IMDb > Beat (2000)
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Beat (2000) -- The story of writer William Seward Burroughs and his wife.
Beat (2000) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)
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Overview

User Rating:
5.3/10   715 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 3% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Gary Walkow
Writer:
Gary Walkow (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Beat on IMDbPro.
Genre:
Drama more
Tagline:
Sex and Drugs before Rock and Roll
Plot:
The story of writer William Seward Burroughs and his wife. | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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Awards:
1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Could Taylor Momsen Beat Courtney Love In A Fight? The Oh Snap! Poll
 (From MTV Newsroom. 30 July 2009, 12:04 PM, PDT)
Blu-Ray Round Up, Feb. 8, 2009: ‘Little Miss Sunshine,’ ‘Office Space,’ ‘Sideways,’ ‘Napoleon Dynamite’
 (From HollywoodChicago.com. 8 February 2009, 2:19 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Dull Fingers Talk! more (30 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Courtney Love ... Joan Vollmer Burroughs

Kiefer Sutherland ... William S. Burroughs
Lisa Sheridan ... Sadie
Patricia Llaca ... Mary (as Patricia De Llaca)
Steve Hedden ... Pharmacist

Ron Livingston ... Allen Ginsberg

Norman Reedus ... Lucien Carr
Daniel Martínez ... Jack Kerouac
Kyle Secor ... Dave Kammerer
Pedro Gonzalez ... Knife Sharpener
Georgiana Sîrbu ... Julie
Rene Rubio ... Bill Jr.

Sam Trammell ... Lee
Alec Von Bargen ... Heard

Tommy Perna ... Dwight
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for language and elements of sex, drugs and violence.
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
93 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Certification:
Australia:M | USA:R | Iceland:12
Filming Locations:
Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico more
Company:
Background Productions more

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Lucien Carr: Scratch a bohemian and you get a boy scout, not that I'm a bohemian... or a boy scout, but... more
Movie Connections:
Version of Naked Lunch (1991) more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
11 out of 14 people found the following comment useful.
Dull Fingers Talk!, 20 July 2001
Author: INFOFREAKO from Perth, Australia

Look I think William Burroughs was one of the most important figures in not only post-War literature, but in pop culture generally. His work and ideas, and those of the other Beats, have had enormous repercussions on all kinds of arts, and have directly or indirectly affected many of our lives whether we know it or not. Burroughs life was almost as fascinating as his work, but you wouldn't know it from watching 'Beat', as it manages to condense some fascinatingly uncliched relationships into a soap-like love triangle.

I was suprised at the casting of Kiefer Sutherland at first. He isn't an obvious choice to play Burroughs, but he tries hard to humanise him. Unfortunately the thin script doesn't give him much to go on. Likewise Ron Livingston (best known for 'Office Space') does fairly well as Allen Ginsberg, but the script doesn't convince with it's simplistic, almost stereotypical drawing of a complex figure. Lastly, Courtney Love is fine as Burroughs second wife Joan Vollmer, but once again the writing simplifies a multi-layered person into an easy to grasp "character".

It speaks volumes that Cronenberg's surreal 'Naked Lunch' manages to give a much richer and more convincing depiction of these tragic events than the more "realistic" 'Beat'. Perhaps the only way to really deal with the Beats on screen is to aim closer to the approach of their own poetry and prose. The definitive movie portrayal of Burroughs, Ginsberg and co has yet to made. I hope one does eventuate as it's a story that NEEDS to be told!

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scratch a bohemian and you get a boy scout danelle_cran2000
Great movie! brianhasbigears
One of my favorites! gdzac
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