(Drama) [DVD]Starring James Franco in a career-defining performance as Allen Ginsberg, “Howl” is the story of how the young poet’s seminal work broke down societal barriers in the face of an infamous public obscenity trial. In his famously confessional style, Ginsberg — poet, counter-culture icon, and chronicler of the Beat Generation — recounts the road trips, love affairs, and search for personal liberation that led to “Howl,” the most timeless work of his career. HOWL interweaves three stories: the unfolding of the landmark 1957 obscenity trial; an imaginative animated ride through the prophetic masterpiece; and a unique portrait of a man who found new ways to express himself, and in doing so, changed his own life and galvanized a generation. A drama centered on the obscenity trial Allen Ginsberg faced after the publication of his poem, Howl.It’s San Francisco in 1957, and an American masterpiece is put on trial. Howl, the film, recounts this dark moment using three interwoven threads: the tumultuous life events that led a young Allen Ginsberg to find his true voice as an artist, society’s reaction (the obscenity trial), and mind-expanding animation that echoes the startling originality of the poem itself. All three coalesce in a genre-bending hybrid that brilliantly captures a pivotal moment-the birth of a counterculture.

Watch : DVD