| Heart Beat | |
|---|---|
Movie Poster |
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| Directed by | John Byrum |
| Produced by | Michael Shamberg Alan Greisman David Axelrod Edward R. Pressman |
| Written by | Screenplay: John Byrum Autobiography/source: Carolyn Cassady |
| Starring | Nick Nolte Sissy Spacek John Heard |
| Music by | Jack Nitzsche |
| Cinematography | László Kovács |
| Editing by | Eric Jenkins |
| Studio | Orion Pictures |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 25, 1980 (USA) |
| Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
Heart Beat is a 1980 film written and directed by John Byrum, based on the autobiography by Carolyn Cassady. The film is about seminal figures in the Beat Generation. The character of Ira, played by Ray Sharkey, is based on Allen Ginsberg.[1]
Contents |
The film explores the love triangle of real-life characters Neal Cassady, Jack Kerouac, and Carolyn Cassady in the late 1950's and the 1960's. It chronicles Jack Kerouac writing his seminal novel On the Road, and its effect on their lives.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Nick Nolte | Neal Cassady |
| Sissy Spacek | Carolyn Cassady |
| John Heard | Jack Kerouac |
| Ray Sharkey | Ira (based on Allen Ginsberg)[1] |
| Ann Dusenberry | Stevie |
| Margaret Fairchild | Mrs. Kerouac |
| John Larroquette | TV Talk Show Host |
| David Lynch | Painter |
| Tony Bill | Dick |
Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2½ out of 4 stars and praised certain aspects of the film:
| “ | [T]here were long stretches of Heart Beat during which I found myself wishing instead for a film version of On the Road... The movie's a triumph of art direction, all right; the locations, clothes, lighting, moods, music and whole tone of the performances are designed to lower a kind of nostalgic dropcloth over the story... This movie treats its events as so long ago, so finished and done with and bathed in a yellowing afterglow, that we don't sense the very passion and rebelliousness it's supposed to be about. What an irony for the first serious film about the Beats.[2] | ” |
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