Hacker Cinema
Timothy Leary's Dead
1996 · Film · documentary · 80 min
Directed by Paul Davids
Journalizing his final year before dying of cancer in May 1996, this documentary takes a sentimental walk down memory-lane to honor a man whose place in history is surely guaranteed. Probably best known for his oft-quoted (and misunderstood) 1960s phrase wherein Dr.Leary encouraged everyone to "turn on, tune in and drop out", the filmmakers sought to capture the real man behind the legend; vox-pops with friends, colleges and family pepper the storyline that made-up the multi-faceted man who was author, psychologist, teacher, guru, fugitive-from-justice and dignified humorist. We see him in his experimental 1960s, the hippie 70s, his thoughtful 80s and the futuristic 90s. Overall a very satisfying documentary about this extraordinary man. Ever the Professor, we see his musings on life & death and, after succumbing to the inevitable, we witness the (somewhat macabre) after-death cryogenic storage of his severed head for his optimistic, future generations to do with what they may.
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1 comment on Hacker News
Nice. Two really interesting people. A new friend of mine directed the movie "Timothy Leary's Dead", which coincidentally I bought this morning before I saw this HN link. My Dad's girlfriend also knew Leary and I plan on watching this movie with her and my Dad.
Also, I had forgotten about Mondo 2000 - nice blast from the past.
Also part 2: Gibson, if you ignore a few classic writers like James Joyce, is my favorite author. I may be really wrong, but I expect that the social structures in his cyber punk books (like the Sprawl, Corporate Ecologies, etc.) may actually be our future.