Search - Timothy Leary's Last Trip on DVD

A real bummer

Neophite | traveling around, EARTH | 03/10/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Unfortunalty, this film has very little to do with Tim Leary's life, work or death. In fact, it is more of a bad documentary that tries to glorify the Merry Pranksters. The film was made by OB Babbs whose real interest is exploiting Leary's fame to make a few bucks and talking about his parents (he goes on and on about growing up with the Merry Pranksters and yet seems to understand them poorly). If you are interested in a childish view of the Merry Pranksters, buy this film, if you are actually interested in Timothy Leary, whatever you do, DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS!

To conclude, it is just a documentary (that barely deserves the title) compossed of footage of the M.P. lumped together in a manner that suggests that Babbs edited it himself and spend about 10$ in the process. The information in the film about Leary was less than what could be found in an encyclopedia."

A charming piece in the LSD puzzle

plu4085 | 12/08/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Some of the reviews here are surprising to read; anyone knowing Leary but not knowing Kesey & the Pranksters needs to go to the psychedelic library and work up a decent knowledge. As someone who's studied both Leary and Kesey extensively over the years (some of it documented at my "Feed Your Head" website at [...]), I found "Timothy Leary's Last Trip" an appealing, entertaining and occasionally arresting movie.

The first half is a recap of the early/mid-1960s LSD scene, when both Leary & Kesey rose to prominence. There's lots of Prankster 60s archive footage, some of which I didn't immediately recognize, and which may be unique to this feature. There's also some interesting old Leary footage, the bulk of it from a circa 1974 interview also seen in "Timothy Leary's Dead". There are some minor errors to the chronology and presentation, the most amusing (possibly a Prank?) assigning Wavy Gravy's name to a photo of Tiny Tim!

The second half of the movie concerns Leary's last trip, which turns out to be 2 trips -- one to a Hog Farm get-together in 1995, with some historically important footage of Kesey & Leary hanging out together. There's also contemporary interviews with George Walker, Wavy Gravy (looking great, like an old Polynesian tribe chief), and Kesey & Leary. Interspersed throughout is an interview with Leary from a studio (or his home), which I think is unique to this movie. There's some on-stage footage with Dead type music and Pranksters in costumes, and Leary giving the event his benediction.

Leary's "second last trip" is a meeting on Internet between himself and Kesey, shortly before he died. It's pretty amusing to see the funky connection and very old-skool Netscape browsers 10 years later. Not much of importance is said, it's mainly an exchange of greetings.

The director O B Babbs (Prankster legend Ken Babbs' son) appears as a narrator here and there, and does a good job; and his handsome male-model looks are no drawback. There's a certain student film feel to this, but those familiar with what's been coming out of the revived Prankster nexus in Oregon will recognize and enjoy the home-made charm. Sentimentality is present, and may have been given a boost by the passing away of Jerry Garcia around this time, but considering who we are dealing with, there's certainly room for, and a need for, documentation.

Like "Timothy Leary's Dead" this movie has some specific, minor flaws, but combining these two fan-oriented DVD features you get a terrific view of Leary, the modern (post-1960) history of LSD, and a substantial dose of the equally important Merry Pranksters."

An Historic Journey

purplehaloz | 06/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a historic work of art about the counter-cultural changes of the nineteen sixties. The previously unreleased, live Warlocks (Grateful Dead) music makes you feel like you are going back to this magical time and place, and is worth the entire cost of the DVD alone."

Glasses half empty kinda people?

O.G. | 08/11/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Maybe the detractors should view this again- I found that there was plenty of footage of Leary- the subject matter revolved around Leary's LAST trip- and in no way implies that it is a biographical work- perhaps you should read the description before you make a judgement- if you want a biography of his entire life, perhaps you should have looked in a different direction- this piece is about the Merry Pranksters' personal relationship with Leary, which came through very clearly- I thought it brought home the point it was trying to make very adequately- that Leary embraced his death with welcoming arms, and even planned for it."