Jonas Mekas
Scenes from Allen's Last Three Days on Earth as a Spirit
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Add rightsFormat DVD Interzone
Original format HD
Year 1987-1997
Language(s) English
Artist(s) Jonas Mekas
Author(s) Jean-Jacques Lebel
Subtitles French, German, Lithuanian
Booklet 16 pages (French, English)
Running time 71 min
Films
SCENES FROM ALLEN'S LAST THREE DAYS ON EARTH AS A SPIRIT (1997) 67'
ALLEN GINSBERG READS (1987) 1'
ALLEN GINSBERG SINGS BLUES (1990) 3'
Description
"The previously unseen film that Jonas shares with us today was shot in 1997 in New York during the three days following Ginsberg's death, in the new loft where he had recently moved, in the very place where he passed away. An ultimate encounter, both disrupted and deeply moving, between these two great unconventional spirits, extraordinary in every way, each of whom forged a unique destiny for himself."
— Jean-Jacques Lebel
"This is a video recording of the Buddhist ceremony of the wake that took place in Allen Ginsberg's apartment. We see Allen, now asleep forever, his close friends and the Buddhist monks conducting the ceremony, preparing Allen for his journey into the spirit world. We also see Allen wrapped and carried from the apartment to the Buddhist temple. I speak with Peter Orlovsky about Allen's last days. Later, I film the final farewells at the Buddhist temple, 118 West 22nd Street, in New York, and many of Allen's friends..."
— Jonas Mekas