MovieChat Forums > Heart Beat (1980) Discussion > Pure Genius

Pure Genius

posted 21 years ago by kelvnel
12 replies | jump to latest

As previously mentioned there's been barely anything film-wise related to the 'Beat' generation in movie terms, considering Kerouac's influence at the time and afterwards. Only 'The Subterraneans', 'Heart Beat' and 'The Last Time I Committed Suicide' have been made about this era. Coppola's 'On The Road' will never see the light of day, unfortunately, like Catcher In The Rye.

To be honest, as a film, this won't mean a lot to joe public. But to a Kerouac/Cassady fan and fan of that era ( late 40s early 50s ) this is pure gold. The look of the film from Jack Fisk and Laszlo Kovacs is nothing short of breathtaking. Many scenes are just like Edward Hopper paintings. The costumes, sets, cars, furnishings, props, backgrounds etc are just amazing. You feel part of this world immediately.

As for the performances, well, Nick Nolte is pure genius in this role.( and better looking than the real Neal Cassady though, oddly, John Heard as Jack Kerouac is uglier than the real one! ) The real-life Cassady was all action and chat. Nolte captures his essence perfectly, unlike say a De Niro who never emotionally gets into a character ( trivia fact number 1. De Niro snr met Jack Kerouac ) Watching scenes of Nolte in jazz clubs or when he's talking and driving is just like viewing a documentary! As a teenager when I saw this in London I just was mesmerized and on VHS it still held up. On DVD it will be astonishing.

Sissy Spacek is wonderful as Carolyn. She is the ultimate movie actress by doing 'less'. Less is more. A Meryl Streep at this time would have been a disaster with her stagey mannerisms. All the support is spot-on particularly Sharkey's Ginsberg/Corso cameo.

[–] Kerouac-style 18 years ago

Great post. I too love this film and pretty much anything related to the Beats!

Wish there was more work on the subject!

[–] Imaginary-friend 18 years ago

i'm a huge beat fan too. never knew about this little curio. i'm interested all the way to see it. hooooweee...

'with the ability to be able to do anything that he wants to do and findin' nothin'.' rumble fish

[–] Oliver-50 18 years ago

Just stumbled upon this film after looking up 'Who'll Stop the Rain' a film that I've always loved because of Nolte's performance. I have to check this one out!

The Friends of Eddie Coyle needs to be released on DVD!

[–] Kerouac-style 18 years ago

Good lord! I can't believe there were posts after mine on this. The post before mine was done in 2003.

I love "Who'll Stop The Rain" I just saw that film a month or so ago.

[–] fergusg 18 years ago

Hiya Kelvnel,

Totally and utterly agree with your point about this being a genius film.

For me (I just watched a taping of it from telly in Ireland) it is precisely what film making should be all about.

I am not from that era..and I was only mildly familiar with Kerouacs work...but I was completely blown away by the whole film. The Cinematography, script and acting is top notch.

Admittedly, when I set the VCR timer it was because I spotted Jack Kerouacs name being mentioned in the newspaper tv listings, so I was expecting a biopic of sorts. You know, a bit like when you make a mental note to read something or go see something when you hear about it...but never get around to it. So I was expecting the standard stuff..

Talk about throwing out the map. I was blown away. Completely.

cheers

Fergus

[–] kelvnel 17 years ago

Hi to all again.
Thanks for comments but I only speak the truth! I've only ever seen this film once on Film 4 when Film 4 first started in Britain.
We may have to wait for it on Blu-Ray, which will be stunning.
I've always been a Nolte fan since this and he used the Beat theme in many of his charcters: Ray Hicks in Who'll Stop The Rain, in Down and Out In Beverly Hills even a bit of North Dallas Forty.

As they are still preparing 'On The Road' it would be great to have Nolte and Spacek in cameos in the film. Coppola announced filming for On The Raod back in the eighties and seems to announce it every decade.

Anyway if I knew of a way to badger a studio to release a film, I would, for this.

[–] neil57 16 years ago

I actually saw this film when it was first released in the US back in 1980. With a few exceptions, the critics were not enthusiastic and it did poorly at the box office. So there hasn't been a big demand for it on DVD (except by folks like us).

If Warner retained the video rights to this film after Orion went out of business, there is a chance that we may see an eventual DVD. If it didn't, I have a feeling that a US DVD release is unlikely.

[–] rdsla 16 years ago

I just came to this board after remembering how much I liked seeing this film years ago on VHS. Wish it were on DVD!! How can the industry neglect good films like this which deserve to be seen, while turning out so much crap???

[–] htwhyppe 15 years ago

rdsla -- Amen to that.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] WarpedRecord 12 years ago

Very good assessment of the strengths of this film. Unfortunately, I found the "look" and "feel" of this film a lot stronger than the narrative. Great performances, but this feels a bit like a soap opera. 7/10 stars from me.

[–] Jones70 (6195) 2 years ago

I’ll have to watch this sometime.