HWY: An American Pastoral
HWY: An American Pastoral | |
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Directed by |
|
Screenplay by | Jim Morrison |
Story by | Jim Morrison |
Produced by |
|
Starring | Jim Morrison |
Cinematography | Paul Ferrara |
Edited by | Frank Lisciandro |
Music by | |
Distributed by | HiWay Productions (Private sphere) |
Release date | March 1970 |
Running time | 52 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
HWY: An American Pastoral is a
In the informal 1971 interview Morrison gave to Ben Fong-Torres, Morrison states the film "was more of an exercise for me and a warm-up for something bigger."[2][3]
In 2009, restored and re-mastered excerpts from HWY were featured in Tom DiCillo's documentary When You're Strange. However, the complete film was not included in the Special Features on the When You're Strange DVD, and there have been no further announcements regarding a DVD release for the film. Bootleg copies of the film (with a visible timecode at the bottom of the screen) can be found on the internet.[4]
Storyline
Well, it's about a hitchhiker who.. essentially it's just a movement from a state of nature gradually to city.
–Jim Morrison, March 1970[5]
The opening sequence shows the anonymous
Finally, the hitchhiker makes a phone call to American poet Michael McClure and reveals with disimpassioned voice that he killed someone, who is implied to be the original driver, explaining why he was not with him for majority of the journey. The final shots show the hitchhiker at the Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.
Production
Screenplay and public screening
The original, barely structured HWY screenplay, published in 1990,[6] contained many differences from the actual 1969 film version. The film was based on Morrison's experiences as a hitchhiker during his student days. As a college student Morrison had regularly been commuting as a hitchhiker from Tallahassee 280 miles to meet his then girlfriend Mary Werbelow in Clearwater.[7][8] Morrison financed the low-budget film project through his company "HiWay Productions". The production of HWY was supported by Morrison's friends Paul Ferrara, Frank Lisciandro and Babe Hill.[9]
Parts of the movie were meant to be used for fundraising purposes in order to complete the whole project.[10] As soon as October 1969 the film story was outpaced, though, by the Tate-Labianca murders which were carried out by members of the Manson Family in Los Angeles and shattered the American public. Morrison showed HWY during his second stay in Paris in early 1971. The film was publicly shown in Vancouver on March 27, 1970.[5] An audio sequence from the film was published on the Doors' spoken word album An American Prayer in 1978.
It has been suggested that the inspiration for the protagonist in the film, played by Morrison, with the script name "Billy" was inspired by the real hitchhiking serial killer Billy Cook who murdered six people on a 22-day rampage between Missouri and California in 1950–51.[2] Morrison himself acknowledged this in a 1970 interview with The Village Voice, and admitted Cook to be an influence on the work.[11]
Production history
HWY was shot on a
The film's music credits are given to Fred Myrow and sound engineer Bruce Botnick,[5] although the soundtrack was composed by Paul and Georgia Ferrara.[17] Fred Myrow also served as the score's producer, with additional material from ethnic and world music recordings.[18]
References
- ^ Weidman 2011, p. 482.
- ^ a b c "HWY: An American Pastoral". The Doors Guide. Retrieved February 10, 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Ben-Fong Torres & Jim Morrison 1971 Interview. YouTube. Archived from the original on May 9, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
- ^ Cohen, Jonathan (December 18, 2008). "Doors Documentary Revisits 'Strange' Days". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "'HWY: An American Pastoral' by Jim Morrison, Frank Lisciandro, Paul Ferrara, Babe Hill". Mildequator.com. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
- ^ Morrison 1990, pp. 69–82.
- St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the originalon November 7, 2005. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ^ Davis 2004, p. 35.
- ^ Davis 2004, p. 325.
- ^ Morrison 1990, p. 207.
- ^ Smith, Howard (November 1970). "The Village Voice Interview with Jim Morrison" – via Waiting for the Sun Archives.
- ^ "Bringing Jim Morrison back to life in the long-lost "HWY"". Retrieved August 16, 2020.
- ^ "On the trail of the Blue Lady: Jim Morrison's Lost 1967 Shelby GT500". Streetmusclemag.com. September 29, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ Ferrara 2007.
- ^ MAKING HWY (NEWmusic), 2010, Paul Ferrara. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^ Jim Morrison/Hitchiker: The Thrill is Gone. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^ JIM MORRISON: BALD MOUNTAIN.mov. YouTube. 2010. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^ Davis 2004, p. 413.
Sources
- Davis, Stephen (2004). Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend. Penguin Publishing. ISBN 1-59240-064-7.
- Ferrara, Paul (2007). Flash of Eden. ISBN 978-1-4343-4070-2.
- ISBN 978-0-67973-462-8.
- Weidman, Rich (2011). The Doors FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Kings of Acid Rock. ISBN 978-1-61713-017-5.
External links
- HWY: An American Pastoral at IMDb