Nova '78

Michael Sicinski

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Gabe Klinger

There was pressure to make this record of the "Lower East Side Woodstock" into a standard doc with the usual nostalgic interview devices -- thankfully, the filmmakers stuck to their guns and said we're gonna let the archive speak for itself, no effort to mask the hits and misses, ups and downs, backstage boredom...And we do get lots of boredom and misses -- like a half-formed Merce Cunningham/John Cage performance, or Frank Zappa in philistine mode saying he doesn't read books but orating the talking asshole bit from Naked Lunch to the audience in half-perfunctory manner...Funniest part is when we learn Keith Richards has canceled -- busted for heroin in Toronto, his handlers didn't want him associated with Burroughs -- and Patti Smith pulls a few bucks out of her pocket on stage, asking anyone if they want a refund (no one bites).The kids waiting for Richards had apparently booed Philip Glass and Brion Gysin -- we don't see much of the vitriol, just show-must-go-on murmurs from Smith and others... Glass is electric, so is Patti Smith blowing into a clarinet, so is Allen Ginsberg (only person who refers to Burroughs as "Bill")... It's a pleasure to be in their presence, even as no one really knows what's going on, and Burroughs alternates clear political discourse about John Briggs with more obscure space age pronouncements...The whole "happening" has a dated air but that's part of what's special about it... forcing it through when the culture was in flux, the next generation needing to be reminded about a transgressive figure like Burroughs in wake of Prop 6 and in contrast to rising blockbuster rock acts and '60s guys in business mode looking to clean their image and staying away from the day's issues.25-year-old Jim Jarmusch was a sound recordist on this, and Tom DiCillo was one of the camera operators... Touching to see creative friendships that were being tested here and would, 3 or 4 years later, result in a breakthrough like Stranger Than Paradise...

Allison M. 🌱3.0

Doc Fortnight 2026At MoMALots of unearthed footage that Aaron Brookner found and put together (with co-director Rodrigo Areias). Aaron is the nephew of Howard Brookner who did the William S. Burroughs documentary.In the film, there are lots of people you’ll recognize like Patti Smith, Frank Zappa, Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary, etc. However, Burroughs make a gun sign with his hand, which is disturbing considering what happened to his first wife (he killed her). If you like The Beat Generation, you’ll appreciate this. Only, please, I only have one wish and that is to never hear Allen Ginsberg sing again!Vegan alert:-A woman talks about a future with no animals -There is another disturbing statement regarding animals.