- Chappaqua (film)
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Chappaqua Directed by Conrad Rooks Written by Conrad Rooks Starring Conrad Rooks
Jean-Louis Barrault
William S. Burroughs
Swami Satchidananda
Allen Ginsberg
Moondog
Ravi Shankar
Ornette Coleman
Paula Pritchett
The FugsMusic by Ravi Shankar
Philip GlassRelease date(s) November 5, 1967 (USA) Running time 82 mins Country USA Language English Chappaqua is a 1966 cult film written, directed by and starring Conrad Rooks. The films is based on Rooks' experiences with drug addiction and includes cameo appearances by a host of famous figures of the 1960s: author William S. Burroughs, guru Swami Satchidananda, beat poets Allen Ginsberg and Moondog, and Ravi Shankar (who co-wrote the score with Philip Glass). Rooks had commissioned jazz artist Ornette Coleman to compose music for the film, but his score, which has become known as the Chappaqua Suite was ultimately not used. Coleman too makes a cameo appearance in the film. The Fugs also appeared in the film.
The film briefly depicts its namesake, Chappaqua, New York, a sleepy hamlet in Westchester County, in a few minutes of wintry panoramas. In the film, the hamlet is an overt symbol of drug-free suburban childhood innocence. It also serves as one of the film's many nods to Native American culture. The northern Westchester area had once been heavily inhabited by Native Americans; the word chappaqua itself derives from the Wappinger (a nation of the Algonquian peoples) word for 'laurel swamp.'
External links
- Chappaqua at the Internet Movie Database
- "Conrad Rooks's 'Chappaqua' Is a Therapeutic Travelogue of the Unconscious" New York Times review, November 6, 1967
- Review of Chappaqua at Mondo Digital
- Baumann Graphik (movie poster, German theatrical release 1998)
Awards Preceded by
Simon of the Desert, I Am Twenty
and Modiga Mindre MänSpecial Jury Prize, Venice
1966
tied with Yesterday GirlSucceeded by
La Cina è vicina and La ChinoiseCategories:- English-language films
- 1966 films
- 1960s drama films
- Drug-related films
- Venice Grand Special Jury Prize winners
- 1960s drama film stubs
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