In 1964, ken kesey, the famed author of one flew over the cuckoos nest, set off on a legendary crosscountry road trip to the new york worlds fair. Carolyn garcia, aka mountain girl, the prankster who would later marry jerry garcia of the rock band the grateful dead, says kesey felt that a film. Listenmovie revisits ken keseys trip to see america. In june 1964, an exotically painted 1939 harvester school bus. Due to the chaos of the trip and editing difficulties, the footage of their journey was not released as a movie until the 2011 documentary film magic tripalthough the bus featured prominently in tom wolfes 1968 book the electric koolaid acid test. Ken kesey biography life, family, childhood, children. Two more good books about kesey and the pranksters. Ken kesey and the merry pranksters lived communally at kesey s homes in california and oregon, and are noted for the sociological significance of a lengthy road trip they took in the summer of 1964, traveling across the united states in a psychedelic painted school bus called furthur, organizing parties and giving out lsd. Ken kesey s search for a kool place is a fascinating documentary about the birth of the 1960s hippie movement. This pre beatles magical mystery tour shows ken kesey paving the way with his merry pranksters by starting out in 1964 on a real psychedelic trip in a painted bus. Ken kesey, flush from the success of his novel one flew over the cuckoos nest, organised the trip miss ellwood said. Flush with funds from the success of his debut novel one flew over the cuckoos nest, ken kesey, then 29, drew up plans in 1963 to drive a bus across the us to the worlds fair in new york. Ken kesey, lsd, the merry pranksters and the birth of psychedelia. Ken keseys psychedelic bus gears up for 50th anniversary.
In 1964, ken kesey, the famed author of one flew over the cuckoos. True story behind magic bus trip that launched the hippy. In the summer of 1964, ken kesey and some friends boarded a 1939 international harvester school bus named furthur or further the. It shows original color footage of counterculture icon ken kesey and his band of friends and followers, aka the merry pranksters, the key people who started the hippie movement in the 1960s. Magic trip tells ken kesey story from the inside the. The harsh reality behind the merry pranksters magic trip. When ken kesey was kicked loose after spending the 1967 summer of love in. The merry pranksters helped show the way to what the beatles discovered many years later. More than a footnote but less than a chapter in american cultural history, the voyage taken by a psychedelic dayglopainted schoolbus filled with kesey s merry prankster pals and driven by beat generation egoideal neal cassady was part madcap social experiment and.
The hyperkinetic cassady is frequently seen driving the bus, jabbering, and sitting next to a sign that boasts, neal gets things done. These two books are both about the great bus trip of 1964. Ken keseys search for a kool place alex gibney and alison ellwoods road, lsd, counterculture documentary magic trip is a film that is hard to wrap my head around. Ken kesey on misconceptions of counterculture the new documentary magic trip follows the late ken kesey and the merry band of pranksters as they crisscrossed across the united states during the. Revelatory, recently discovered home movie footage of a 1964 crosscountry bus trip undertaken by author ken kesey and his merry band of pranksters provide a vivid portrait of the journey. In 1964, author ken kesey and the merry pranksters set off on a road trip in a modified school bus they dubbed furthur and laid the foundation for the counterculture, the summer of love, and the woodstock phenomenon. Now, half a century later, ken kesey s psychedelic bus, with its quixotic name furthur, has been rescued from an oregon swamp and is on its way to restoration, minus the lsd that fueled its. Ken kesey moves in magic trip movie by levi asher on september 15, 2011 in film literature recent posts magic trip, a new film by alex gibney and alison ellwood, tells the story of novelist ken kesey s 1964 road trip across america in a painted bus with a troupe of fanciful hippies and legendary beatnik neal cassady at the wheel.
Ken keseys son enlists kickstarter to recreate merry. They travel in furthur, a former school bus that also serves as stage, canvas, and camp. On the way back, i was driving across country in a big old nice station wagon with a couple of my buddies, nibbling on cactus. Magic trip reconstructs footage from ken keseys bus. On the road, and the driver and painter of the psychedelic magic bus. Ken babbs, a kesey crony and merry prankster, turns. This book probably gives the best coverage of ken kesey and the pranksters from the perry lane days to the acid test graduation. Magic trip is a 2011 documentary film directed by alison ellwood and alex gibney, about ken kesey, neal cassady, and the merry pranksters.
In 1963, author ken kesey came up with the idea of leading a crosscountry bus trip from california to new york. Ken kesey, years later, wrote a fictional account of cassadys death, called the day after superman died. The complete gude to the legendary trip of ken kesey and the merry pranksters and the birth of the counterculture, thunders mouth press, 1990. Ken kesey emerges as the films hero he is presented as a great american adventurer, the psychological equivalent of lewis and clark. This 1934 international harvester school bus, named further. Ken kesey merry pranksters collection, bulk 19641969. A freewheeling portrait of ken kesey and the merry pranksters fabled road trip across. As we were driving along, kennedy began to be killed. The documentary uses the 16 mm color footage shot by kesey and the merry pranksters during their 1964 crosscountry bus trip in. Ken kesey moves in magic trip movie cultural weekly.
Ken keseys search for a kool place, a film by alex gibney and alison ellwood, reconstructs footage of keseys 1964 crosscountry bus trip. Ken keseys infamous lsdfueled bus expedition of 1964 is faithfully reconstructed by alex gibney and alison ellwood, using archival footage. The film uses formerly unseen footage that was found. In 1964 ken kesey and the merry band of pranksters take a drugfueled road trip to new york. Ken kesey was the author of one flew over the cuckoos nest, a writer of some reknown. Ken kesey s son enlists kickstarter to recreate merry pranksters bus ride. A portrait of author ken kesey s freewheeling road trip across america with his merry pranksters, immortalized in jack kerouacs on the road. So much has been written about the sixties, sometimes its hard to tell myth from reality. With stanley tucci, ken kesey, timothy leary, jim meskimen. Watch magic trip 2011 full movie free online streaming. Bill van niekerken is the library director of the san francisco. Ken keseys furthur bus on new trip to restoration sfgate.
Furthur is a 1939 international harvester school bus purchased by author ken kesey in 1964 to carry his merry band of pranksters crosscountry, filming their counterculture adventures as they went. The documentary uses the 16 mm color footage shot by kesey and the merry pranksters during their 1964 crosscountry bus trip in the further bus. He was joined by the merry band of pranksters, including neal cassady, the american icon immortalized in kerouacs on the road. Listen as he talks about how the merry pranksters came back from their famous 1964 trip on the psychedelic bus furthur and showed the movies they shot to ken kesey. Though there is a bravura sequence which, using powerful imagery and nifty animation, which illustrates ken kesey s first trip through the lsd funhouse while a.
In magic trip, cassady stays a kind of beautiful enigma, whom we cant get enough of, even though we hear his voice all the way to new york. It was a way to get on the bus and stay on the bus. The subject of magic trip is the lsdpowered, crosscountry road movie orchestrated by novelist ken kesey in the summer of 64. With money from the play, kesey bought a 1939 bus, painted it in swirls of pink, green, and lavender, packed up his wife and three children, and headed cross. Kesey is on kickstarter raising money for a 50th anniversary commemoratioin of the 1964 bus trip across america by his father, the late author ken kesey, and his friends, the merry pranksters. Long before peter fonda and dennis hopper headed off on their motorbikes to find america in the ground breaking cult classic easy rider, author ken kesey one flew over the cuckoos nest, etc and a group of friends set out on their own epic journey across america in a psychedelic coloured school bus. In 63, he and a few friends were visiting new york city and witnessed the preparations for the following years worlds fair.
Kesey, who lived in oregon, determined on the spot that hed grab some people and make a trip across america to the fair. Magic trip uses film footage shot on kesey s famous 1964 crosscountry bus trip as the centerpiece of a story about the birth of the 60s. The only downside i can come up with as far as magic trip is concerned is that one viewing is not going to be enough. Magic trip official movie site starring ken kesey, neal cassady. How ken keseys lsdfuelled bus trip created the psychedelic 60s. Ken kesey, neal cassidy and the grateful dead star in this rollicking film about the merry pranksters, created from neverbeforeseen footage. Ken kesey s search for a kool place trailer, a freewheeling portrait of ken kesey and the merry pranksters fabled road trip across america. Because the pranksters were too careless to synch the images with the sound, many of the movie.
In a 1939 bus painted in psychedelic colors and steered by jack kerouacs fabled companion, neal cassady 19261968, kesey and the pranksters set out on the ultimate road trip. This is the real event of the electric cool aid acid test. Magic trip reconstructs footage from ken keseys bus trip the. New york its appropriate that the grateful dead song truckin is heard over the end credits of magic trip, about the 1964 crosscountry bus trip. Ken kesey s psychedelic bus is rusting and faded, the starburst swirls and explosions painted along its. Such is the case with the story of ken kesey and the merry band of pranksters.
The harsh reality behind the merry pranksters magic trip mpr news. How ken kesey, merry pranksters, and lsd invented the 60s. Kesey and the pranksters intended to make a documentary about their trip, shooting footage on 16mm, but the film was never finished and the footage has remained virtually unseen. Magic trip is a documentary that was directed by alex gibney and alison ellwood, produced by alex gibney and gareth wiley, the film features ken kesey, neal cassady, the grateful dead, jack kerouac, allen ginsberg and the merry band of pranksters.
As documented in tom wolfes electric koolaid acid test, kesey and his crew experimented with lsd all over the country and thumbed their noses at convention. Ken kesey s search for a kool place 2011 alex gibney, alison ellwood on allmovie time rarely does history any favors, and pop. In 1964 they took a storied bus trip from california to new york and back. Magic trip official trailer ken kesey documentary youtube. Along with his friends, kesey outfitted a school bus for the journey, adding a. Everywhere you went, you looked in peoples eyes and they all felt the same thing.
674 162 820 1498 408 702 180 428 1385 629 1304 148 386 873 1359 107 825 699 724 1228 430 107 1604 1383 356 1100 1453 1205 742 1374 1059 368 293 1293 1364 533 287 347