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Howl

“The Obscenity Trial That Started a Revolution. The Poem That Rocked a Generation.”

2010 · 1 h 24 min
Directed by Jeffrey Friedman · USA · American Independent Cinema
Drama

Where to watch in the United States: Stream: fuboTV, Dekkoo, Chai Flicks, Dekkoo Amazon Channel · Free: Kanopy, Hoopla, Fawesome, Pluto TV, Plex, Plex Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube. Streaming data from JustWatch via TMDB; availability changes.

Cast

James Franco Bob Balaban David Strathairn Jon Hamm Allen Ginsberg Mary-Louise Parker

Plot

It's San Francisco in 1957, and an American masterpiece is put on trial. Howl, the film, recounts this dark moment using three interwoven threads: the tumultuous life events that led a young Allen Ginsberg to find his true voice as an artist, society's reaction (the obscenity trial), and mind-expanding animation that echoes the startling originality of the poem itself.

Sinekatalog’s take

Howl (2010) is a American drama directed by Jeffrey Friedman. It stars James Franco, Bob Balaban and David Strathairn. It runs 84 minutes. It is listed here for its festival and awards record.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.

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Ratings

IMDb: 6.6 / 10 (13,728 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.

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