Nelson Algren: The End is Nothing, The Road is All 2015
Distributed by First Run Features, 630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 1213, New York, NY 10036; 212-243-0600
Produced by Mark Blottner, Ilko Davidov & Denis Mueller
Directed by Mark Blottner, Ilko Davidov & Denis Mueller
DVD, color, 85 min.
Middle School - General Adult
Literature, Poetry
Date Entered: 06/06/2016
Reviewed by Sara Parme, Digital Services Librarian, Daniel A. Reed Library, SUNY FredoniaAlgren, best known as the author of The Man With the Golden Arm, is described at one point in this documentary as “the Dostoyevsky of American literature.” As such, much of the film is dedicated to exploring how his personal experiences with the downtrodden informed his writing. The Depression forced a college-educated Algren out onto the road and into the South, then into prison, and onto Communism. He finally landed in Chicago, the city that influenced him the most, where he talked, drank and gambled with the city’s most tragic figures.This is the story of how a National Book Award winner loved by Simone de Beauvoir was blacklisted by McCarthy, cheated by Hollywood and brought down by gambling to become one of the destitutes he wrote about.
Kurt Vonnegut and Studs Terkel are among those interviewed, many of whom read excerpts of Algren’s work. Vintage photographs and film help illustrate the various time periods. The film is exhaustive, but runs too long for most. It works best as a companion to the study of his writings.
Extras include the short film Algren’s Last Night, bonus videos of interviews, a slideshow of photos and biographies.
Similar titles to this film would be Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral On A Moving Train and Paul Bowles: The Cage Door Is Always Open (2012).
Appropriate and recommended for academic library collections focusing on authors and literary movements.