Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1980


Heart Beat (film)

Buy Heart Beat (film) now from Amazon

First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.

Wikipedia article




'Heart Beat' is a 1980 American romantic drama film written and directed by John Byrum, based on the autobiography by Carolyn Cassady. The film is about seminal figures in the Beat Generation. The character of Ira, played by Ray Sharkey, is based on Allen Ginsberg. The film stars Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, and John Heard.

The movie received generally mixed reviews, although the soundtrack was met with critical acclaim. According to Box Office Mojo, its worldwide gross receipts were $954,046, making the movie a box office disappointment.

Plot



The film explores the love triangle of real-life characters Neal Cassady, Jack Kerouac, and Carolyn Cassady in the late 1950s and the 1960s. It chronicles Kerouac writing his seminal novel 'On the Road', and its effect on their lives.

Cast



* Nick Nolte as Neal Cassady

* Sissy Spacek as Carolyn Cassady

* John Heard as Jack Kerouac

* Ray Sharkey as Ira (based on Allen Ginsberg)

* Ann Dusenberry as Stevie

* Margaret Fairchild as Mrs. Kerouac

* John Larroquette as TV Talk Show Host

* David Lynch as Painter

* Tony Bill as Dick

* Don Brodie as Dispatcher

Production



It was one of the first movies from the newly formed Orion Productions.Orion: A Humanistic Production

Kilday, Gregg. Los Angeles Times 5 Jan 1979: f13.


Critical reception



Roger Ebert of 'The Chicago Sun-Times' gave the film 2 out of 4 stars and praised certain aspects of the film:

Musical score and soundtrack



The score was composed by Jack Nitzsche, and included the song "I Love Her, Too" co-written by Buffy Sainte-Marie and sung by Aaron Neville. The soundtrack prominently featured saxophonist Art Pepper and other West Coast jazz musicians, with the soundtrack album released on the Capitol label.[http://www.spectropop.com/JackNitzsche/movies.htm Nitzsche On The Silver Screen] accessed October 28, 2016[http://www.jazzdisco.org/art-pepper/catalog/#capitol-soo-12029 Art Pepper catalog] accessed October 28, 2016

Track listing

All compositions by Jack Nitzsche except where noted.

# "On the Road" - 3:16

# "Carolyn's Theme" - 1:53

# "Adagio for Strings" - 1:58

# "Three Americans" - 1:19

# "Jack's Theme" - 1:39

# "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise" (Ernest Seitz, Gene Lockhart) - 2:10

# "I Love Her Too" (Jack Nitzsche, Buffy Sainte-Marie, John Byrum) - 3:50

# "Carolyn" - 3:18

# "Jam" - 2:28

# "Neal's Theme" - 1:55

# "901" - 3:01

# "Heart Beat" - 1:42

Personnel

*Art Pepper - alto saxophone solos (tracks 1, 4, 5 & 9-11)

*Conte Candoli - trumpet

*Bud Shank - alto saxophone, flute

*Bob Cooper - tenor saxophone, oboe

*Pete Jolly - piano

*Max Bennett - bass

*Shelly Manne - drums

*Shorty Rogers - arranger

*Bob Enevoldsen - trombone

*Tommy Tedesco - guitar

*Frank Capp - drums

*Emil Richards - percussion

*Aaron Neville - vocals (track 7)

*Les Paul and Mary Ford - guitar and vocals (track 6)

*Unidentified Orchestra conducted by Alan Broadbent



References




Buy Heart Beat (film) now from Amazon

<-- Return to movies from 1980



This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1107019692.