This is a wonderful, affectionate documentary about Allen Ginsberg, created with Ginsberg's help in the early nineties.
We start with dueling talk show clips -- a bemused and friendly Dick Cavett interviewing Ginsberg in the late 70's, and a smug, hostile William F. Buckley inquisiting a younger Ginsberg in the late 60's. These clips recur through the film, nicely framing it, and by the end Ginsberg has even opened up a warm spot in Buckley's chilly heart by reciting "A Wales Visitation" -- or at least this appears to be the case. Buckley then even succeeds in coaxing a visible and rare flash of anger from Allen by cutting into his dreamy vision of world peace with "It's just that your politics are very naive" (or something like that). Fascinating exchanges, over all.
This film also covers Ginsberg's traumatic childhood with his insane mother through photographs and family interviews. It's good that this material is covered, though we miss the harrowing details Allen provided himself in the poem "Kaddish." We see uplifting shots of the later, famous Ginsberg sharing a poetry stage with his father, and this is an especially nice touch.
There is only a minimal amount of material about Ginsberg's seminal Beat years in New York City and San Francisco, but there is a good amount of stuff from the later hippie years, especially including footage from the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention and the later No-Nukes protest near the Rocky Flats nuclear plant. We also see a few glimpses of Naropa.
Overall the film is inspiring and well-worth seeing. An independent production mostly available on video, Jerry Aronson created it as a labor of love, and you will be supporting his earnest effort as well as edifying and entertaining yourself if you purchase a copy from First Run Features by calling 1-800-488-6552 for a reasonable $29.95.