Me and My Brother (film)

Last updated
Me and My Brother
Directed by Robert Frank
Written by
Produced byHelen Silverstein
Starring
Cinematography Robert Frank
Edited by
  • Bob Easton
  • Helen Silverstein
Release date
  • February 2, 1969 (1969-02-02)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Me and My Brother is a 1969 independent film directed by Robert Frank. [1] The film stars Julius Orlovsky, Peter Orlovsky, John Coe, Seth Allen and Christopher Walken in his feature film debut. It is Sam Shepard's film debut. The film tells the story of Peter and Julius Orlovsky.

Contents

Plot

The "Me" and "My Brother" of the title are interchangeably Peter Orlovsky (a poet, and protégé and long-term lover of Allen Ginsberg), and his schizophrenic brother Julius. Peter arranges for Julius' release from Bellevue Hospital and proceeds to drag him all over the Beat landscape with a film crew in tow.

Robert Frank does yeoman work following the manic Peter and catatonic Julius from one situation to another until Julius wanders off camera and out of the picture. At this point Joseph Chaikin takes Julius' place and fills in for a time. The overall effect is fascinating, and the film has a great deal to say about what we consider normal and acceptable behaviour vs. what we consider "mad" behaviour. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Groucho Marx</span> American comedian (1890–1977)

Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer who performed in films and vaudeville on television, radio, and the stage. He was a master of quick wit and is considered one of America's greatest comedians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Hackman</span> American actor (born 1930)

Eugene Allen Hackman is an American retired actor. In a career that spanned more than six decades, he received two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globes, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and the Silver Bear. Hackman's two Academy Award wins included one for Best Actor for his role as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in William Friedkin's acclaimed thriller The French Connection (1971) and the other for Best Supporting Actor for his role as "Little" Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood's Western film Unforgiven (1992). His other Oscar-nominated roles were in Bonnie and Clyde (1967), I Never Sang for My Father (1970), and Mississippi Burning (1988).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marx Brothers</span> American comedy troupe (1905–1949)

The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' fourteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) as among the top 100 comedy films, with two of them, Duck Soup (1933) and A Night at the Opera (1935), in the top fifteen. They are widely considered by critics, scholars and fans to be among the greatest and most influential comedians of the 20th century. The brothers were included in AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars list of the 25 greatest male stars of Classical Hollywood cinema, the only performers to be included collectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woody Allen</span> American filmmaker, actor, and comedian (born 1935)

Heywood Allen is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many accolades, including the most nominations (16) for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He has won four Academy Awards, ten BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Grammy Award, as well as nominations for a Emmy Award and a Tony Award. Allen was awarded an Honorary Golden Lion in 1995, the BAFTA Fellowship in 1997, an Honorary Palme d'Or in 2002, and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2014. Two of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

<i>Julius Caesar</i> (play) Play by William Shakespeare

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (First Folio title: The Tragedie of Ivlivs Cæsar), often abbreviated as Julius Caesar, is a history play and tragedy by William Shakespeare first performed in 1599.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liza Minnelli</span> American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1946)

Liza May Minnelli is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades, and is one of the few performers awarded a non-competitive EGOT. Minnelli is a Knight of the French Legion of Honour and subject of the 2024 documentary, Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story.

Pull My Daisy is a 1959 American short film directed by Robert Frank and Alfred Leslie, and adapted by Jack Kerouac from the third act of his play, Beat Generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Allen</span> American comedian (1894–1956)

John Florence Sullivan, known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist topically-pointed radio program The Fred Allen Show (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the Golden Age of American radio.

<i>Cucumber Castle</i> 1970 studio album by the Bee Gees

Cucumber Castle is the seventh studio album by the Bee Gees, released in April 1970. It was produced by Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, and Robert Stigwood. It consists of songs from their television special of the same name, which was named after a song on their 1967 album Bee Gees' 1st. Cucumber Castle is the only Bee Gees album not to feature any recorded contributions from Robin Gibb, as he had left the group before the album was recorded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Writers Guild of America Awards</span> Award for film, television, radio and video game writing

The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Forster</span> American actor (1941–2019)

Robert Wallace Foster Jr., known professionally as Robert Forster, was an American actor. He made his screen debut as Private L.G. Williams in John Huston's Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), followed by a starring role as news reporter John Casellis in the landmark New Hollywood film Medium Cool (1969). For his portrayal of bail bondsman Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown (1997), he was nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy Dennis</span> American actress (1937–1992)

Sandra Dale Dennis was an American actress. She made her film debut in the drama Splendor in the Grass (1961). For her performance in the comedy-drama film Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Townsend</span> Irish actor

Stuart Townsend is an Irish actor. He portrayed Lestat de Lioncourt in the film adaptation of Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned (2002), and Dorian Gray in Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003). In 2007, he directed the film Battle in Seattle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Balaban</span> American actor (born 1945)

Robert Elmer Balaban is an American actor, director, producer and writer. Aside from his acting career, Balaban has directed three feature films, in addition to numerous television episodes and films, and was one of the producers nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for Gosford Park (2001), in which he also appeared. He is also an author of children's novels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Orlovsky</span> American poet and actor (1933–2010)

Peter Anton Orlovsky was an American poet and actor. He was the long-time partner of Allen Ginsberg.

John Cohen was an American musician, photographer and film maker who performed and documented the traditional music of the rural South and played a major role in the American folk music revival. In the 1950s and 60s, Cohen was a founding member of the New Lost City Ramblers, a New York–based string band. Cohen made several expeditions to Peru to film and record the traditional culture of the Q'ero, an indigenous people. Cohen was also a professor of visual arts at SUNY Purchase College for 25 years.

<i>She Shot Me Down</i> 1981 studio album by Frank Sinatra

She Shot Me Down is a 1981 album by American singer Frank Sinatra.

<i>Beat Generation</i> (play) 1958 play written by Jack Kerouac

Beat Generation is a play written by Jack Kerouac upon returning home to Florida after his seminal work On the Road had been published in 1957. Gerald Nicosia, a Kerouac biographer and family friend has said that theatre producer Leo Gavin suggested that Kerouac should write a play; the outcome being Beat Generation.

<i>Wolfshead: The Legend of Robin Hood</i> 1973 British film

Wolfshead: The Legend of Robin Hood is an adventure film directed by John Hough and starring David Warbeck, Ciaran Madden, Kathleen Byron, David Butler and Kenneth Gilbert. The film was the debut movie of actor David Warbeck as Robin Hood. The film was originally a 1969 television series pilot but was released in movie theatres in 1973, as a support feature to the musical Take Me High. The film was also released on VHS under the title The Legend of Young Robin Hood.

<i>Songs of Innocence and Experience</i> (Allen Ginsberg album) 1970 studio album by Allen Ginsberg

Songs of Innocence and Experience is an album by American beat poet and writer Allen Ginsberg, recorded in 1969. For the recording, Ginsberg sang pieces from 18th-century English poet William Blake's illustrated poetry collection of the same name and set them to a folk-based instrumental idiom, featuring simple melodies and accompaniment performed with a host of jazz musicians. Among the album's contributors were trumpeter Don Cherry, arranger/pianist Bob Dorough, multi-instrumentalist Jon Sholle, drummer Elvin Jones, and Peter Orlovsky – Ginsberg's life-partner and fellow poet – who contributed vocals and helped produce the recording with British underground writer Barry Miles.

References

  1. Weiler, A.H. (1969-02-03). "Movie Review Screen: 'Me and My Brother' Opens: Film by Robert Frank". NY Times News. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  2. "Robert Frank Retrospective: Me and My Brother". SFMOMA. Retrieved 2018-01-04.