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- DirectorGérard MordillatStarsSami FreyMarc BarbéJulie JézéquelMay, 1946, in Paris young poet Jacques Prevel meets Antonin Artaud, the actor, artist and writer just released from a mental asylum. Over ten months, we follow the mad Artaud from his cruel coaching of an actress in his "theatre of cruelty" to his semi-friendship with Prevel who buys him drugs and hangs on his every word. Meanwhile, Prevel divides his time between Jany, his blond, young, drug-hazed mistress and Rolande, his dark-haired, long-suffering wife, who has a child during this time. Cruelty, neglect, poverty, egoism, madness and the pursuit of art mix on the Left Bank.
- DirectorJan TroellStarsMax von SydowGhita NørbyAnette HoffNorwegian Nobel Laureate Knut Hamsun's controversial support for the Nazi regime during World War II and its consequences for the Hamsun family after the war.
- DirectorMichelangelo AntonioniStarsJeanne MoreauMarcello MastroianniMonica VittiA day in the life of an unfaithful married couple and their steadily deteriorating relationship.
- DirectorBent HamerStarsMatt DillonLili TaylorMarisa TomeiThis drama centers on Hank Chinaski, the fictional alter-ego of "Factotum" author Charles Bukowski, who wanders around Los Angeles, CA trying to live off jobs which don't interfere with his primary interest, which is writing. Along the way, he fends off the distractions offered by women, drinking and gambling.
- DirectorBarbet SchroederStarsMickey RourkeFaye DunawayAlice KrigeBased on the life of successful poet Charles Bukowski and his exploits in Hollywood during the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
- DirectorMarco FerreriStarsBen GazzaraOrnella MutiSusan TyrrellPoet/lecturer Charles Serking awakens from his alcoholic haze long enough to take a bus back to L.A. and plunge into an orgy of drink and sexual depravity.
- DirectorJulian SchnabelStarsJavier BardemJohnny DeppOlatz López GarmendiaThe life of Cuban poet and novelist, Reinaldo Arenas.
- DirectorGavin MillarStarsCoral BrowneIan HolmPeter GallagherIan Holm is children's author Lewis Carroll in this poignant fantasy-drama set in 1930s New York and populated by the fabulous special effects creatures of Muppet master Jim Henson.
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsKen OgataMasayuki ShionoyaHiroshi MikamiA fictionalized account in four chapters of the life of celebrated Japanese writer Yukio Mishima.
- DirectorPercy AdlonStarsEva MattesJürgen ArndtNorbert WarthaIn 1914, with men gone to war, Marcel Proust hired Céleste Albaret as his attendant. More than eight years later, she was at his side when he died. During this entire time, she only entered his room when he rang for her, sleeping from 9 AM to 3 PM to wait during the night while he wrote. Marcel uses her as more than a servant: she is his muse, telling stories of her childhood to stir his remembrance of things past; she's in cahoots with him as he manipulates those he wants to draw on for his writing; she listens appalled to his descriptions of the underside of Paris. Hers is a life of love and sweet devotion as he races time to finish his work before death.
- DirectorMark DonskoyStarsAleksei LyarskyVarvara MassalitinovaMikhail TroyanovskiyA drama reveals the great writer's inauspicious early years as an orphan raised by conniving relatives.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsPaul MuniGale SondergaardJoseph SchildkrautThe biopic of the famous French muckraking writer and his involvement in fighting the injustice of the Dreyfus Affair.
- DirectorRainer Werner FassbinderStarsKurt RaabMargit CarstensenHelen VitaA famous poet who hasn't written a word in two years unconsciously plagiarizes the work of Stefan George, while dealing with several mistresses, his dim-witted brother, and a murder investigation.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenJudy DavisJulia Louis-DreyfusSuffering from writer's block and eagerly awaiting his writing award, Harry Block remembers events from his past and scenes from his best-selling books as characters, real and fictional, come back to haunt him.
- DirectorHal HartleyStarsThomas Jay RyanJames UrbaniakParker PoseyAn introverted garbageman writes his thoughts in a notebook after Henry Fool, writer and ex-con, rents the basement and gives him a notebook and the idea. He writes poetry and Henry helps him along.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsMichael CaineChristopher ReeveDyan CannonA Broadway playwright puts murder in his plan to take credit for a student's play.
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsDonald SutherlandTina AumontCicely BrowneGiacomo Casanova uses his sexuality to find his place in life amid eccentric and strange characters.
- DirectorWalter SallesStarsGael García BernalRodrigo de la SernaMía MaestroErnesto Guevara de la Serna, popularly known as Che, along with his friend Alberto Granado, decides to take a road trip across South America. His experiences on the journey transform him.
- DirectorAbbas KiarostamiStarsJuliette BinocheWilliam ShimellJean-Claude CarrièreIn Tuscany to promote his latest book, a middle-aged British writer meets a French woman who leads him to the village of Lucignano. While there, a chance question reveals something deeper.
- DirectorAlain ResnaisStarsDirk BogardeEllen BurstynJohn GielgudA dying writer bases his last book on his own perception of his family.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsKerry FoxAlexia KeoghKaren FergussonJanet Frame was a brilliant child who, as a teen, was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia. Explore Janet's discovery of the world and her life in Europe as her books are published to acclaim.
- DirectorJoachim TrierStarsAnders Danielsen LieEspen Klouman HøinerViktoria WingeFueled by literary aspirations and youthful exuberance, two competitive friends endure the pangs of love, depression, and burgeoning careers.
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsBrigitte BardotJack PalanceMichel PiccoliA French writer's marriage deteriorates while working on Fritz Lang's version of "The Odyssey", as his wife accuses him of using her to court favor with the film's brash American producer.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsJohn TurturroJohn GoodmanJudy DavisA renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.
- DirectorHelena TrestíkováStarsRené PlásilHelena TrestíkováAn intimate portrait of a man on the edge of society, filmed over the course of twenty years.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsPeter WellerJudy DavisIan HolmAfter developing an addiction to the substance he uses to kill bugs, an exterminator accidentally kills his wife and becomes involved in a secret government plot being orchestrated by giant bugs in a port town in North Africa.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsJeremy IronsTheresa RussellJoel GreyKafka works during the day at an insurance company, where events lead him to discover a mysterious underground society with strange suppressive goals.
- DirectorAlan CroslandStarsJohn BarrymoreConrad VeidtMarceline DayFrançois Villon, in his lifetime the most renowned poet in France, is also a prankster, an occasional criminal, and an ardent patriot.
- DirectorSergei ParajanovStarsSofiko ChiaureliMelkon AlekyanVilen GalstyanThe life of the Armenian poet Sayat-Nova, from childhood to death: his spiritual journey, artistic endeavors, and inner conflicts within the cultural and historical context of Armenia. Hailed as revolutionary by Mikhail Vartanov.
- DirectorJoseph StrickStarsBosco HoganT.P. McKennaJohn GielgudStephen Dedalus is a young man growing up in Ireland in the early part of the twentieth century. His search for knowledge and understanding, and the decline of his family's circumstances, lead him to revelations on the nature of art and politics. His personal renaissance makes him feel unwelcome in his own country, and forces him to decide whether to leave and accept exile, or to stay and fight.
- DirectorJohn ByrumStarsNick NolteSissy SpacekJohn HeardThe life and friendship among the icons of the Beat Generation: Neal Cassady, Carolyn Cassady, and Jack Kerouac.
- DirectorAriane MnouchkineStarsPhilippe CaubèreMarie-Françoise AudollentFrédéric LadonneWho was Moliere? He is known everywhere as one of the world's greatest playwrights. But who was he? Born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin in 1622, the son of a prosperous tapestry maker. His mother died when he was a boy. Growing up in the teeming streets of 17th century Paris, Jean Baptiste received a good Jesuit education and was fascinated by the street fairs and traveling carnivals that flourished in spite of the religious repression and hypocrisy of those cruel times. As a young man he joined the theatrical Bejart family to establish the Illustre-Theatre, which soon went bankrupt. The troupe reformed, found patronage, and went on the road for thirteen years, performing all over France. Poquelin developed his stagecraft adapting Commedia dell Arte plots to please brutalized peasants and cynical townspeople. He also married Madeline Bejart, the widowed daughter of the troupe's founder. Later he entered into a love affair with Mme Bejart's daughter, to the dismay of all. The troupe eventually returned to Paris and, on October 24, 1658, greatly impressed the 20-year old King Louis XIV, later to be called the Sun King. Moliere's life became bound up with the magnificent court at Versailles, and with its intrigues. He wrote, staged and acted in the plays now famous all over the world. He fought with his enemies and his friends, enjoyed success followed by failure, organized court festivities and defended himself against increasingly fanatic religious authorities. Above all, his theater was taken from life as his life was theatrical.
- DirectorMichael PearceStarsFionnula FlanaganChris O'NeillJames E. O'GradyIn this tribute to James Joyce, Fionnula Flanagan gives a tour-de-force performance as a half-dozen or so women in Joyce's real and fictional worlds. When she portrays his wife Nora remembering their time together, Flanagan captures the era and the author in lyrical detail. As Sylvia Beach, the woman who first published Ulysses, new dimensions concerning the importance of Nora in Joyce's literary visions of women emerge, and when Flanagan interprets Joyce characters like Molly Bloom or a washerwoman from Finnegan's Wake, the beauty of Joyce's language shines through the melodious words.
- DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsFred WardUma ThurmanMaria de MedeirosAnaïs Nin meets American writer Henry Miller in Paris in 1931. She keeps a diary of her sexual awakening, which includes Henry and his wife June.
- DirectorMaría Luisa BembergStarsAssumpta SernaDominique SandaHéctor AlterioThis fact-based film examines the life of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (Assumpta Serna), a Roman Catholic nun from Mexico City who, in the midst of the Spanish Inquisition, established herself as an important New World philosopher, poet, playwright and early feminist. When Sor Juana comes under the scrutiny of a vicious archbishop (Lautaro Murúa) for her unconventional ways, she must appeal to a powerful political connection -- the Viceroy's scholarly wife.
- DirectorManoel de OliveiraStarsTeresa MadrugaMário BarrosoLuís Miguel CintraPortrait of the last days of the life of Portuguese writer Camilo Castelo Branco.
- DirectorPeter WatkinsStarsAnders MattssonLena SettervallRoland BorgströmA 274-minute documentary portrait of the life of playwright August Strindberg. The topic of the movie is inextricable from its method of production: for two years, beginning in 1992, Watkins created the film in a communal collaboration.
- DirectorJessica HausnerStarsChristian FriedelBirte SchnöinkStephan GrossmannBerlin, the Romantic Era. Young poet Heinrich wishes to conquer the inevitability of death through love, yet is unable to convince his skeptical cousin Marie to join him in a suicide pact. It is whilst coming to terms with this refusal, ineffably distressed by his cousin's insensitivity to the depth of his feelings, that Heinrich meets Henriette, the wife of a business acquaintance. Heinrich's subsequent offer to the beguiling young woman at first holds scant appeal, that is until Henriette discovers she is suffering from a terminal illness
- DirectorNelo RisiStarsTerence StampJean-Claude BrialyFlorinda BolkanAbout the last months Arthur Rimbaud spent in Africa before his untimely death (at only 37), trafficking in arms and maybe in slaves. Earlier moments of Rimbaud's life are explored with a frequent use of flashbacks.
- DirectorRon MannStarsHelen AdamMiguel AlgarínAmiri BarakaMore than 20 contemporary North American poets recite, sing, and perform their work. Several also comment. Early in the film, Charles Bukowski talks about the energy of poets and of a poem. These poets are energetic performers, and their poems are meant to be heard. These poets are the children of Walt Whitman and of Charles Olson, incantatory and oratorical, radical, sometimes incorporating contemporary political imagery. Black Mountain poets, the Beats, minimalists like John Cage, the wordless Four Horsemen, Tom Waits, and others capture aspects of poets as troubadours.
- DirectorCarlos SauraStarsGeraldine ChaplinFernando ReyIsabel MestresElisa has not seen her father Luis for nine years, but she receives a telegram from her sister Isabel in a moment of crisis of her marriage with Antonio telling that her father is ill and she decides to travel to the countryside of Madrid with Isabel and her brother-in-law Julián and their two children to visit Luis for his birthday. Elisa decides to stay with his father when her sister returns to Madrid with her family and she gets closer to Luis, understanding why he left her mother years ago. Later she tells him that Antonio cheated her with her best friend Sophie and their relationship has ended. When Antonio unexpectedly arrives in the house, Elisa takes a decision about her life.
- DirectorRalf SchmerbergStarsCarmen Simone BirkLars RudolphIsabel TuengerthalLove and passion, happiness and unhappiness - in short, the power of feelings, the human and the all-too-human summarized in a magical journey through the world of poetry and imagination.
- DirectorAlejandro JodorowskyStarsAdan JodorowskyBrontis JodorowskyLeandro TaubSurrealist filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky tells the story of himself as a young man becoming a poet in Chile, befriending other artists, and freeing himself from the limits of his youth.
- DirectorJean CocteauStarsEnrique RiveroElizabeth Lee MillerPauline CartonTold in four episodes - an unnamed artist is transported through a mirror into another dimension, where he travels through various bizarre scenarios.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsMoira ShearerRobert RounsevilleLudmilla TchérinaA melancholy poet reflects on three women he loved and lost in the past: a mechanical performing doll, a Venetian courtesan, and the consumptive daughter of a celebrated composer.
- DirectorDonatello DubiniFosco DubiniStarsJames BoneIrwin CoreyRichard LaneThis documentary tries to unravel the various mysteries around the identity, life and work of the reclusive author.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsWilliam HurtKathleen TurnerGeena DavisAn emotionally distant writer of travel guides must carry on with his life after his son is killed and his marriage crumbles.
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsTony MusanteSuzy KendallEnrico Maria SalernoAn American expatriate in Rome attempts to unmask a serial killer he witnessed in the act of an attempted murder - and is now hunting him and his girlfriend.
- DirectorAl PacinoStarsAl PacinoJerry OrbachSusan FloydHarry and Jake, two unsuccessful writers, spend a cathartic evening arguing about money, aesthetics, their friendship, and Harry's new manuscript.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeMadhavi MukherjeeShailen MukherjeeThe lonely wife of a newspaper editor falls in love with her visiting cousin-in-law, who shares her love for literature.
- DirectorXavier DolanStarsGaspard UllielMarion CotillardLéa SeydouxLouis (Gaspard Ulliel), a terminally ill writer, returns home after a long absence to tell his family that he is dying.
- DirectorSpike JonzeStarsJoaquin PhoenixAmy AdamsScarlett JohanssonIn a near future, a lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsJeroen KrabbéRenée SoutendijkThom HoffmanA man who has been having visions of an impending danger begins an affair with a woman who may lead him to his doom.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsOleg YankovskiyErland JosephsonDomiziana GiordanoA Russian poet and his interpreter travel to Italy researching the life of an 18th-century composer, and instead meet a ruminative madman who tells the poet how the world may be saved.
- DirectorHelma Sanders-BrahmsStarsNicolai AlbrechtJanina BergeDagmar BertramThe life of Jewish Expressionist poet and performance artist, Else Lasker-Schüler (1869-1945), told chronologically in vignettes given context by archival footage of turn-of-the-century Germany, World War I, and the ascent of the Third Reich. Her poetry often comprises the soundtrack. We see her in relation to men: her first husband, whom she leaves after her son is born; artists like Chagall and Franz Marc; an older muse and then a second husband; and, Gottfried Benn (1886 - 1956), physician and poet. Benn's life is also chronicled: homosexual encounters, his attraction to Else and the Berlin scene, and his politics. Her poems addressed to him define this cultural moment.
- DirectorLars MovinSteen Møller RasmussenStarsWilliam S. BurroughsAnn DouglasJohn GiornoA portrait of writer William Burroughs.
- DirectorYony LeyserStarsFred AldrichLaurie AndersonAmiri BarakaWilliam S. Burroughs: featuring never before seen footage as well as exclusive interviews with his closest friends and colleagues. Born the heir of the Burroughs' adding machine estate, he struggled throughout his life with addiction, control systems, and self. He was forced to deal with the tragedy of killing his wife and the repercussions of neglecting his son. His novel, Naked Lunch, was one of the last books to be banned by the U.S. government. Allen Ginsberg and Norman Mailer testified on behalf of the book. The courts eventually overturned their decision in 1966, ruling that the book had an important social value. It remains one of the most recognized literary works of the 20th century. William Burroughs was one of the first to cross the dangerous boundaries of queer and drug culture in the 1950s, and write about his experiences. Eventually he was hailed the godfather of the beat generation and influenced artists for generations to come. However, his friends were left wondering, did William ever find happiness? This extremely personal documentary breaks the surface of the troubled and brilliant world of one of the greatest authors of all time. "William S. Burroughs: A Man Within" is the first and only posthumous documentary about this legendary figure.
- DirectorFrank H. WoodwardStarsRobin Atkin DownesNeil GaimanPeter StraubA chronicle of the life, work and mind that created the Cthulhu mythos.
- DirectorEduardo Montes-BradleyStarsMartin CaparrosJorge Luis BorgesHoracio GonzálezA television program celebrating Jorge Luis Borge's 80th birthday serves Montes-Bradley to amplify the dialogue with others, including those who, like Mick Jagger, Héctor Babenco, Humberto Ecco, and Bernardo Bertolucci, has delved into Borges's imagination to create their masterpieces on the screen. Particularly relevant are here the interventions of Franco Lucentini and Martin Caparrós. The result is highly entertaining and thought-provoking, leaving the audience with a much deeper understanding of Jorge Luis Borges and the literature. Whether you're a passionate reader or an avid admirer of Borges, this early, and awarded documentary by Montes-Bradley, promises to be a captivating experience.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsHunter S. ThompsonJohnny DeppJoe CairoA portrait of the late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
- StarsCharles BukowskiBarbet SchroederLinda Lee BukowskiBarbet Schroeder interviews Bukowski.
- DirectorHoward BrooknerStarsWilliam S. BurroughsAllen GinsbergHerbert HunckeBurroughs: The Movie explores the life and times of controversial Naked Lunch author William S. Burroughs, with an intimacy never before seen and never repeated. The film charts the development of Burroughs' unique literary style and his wildly unconventional life, including his travels from the American Midwest to North Africa and several personal tragedies. Burroughs: The Movie is the first and only feature length documentary to be made with and about Burroughs. The film was directed by the late Howard Brookner. It was begun in 1978 as Brookner's senior thesis at NYU film school and then expanded into a feature which was completed 5 years later in 1983. Sound was recorded by Jim Jarmusch and the film was shot by Tom DiCillo, fellow NYU classmates and both very close friends of Brookner's.
- DirectorTaylor HackfordStarsCharles BukowskiLinda KingLiza WilliamsThe poet Charles Bukowski is filmed going to San Francisco to give a poetry reading.
- DirectorGustave ReiningerStarsGregory CorsoAllen GinsbergWilliam S. BurroughsFollowing Beat Poet Gregory Corso - literary compatriot of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs -- throughout Europe, discovering his past, and facing his death.
- DirectorJon MondayStarsCharles BukowskiThis film is a live reading by beat-era poet Charles Bukowski. His readings were legendary for their riotous interactions between him and the audience. This was his very last reading, even though he lived and wrote for another 14 years.
- DirectorHenry FerriniStarsAmmiel AlcalayWillie AlexanderAmiri BarakaExplores Charles Olson's amazing world, where the ordinary landscapes of our daily lives become extraordinary portals to timeless truths about the place we live.
- DirectorJon MondayStarsCharles BukowskiThis is the last poetry reading Charles Bukowski gave outside the US. It was video taped in 1979 by local promoter Dennis Del Torre.
- DirectorPeter WhiteheadStarsLawrence FerlinghettiMichael HorovitzGregory CorsoA short film documenting what was referred to as "The International Poetry Incarnation". It was billed as Great Britain's first full-scale "happening", with the world's leading Beat poets together under one roof at the Royal Albert Hall on June 11, 1965, for an evening of near-hallucinatory revelry. It came to be seen as one of the cultural high points of the Swinging Sixties.
- DirectorLee Chang-dongStarsYun Jeong-hieLee Da-witKim Hee-raA sixty-something woman, faced with the discovery of a heinous family crime and in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, finds strength and purpose when she enrolls in a poetry class.
- DirectorChris DurlacherStarsChris LanghamMichael Fenton StevensTom Goodman-HillDramatised biography of writer George Orwell.
- DirectorYilmaz ErdoganStarsKivanç TatlitugMert FiratBelçim BilginIn a small Turkish town, two young tuberculous poets try to survive while publishing their poems. As they both fall in love, their life would never be the same.
- DirectorMichael RadfordMassimo TroisiStarsMassimo TroisiPhilippe NoiretMaria Grazia CucinottaA simple Italian postman learns to love poetry while delivering mail to a famous poet, and then uses this to woo local beauty Beatrice.
- DirectorBahman GhobadiStarsBehrouz VossoughiMonica BellucciYilmaz ErdoganKurdish-Iranian poet Sahel has just been released from a thirty-year prison sentence in Iran. Now the one thing keeping him going is the thought of finding his wife, who thinks him dead for over twenty years.