Timothy Leary's Dead (1996)

Sub-Genres - Biography  |   Run Time - 120 min.  |   Countries - United States  |  
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Synopsis by Michael Betzold

This documentary on one of the most famous cult figures of the 1960s is the debut feature of writer-director Paul Davids. It chronicles the last days of the famous counter-culture advocate of LSD and other mind-altering drugs. As Timothy Leary learns that he has inoperable prostate cancer and makes preparations for what he describes as the "ultimate trip," the film features recollections of Leary's bizarre odyssey, primarily by the former Guru Ram Dass, Richard Alpert. Poet Allen Ginsberg is also featured. Leary himself spins bizarre conspiracy theories about the 1960s while telling the press that he is planning to broadcast his death over the Internet and have his head cryogenically frozen. The grisly ending actually shows the decapitation of the dead man's head, but it's not clear whether it really took place or was staged for the camera.

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Keywords

spokesperson, cancer, drugs, guru, professor