Movies Like Big Sur

Miceniks

1961

Beatnik mice are chased by a square cat.

Beat Generation

2014

Tells the story of the wonderful and long-lasting friendship between Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs that gave birth to the Beat Generation movement.

Beat Angel

2004

Jack Kerouac returns to earth as an angel with the goal of changing the life of a struggling writer.

Jack Kerouac's Road: A Franco-American Odyssey

1987

Part documentary, part drama, this film presents the life and work of Jack Kerouac, an American writer with Québec roots who became one of the most important spokesmen for his generation. Intercut with archival footage, photographs and interviews, this film takes apart the heroic myth and even returns to the childhood of the author whose life and work contributed greatly to the cultural, sexual and social revolution of the 1960s.

Fried Shoes Cooked Diamonds

1979

After World War II a group of young writers, outsiders and friends who were disillusioned by the pursuit of the American dream met in New York City. Associated through mutual friendships, these cultural dissidents looked for new ways and means to express themselves. Soon their writings found an audience and the American media took notice, dubbing them the Beat Generation. Members of this group included writers Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg. a trinity that would ultimately influence the works of others during that era, including the "hippie" movement of the '60s. In this 55-minute video narrated by Allen Ginsberg, members of the Beat Generation (including the aforementioned Burroughs, Anne Waldman, Peter Orlovsky, Amiri Baraka, Diane Di Prima, and Timothy Leary) are reunited at Naropa University in Boulder, CO during the late 1970's to share their works and influence a new generation of young American bohemians.

The Unforgivable

2021

A woman is released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime and re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past.

Fernanda Pivano: A Farewell to Beat

2001

Witchcraft Through the Ages

1968

A seventy-six-minute version of Häxan, re-edited and re-released in the United States by Metro Pictures Corporation in 1968. It is narrated by author William S. Burroughs, with a jazz score and soundtrack featuring violinist Jean-Luc Ponty.

Bastard Out of Carolina

1996

A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.

The System

2022

When a young soldier, newly returned from war, gets caught up in a drug bust, he is recruited by the authorities to go undercover in a notoriously dangerous prison in order to figure out what is really going on.

Kill Your Darlings

2013

A murder in 1944 draws together the great poets of the beat generation: Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs.

Naked Lunch

1991

Blank-faced bug killer Bill Lee and his dead-eyed wife, Joan, like to get high on Bill's pest poisons while lounging with Beat poet pals. After meeting the devilish Dr. Benway, Bill gets a drug made from a centipede. Upon indulging, he accidentally kills Joan, takes orders from his typewriter-turned-cockroach, ends up in a constantly mutating Mediterranean city and learns that his hip friends have published his work -- which he doesn't remember writing.

Burroughs: The Movie

1984

An exploration of Burroughs’ life story, as told by Burroughs himself along with many of his contemporaries, including Allen Ginsberg, Brion Gysin, Francis Bacon, Herbert Huncke, Patti Smith, Terry Southern, and William Burroughs Jr.

One Mile: Chapter Two

2026

Former special forces operative Danny is forced back onto a remote island when a violent, secretive community takes revenge by abducting his daughter Alex, launching a relentless hunt against enemies prepared for his every move.

Kill 'em All 2

2024

Phillip and Suzanne are retired from the spy game, living peacefully off the grid. That's until their whereabouts are discovered by Vlad, the vengeful brother of their target from the first film.

El Chicano

2019

A pair of twin brothers from East L.A. choose to live their lives differently and end up on opposite sides of the law.

Hands of Stone

2016

The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.

Imperial Dreams

2014

A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.