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Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place

Play trailer Poster for Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place R 2011 1h 30m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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72% Tomatometer 60 Reviews 61% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Directors Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood present footage culled from a road trip to the 1964 New York World's Fair, which author Ken Kesey and the Merry Band of Pranksters made while on drugs.

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Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place

Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place

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Critics Consensus

Magic Trip is overall unenlightening, though there's an inherent novelty and joy in seeing the unearthed footage of Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters.

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Critics Reviews

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Tim Robey Daily Telegraph (UK) 11/19/2011
3/5
Gives us a vivid feel for the bedhopping, acid-dropping subculture, if a little less insight than you'd hope... Go to Full Review Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard 11/19/2011
3/5
The trip is supposed to be the legendary precursor to the Swinging Sixties but ends up seeming merely fun for a group of people who have never quite grown up. Go to Full Review Peter Bradshaw Guardian 11/17/2011
3/5
The prehistory of psychedelia gets an interesting, if minor footnote with this documentary co-directed by Alex Gibney - who made Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Go to Full Review Jamie Garwood CineVue 12/05/2018
Gibney's latest stands up as a vital document of the counter-culture movements within 1960s America. Go to Full Review Yasmin Shehab Cairo360 01/30/2018
Sean Burns Philadelphia Weekly 05/03/2015
In case you haven't had your fill of wheezy boomer nostalgia, here we go again. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Robert S @RT51554882 07/22/2024 Can only recommend this if you really enjoyed The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. I think this would likely bore you if you're not already familiar with the Merry Pranksters and some of the events from the book. See more delysid d @RT67044741 05/01/2017 These people think they are a whole lot more interesting than they actually are See more 01/15/2016 http://filmreviewsnsuch.blogspot.com/2016/01/magic-trip.html See more 01/21/2015 El aclamado documentalista Alex Gibney nos describe cómo fue el viaje a través de los Estados Unidos en los años 60 del escritor Ken Kesey ("One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest") y de su grupo de "bromistas" en un bus psicodélico lleno de LSD y un espíritu entre beatnik y hippie. Su usted sabe algo sobre la contracultura de los años 60 y sobre Kesey, este documental no le aportará nada nuevo. Para los iniciados será un viaje revelador. See more 02/19/2014 Far out, man. A great honest look at Kesey, his pranksters, their road across the US and influencing the mainstream and counter-cultures. See more 09/27/2013 Ken Kesey was a far better human than Leary ever was. See more Read all reviews
Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place

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Cast & Crew

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Alex Gibney

Director

Alison Ellwood

Director

Stanley Tucci

Narrator

Alex Gibney

Writer

Alison Ellwood

Writer

Will Clarke

Producer

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Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place

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Movie Info

Synopsis Directors Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood present footage culled from a road trip to the 1964 New York World's Fair, which author Ken Kesey and the Merry Band of Pranksters made while on drugs.
Director
Alex Gibney, Alison Ellwood
Producer
Will Clarke, Alex Gibney, Alexandra Johnes
Screenwriter
Alex Gibney, Alison Ellwood
Distributor
Magnolia Pictures
Production Co
Magnolia Pictures
Rating
R (Some Nudity|Language|Drug Content)
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 5, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 4, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$153.9K
Runtime
1h 30m