s Regretters – winner of the Prix Europa Best Documentary at Berlin 2010 about two transgender people regretting their decisions to undergo surgery.
In the international special screenings, see Alex Gibney’s...
Boasting 15 Australian premieres and 25 Sydney premieres with films from 18 different countries, there is $10,000 in prizes.
Opening night at the Dendy Opera Quays will screen Robert Nugent’s Memoirs of a Plague that looks at the relationship between humans and the locust.
Closing night will be Philip Cox’s The Bengali Detective followed by an awards presentation to announce the winner of the Sbs Award for International Documentary (worth $5000) and the Best Australian Documentary ($2500). Both films are in competition.
Other films in International Competition: Michael Madsen’s Into Eternity, Robin Hessman’s My Perestroika, Danfun Dennis’ Hell and Back Again and Marcus Linden’s Regretters – winner of the Prix Europa Best Documentary at Berlin 2010 about two transgender people regretting their decisions to undergo surgery.
In the international special screenings, see Alex Gibney’s...
- 9/6/2011
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
It’s likely that most folks became aware of the hippie movement because of the Woodstock music festival in the late 1960′s. Surely these peace-loving flower children didn’t spring from that mushy, muddy ground fully formed. Did they emerge earlier in the decade? Perhaps they were an off-shoot of the espresso-drinking, bongo-playing beatniks of the 1950′s. Well, a brand new documentary culled from some very old ( about fifty years ) home movie footage directed by Alex Gibney ( Enron:the Smartest Guys In The Room ) and Alison Eastwood attempts to answer some of those questions. For a groovy history lesson hop about the Merry Pranksters’ bus and take a Magic Trip.
The film begins with a look at celebrated author Ken Kesey. Old high school yearbook photos paint him as a real straight arrow jock type. But then he decided to become a writer and penned the classic novel “One Flew Over...
The film begins with a look at celebrated author Ken Kesey. Old high school yearbook photos paint him as a real straight arrow jock type. But then he decided to become a writer and penned the classic novel “One Flew Over...
- 8/26/2011
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Title: Magic Trip: Ken Kesey’s Search for a Kool Place Directors: Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood Coming off the success of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” author Ken Kesey in 1964 set off on a road trip across the United States with a bunch of like-minded friends — a renegade group of counter-culture truth-seekers known as the Merry Pranksters. The ostensible target or end-point destination of their journey was the World’s Fair in New York City, but in truth this, ahem, trip was as much about the hedonistic experience of the open road as it ever was about getting to the other side of the country. Poised somewhere between...
- 8/15/2011
- by bsimon
- ShockYa
The saying goes that most documentary magic happens in the editing room. That’s an understatement for Magic Trip: Ken Kesey’s Search for a Kool Place, a found footage documentary assembled by Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood.
Magic Trip takes us back to the cross-country road trip taken by Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters in their psychedelically painted bus, interchangeably called “Further” or “Furthur.” The trip was immortalized in Tom Wolfe’s pioneering work of New Journalism, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.
Fresh off the success of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey took the book’s proceeds to buy a bunch of film and audio equipment with which to film the Pranksters’ road trip to New York’s World Fair. For various reasons—not the least of which was their drug-induced state—that film never happened.
Working with over 100 hours of footage and even more audio,...
Magic Trip takes us back to the cross-country road trip taken by Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters in their psychedelically painted bus, interchangeably called “Further” or “Furthur.” The trip was immortalized in Tom Wolfe’s pioneering work of New Journalism, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.
Fresh off the success of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey took the book’s proceeds to buy a bunch of film and audio equipment with which to film the Pranksters’ road trip to New York’s World Fair. For various reasons—not the least of which was their drug-induced state—that film never happened.
Working with over 100 hours of footage and even more audio,...
- 8/14/2011
- by Daniel James Scott
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Long-lost footage of journey across America by the author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and his Merry Pranksters to spread the word about acid has been turned into a documentary
Flush with funds from the success of his debut novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey, then 29, drew up plans in 1963 to drive a bus across the Us to the World's Fair in New York. In June 1964, an exotically painted 1939 Harvester school bus rolled out of his ranch in La Honda, California. This was to be no ordinary journey. Kesey's Beat Generation associate Neal Cassady – the inspiration for Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's On the Road – was driving the bus they called Further. On board were half a dozen travellers who called themselves the Merry Pranksters and a jar of orange juice laced with LSD. The trip, immortalised in Tom Wolfe's book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test,...
Flush with funds from the success of his debut novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey, then 29, drew up plans in 1963 to drive a bus across the Us to the World's Fair in New York. In June 1964, an exotically painted 1939 Harvester school bus rolled out of his ranch in La Honda, California. This was to be no ordinary journey. Kesey's Beat Generation associate Neal Cassady – the inspiration for Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's On the Road – was driving the bus they called Further. On board were half a dozen travellers who called themselves the Merry Pranksters and a jar of orange juice laced with LSD. The trip, immortalised in Tom Wolfe's book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test,...
- 8/6/2011
- by Edward Helmore
- The Guardian - Film News
Documentary film director Alex Gibney, an Oscar winner for 2007's bleak Taxi to the Dark Side, is known for works featuring cynical plotlines such as Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, and Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer. Gibney's new film, the significantly more upbeat Magic Trip, hit theaters on Friday, and details the cross-country bus trips taken by author Ken Kesey and his blissed-out chums in the sixties. You're probably familiar with Kesey from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (whose film adaptation Kesey hated, incidentally, because it took the viewpoint away from Chief Bromden), or Sometimes a Great Notion, but you may not be aware that Kesey, as a Stanford grad student in 1960, was a volunteer subject for a CIA-financed research project which tested a number of hallucinogens, including LSD, which was legal at the time. The project was known as [...]...
- 8/6/2011
- Nerve
Courtesy Magnolia Pictures Ken Kesey’s Further Bus in “Magic Trip”
In 1964, Beat literature icon Ken Kesey gathered his friends and favorite musicians in a bus and drove east from California to New York. That trip became legendary in American counter-culture — and the subject of journalist Tom Wolfe’s 1968 “Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” — and is now the basis for a new documentary from directors Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood. The 107-minute film is largely composed of 16 mm footage shot by passengers on the “Further” bus,...
In 1964, Beat literature icon Ken Kesey gathered his friends and favorite musicians in a bus and drove east from California to New York. That trip became legendary in American counter-culture — and the subject of journalist Tom Wolfe’s 1968 “Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” — and is now the basis for a new documentary from directors Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood. The 107-minute film is largely composed of 16 mm footage shot by passengers on the “Further” bus,...
- 8/6/2011
- by Nick Andersen
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Filed under: Documentaries, Movie News, Hot Topic, Summer Movies, New Releases
'Magic Trip,' the new documentary about Ken Kesey and his psychedelic impact on the 1960s, hits theaters today in New York City, Berkeley and San Fransisco (before rolling out to more theaters across the country over the next three months). However, the theatrical release is not the first time the movie is being shown. 'Magic Trip' has been available at the fingertips of viewers since its On Demand release on July 1st. It represents a growing trend of movies being released On Demand prior to their theatrical releases.
Now you don't have to live in Los Angeles or New York to see smaller, limited release films. There's a bevvy of off-beat indie selections that you can currently watch from the comfort of your home or enjoy on the big screen. But which ones are better suited for your couch,...
'Magic Trip,' the new documentary about Ken Kesey and his psychedelic impact on the 1960s, hits theaters today in New York City, Berkeley and San Fransisco (before rolling out to more theaters across the country over the next three months). However, the theatrical release is not the first time the movie is being shown. 'Magic Trip' has been available at the fingertips of viewers since its On Demand release on July 1st. It represents a growing trend of movies being released On Demand prior to their theatrical releases.
Now you don't have to live in Los Angeles or New York to see smaller, limited release films. There's a bevvy of off-beat indie selections that you can currently watch from the comfort of your home or enjoy on the big screen. But which ones are better suited for your couch,...
- 8/5/2011
- by Parker Lange
- Moviefone
The '80s are back again this week with the body swap comedy The Change-Up starring Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman adding some crass R-rated humour to an age old formula. Something tells me this movie will do a lot better than you might think, while the other major release, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, is getting solid reviews but is not likely to go beyond its cult audience. Heck, The Smurfs could end up winning the box office this weekend. In limited release we have the apocalyptic love story Bellflower, plus The Whistleblower starring Rachel Weisz and Alex Gibney's Merry Pranksters documentary Magic Trip. What will you be watching this weekend? Rise of the Planet of the Apes The Change-Up The Whistleblower (limited) Bellflower (limited) Magic Trip (limited) Gun Hill Road (limited) Mysteries of Lisbon (limited)
For More Daily Movie Goodness, Visit Filmjunk.Com!
For More Daily Movie Goodness, Visit Filmjunk.Com!
- 8/5/2011
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
Box Office Challenge
What movie will be No. 1 at the box office?
Hitting the screens this weekend …
The Change-Up
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
The Guard (limited)
The Future (limited)
The Devil’s Double (limited)
Another Earth (expanding)
Tsr’s complete Film Review Database
So what exactly are we looking at this week? We’re looking at The Change-Up versus Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Magic Trip will not be a wide enough release to compete, nor would its subject matter capture the hearts of millions if it were. It’ll be a non-factor at the box office. I’ll be surprised if it makes the top 10.
I like Rise of the Planet of the Apes‘ chances here, for the number one box office slot. It looks ridiculously goofy, but it’s got James Franco at the helm, and that’s gotta count for something. Freida Pinto,...
What movie will be No. 1 at the box office?
Hitting the screens this weekend …
The Change-Up
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
The Guard (limited)
The Future (limited)
The Devil’s Double (limited)
Another Earth (expanding)
Tsr’s complete Film Review Database
So what exactly are we looking at this week? We’re looking at The Change-Up versus Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Magic Trip will not be a wide enough release to compete, nor would its subject matter capture the hearts of millions if it were. It’ll be a non-factor at the box office. I’ll be surprised if it makes the top 10.
I like Rise of the Planet of the Apes‘ chances here, for the number one box office slot. It looks ridiculously goofy, but it’s got James Franco at the helm, and that’s gotta count for something. Freida Pinto,...
- 8/5/2011
- by Aaron Ruffcorn
- The Scorecard Review
Rise of the Planet of the Apes has finally landed with jaw-dropping effects and strong reviews. Apes should knock either The Smurfs or Cowboys & Aliens off their top two positioning. Evan Glodell's Bellflower leads the pack of this weekend's indies with upbeat reviews--and a very cool car. (Check back for Toh's ride in the Medusa with Glodell and co-star Tyler Dawson and the FlipCam). The Whistleblower, Alex Gibney's 60s doc Magic Trip, Portugal's Mysteries of Lisbon and well-acted transgender-drama Gun Hill Road round out the weekend's offerings. Reviews, details and trailers below: Bellflower, Oscilloscope, USA | Dir: Evan Glodell; Cast: Evan Glodell, Jessie Wiseman, Tyler Dawson, Rebekah Brandes, Vincent Grashaw | Toh! Interviews Glodell | iW's Eric Kohn Reviews at Sundance | B criticWIRE ...
- 8/4/2011
- Thompson on Hollywood
Ken Kesey’s 1964 drug-fueled bus ride across America with his band of Merry Pranksters is the stuff of counterculture legend, a foundational moment in the hippie movement immortalized in Tom Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. But as Magic Trip, a documentary from directors Alison Ellwood and Alex Gibney (Taxi To The Dark Side) demonstrates, it’s also one of those events where you really had to be there. The filmmakers have gathered the next best thing—footage shot during the road trip by the Pranksters themselves—but in spite of this honey-toned self-documentation and some trippy visuals ...
- 8/4/2011
- avclub.com
Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
The Change-Up - Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds, Olivia Wilde
Magic Trip - Stanley Tucci, Ken Kesey, Timothy Leary
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - James Franco, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto
Movie of the Week
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
The Stars: James Franco, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto
The Plot: An origin story set in present day San Francisco, where man’s own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.
The Buzz: I wish there were something better out this Friday, I wish Rise of the Planet of the Apes wasn’t my Movie of the Week. Consolation prize is: James Franco rules. Freida Pinto ain’t too bad either. I suppose this could make for a good popcorn-munching party, during an el cheapo matinee anyway.
Yeah, Rise of the Planet of the Apes...
The Change-Up - Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds, Olivia Wilde
Magic Trip - Stanley Tucci, Ken Kesey, Timothy Leary
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - James Franco, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto
Movie of the Week
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
The Stars: James Franco, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto
The Plot: An origin story set in present day San Francisco, where man’s own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.
The Buzz: I wish there were something better out this Friday, I wish Rise of the Planet of the Apes wasn’t my Movie of the Week. Consolation prize is: James Franco rules. Freida Pinto ain’t too bad either. I suppose this could make for a good popcorn-munching party, during an el cheapo matinee anyway.
Yeah, Rise of the Planet of the Apes...
- 8/3/2011
- by Aaron Ruffcorn
- The Scorecard Review
In 1964, "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" author Ken Kesey gathered a group of friends and artists, collectively known as "The Merry Band of Pranksters," they painted a school bus in all sorts of psychedelic patterns, dubbed it "Further," then hit the road for a cross-country trip to the World's Fair in New York. Along the way, they hooked up, took plenty of acid, freaked out, visited various celebrity friends and eventually got back to California where they set up a series of parties called the "Acid Trip" which helped to kick the drug-fueled "Flower Power" movement into overdrive. All of that is documented in Magic Trip , the new documentary from filmmaker Alex Gibney ( Taxi to the Dark Side ), this time co-directing with his...
- 8/3/2011
- Comingsoon.net
Best Picture
Frontrunners
“J. Edgar” (Warner Brothers, 11/11, ?, ?)
“War Horse” (Disney, 12/28, ?, teaser)
“The Ides of March” (Sony, 10/14, ?, trailer)
“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” (Paramount/Warner Brothers, 12/25, ?, ?)
“The Descendants” (Fox Searchlight, 11/23, R, trailer)
“Carnage” (Sony Pictures Classics, 11/18, ?, ?)
“Midnight in Paris” (Sony Pictures Classics, 5/20, PG-13, trailer)
“Like Crazy” (Paramount Vantage, 10/28, PG-13, trailer)
“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” (Focus Features, 11/18, ?, trailer)
“The Iron Lady” (The Weinstein Company, 12/6, ?, teaser)
Major Threats
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (Sony, 12/21, ?, trailer)
“Hugo” (Paramount, 11/23, ?, trailer)
“The Artist” (The Weinstein Company, 11/23, ?, trailer)
“We Bought a Zoo” (20th Century Fox, 12/23, ?, ?)
“A Dangerous Method” (Sony Pictures Classics, ?/?, ?, trailer)
“Moneyball” (Columbia, 9/23, ?, trailer)
“50/50” (Summit, 9/30, R, trailer)
“The Help” (Disney, 8/12, PG-13, trailer)
“Albert Nobbs” (Liddell Entertainment/Roadside Attractions, ?/?, ?, ?)
“The Way” (Icon Entertainment, 10/7, ?, ?)
“Contagion” (Warner Brothers, 9/9, ?, trailer)
“Coriolanus” (The Weinstein Company, 12/2, ?, ?)
“The Tree of Life” (Fox Searchlight, 5/27, PG-13, trailer)
Possibilities
“The Adventures of Tintin” (Paramount, 12/23, ?, trailer)
“Martha Marcy May Marlene” (Fox Searchlight, 10/7, ?, trailer)
“Take Shelter” (Sony Pictures Classics,...
Frontrunners
“J. Edgar” (Warner Brothers, 11/11, ?, ?)
“War Horse” (Disney, 12/28, ?, teaser)
“The Ides of March” (Sony, 10/14, ?, trailer)
“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” (Paramount/Warner Brothers, 12/25, ?, ?)
“The Descendants” (Fox Searchlight, 11/23, R, trailer)
“Carnage” (Sony Pictures Classics, 11/18, ?, ?)
“Midnight in Paris” (Sony Pictures Classics, 5/20, PG-13, trailer)
“Like Crazy” (Paramount Vantage, 10/28, PG-13, trailer)
“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” (Focus Features, 11/18, ?, trailer)
“The Iron Lady” (The Weinstein Company, 12/6, ?, teaser)
Major Threats
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (Sony, 12/21, ?, trailer)
“Hugo” (Paramount, 11/23, ?, trailer)
“The Artist” (The Weinstein Company, 11/23, ?, trailer)
“We Bought a Zoo” (20th Century Fox, 12/23, ?, ?)
“A Dangerous Method” (Sony Pictures Classics, ?/?, ?, trailer)
“Moneyball” (Columbia, 9/23, ?, trailer)
“50/50” (Summit, 9/30, R, trailer)
“The Help” (Disney, 8/12, PG-13, trailer)
“Albert Nobbs” (Liddell Entertainment/Roadside Attractions, ?/?, ?, ?)
“The Way” (Icon Entertainment, 10/7, ?, ?)
“Contagion” (Warner Brothers, 9/9, ?, trailer)
“Coriolanus” (The Weinstein Company, 12/2, ?, ?)
“The Tree of Life” (Fox Searchlight, 5/27, PG-13, trailer)
Possibilities
“The Adventures of Tintin” (Paramount, 12/23, ?, trailer)
“Martha Marcy May Marlene” (Fox Searchlight, 10/7, ?, trailer)
“Take Shelter” (Sony Pictures Classics,...
- 7/30/2011
- by Scott Feinberg
- Scott Feinberg
Ted Streshinsky/Corbis Ken Kesey, October 1966, San Francisco, Calif.
In 1964, author Ken Kesey and an entourage known as the Merry Pranksters lit out from La Honda, Calif., bound for New York, on what would become one of the longest, strangest trips of all time. Armed with 16mm video cameras, musical instruments and copious quantities of LSD, they traveled in a 1939 International Harvester school bus painted day-glow colors and driven by beat generation icon Neal Cassady.
Filmmakers Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood...
In 1964, author Ken Kesey and an entourage known as the Merry Pranksters lit out from La Honda, Calif., bound for New York, on what would become one of the longest, strangest trips of all time. Armed with 16mm video cameras, musical instruments and copious quantities of LSD, they traveled in a 1939 International Harvester school bus painted day-glow colors and driven by beat generation icon Neal Cassady.
Filmmakers Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood...
- 7/29/2011
- by Rachel Dodes
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Director Alex Gibney was joined by Julie Taymor last night in Manhattan for the premiere of his documentary "Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place" (co-directed by Alison Ellwood). In the documentary, Gibney and Ellwood gain unprecedented access to footage from Ken Kasey's (the famed author of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest") drug fueled 1964 road trip. The night's other guests included: Hannah Bronfman, Alice Callahan, Voula ...
- 7/27/2011
- Indiewire
Reviewed by Jay Antani
(June 2011)
Directed/Written by: Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood
Starring: Stanley Tucci, Ken Kesey, Neal Cassady, the Merry Band of Pranksters, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg
Using a colorful, freewheeling style, “Magic Trip” chronicles Ken Kesey’s famously rambunctious cross-country road trip in 1964. Dismayed by the conformism of suburban, capitalistic America and by the violence up-ending the nation’s cultural life (Vietnam, the Kennedy assassination, etc.), Kesey, the acclaimed novelist behind “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” and a crew of ragtag friends, including celebrated speed freak Neal Cassady, converted a ramshackle school bus into a multi-colored “Pleasure Palace” and took to the road. Their destination: the World’s Fair in New York City.
Equipped with 16mm cameras and sound equipment, the group — which dubbed itself the Merry Band of Pranksters — set out to make both a cinematic scrapbook of their journey and a freeform...
(June 2011)
Directed/Written by: Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood
Starring: Stanley Tucci, Ken Kesey, Neal Cassady, the Merry Band of Pranksters, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg
Using a colorful, freewheeling style, “Magic Trip” chronicles Ken Kesey’s famously rambunctious cross-country road trip in 1964. Dismayed by the conformism of suburban, capitalistic America and by the violence up-ending the nation’s cultural life (Vietnam, the Kennedy assassination, etc.), Kesey, the acclaimed novelist behind “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” and a crew of ragtag friends, including celebrated speed freak Neal Cassady, converted a ramshackle school bus into a multi-colored “Pleasure Palace” and took to the road. Their destination: the World’s Fair in New York City.
Equipped with 16mm cameras and sound equipment, the group — which dubbed itself the Merry Band of Pranksters — set out to make both a cinematic scrapbook of their journey and a freeform...
- 7/3/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Reviewed by Jay Antani
(June 2011)
Directed/Written by: Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood
Starring: Stanley Tucci, Ken Kesey, Neal Cassady, the Merry Band of Pranksters, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg
Using a colorful, freewheeling style, “Magic Trip” chronicles Ken Kesey’s famously rambunctious cross-country road trip in 1964. Dismayed by the conformism of suburban, capitalistic America and by the violence up-ending the nation’s cultural life (Vietnam, the Kennedy assassination, etc.), Kesey, the acclaimed novelist behind “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” and a crew of ragtag friends, including celebrated speed freak Neal Cassady, converted a ramshackle school bus into a multi-colored “Pleasure Palace” and took to the road. Their destination: the World’s Fair in New York City.
Equipped with 16mm cameras and sound equipment, the group — which dubbed itself the Merry Band of Pranksters — set out to make both a cinematic scrapbook of their journey and a freeform...
(June 2011)
Directed/Written by: Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood
Starring: Stanley Tucci, Ken Kesey, Neal Cassady, the Merry Band of Pranksters, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg
Using a colorful, freewheeling style, “Magic Trip” chronicles Ken Kesey’s famously rambunctious cross-country road trip in 1964. Dismayed by the conformism of suburban, capitalistic America and by the violence up-ending the nation’s cultural life (Vietnam, the Kennedy assassination, etc.), Kesey, the acclaimed novelist behind “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” and a crew of ragtag friends, including celebrated speed freak Neal Cassady, converted a ramshackle school bus into a multi-colored “Pleasure Palace” and took to the road. Their destination: the World’s Fair in New York City.
Equipped with 16mm cameras and sound equipment, the group — which dubbed itself the Merry Band of Pranksters — set out to make both a cinematic scrapbook of their journey and a freeform...
- 7/3/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
Since it’s Friday and we’re not expecting a rambunctious news wire, we’re happy to focus on other things that might be of interest to our astute readers. Such as Alex Gibney and Allison Ellwood’s Magic Trip, a documentary about One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest author Ken Kesey and his wondrous, drug-fueled trip in 1964. Check [...]...
- 7/1/2011
- by Neil Miller
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
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